Today during my classes yesterday, the students were working on a geography scavenger hunt, looking in the book to figure out the answers to questions about geography.
One of my students was looking for the Grand Canyon and she was complaining about the fact that she couldn't find it. I said well it is in the US. She continued looking all over the map and proceeded to ask if the Grand Canyon was in Canada. I said "sweetheart, Canada isn't a part of the US." She responded "What? Canada isn't a state? But then we would only have 49?" During the process of trying not to laugh out loud in her face, I promised her that we did indeed have 50 states not including Canada.
During my last period of the day another student asked me if the hemisphere was the air around the earth....I explained that was definitely the atmosphere, not hemisphere...oh freshman!
Well, in addition to keeping me on my toes and laughing, my wonderful students gave me a nice cold to suffer with for the 3 day weekend so I am laying low, sewing, watching movies and drinking tea.
Random ramblings and ideas from a teacher, daughter, former NYer, current Floridian and twenty something...
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Winnie
Winnie came into our lives on August 11, 1998. There was a thunderstorm, and Winnie was running around in the streets like a crazy person. She didn't like thunder and lightning...Well thus started nearly 13 years of Winnie in our lives. She was an angel on earth. She was a garbage gut and ate anything you gave her, including a 1 pound chocolate bar under the Christmas tree! She slept with me (on occasion relegating me to the far corners of the twin bed we were sharing...she was only 20ish pounds, but the dog could growl!) She was always excited to see us, and gave us wonderful licks when we returned. She will be sorely missed! She will be forever in our hearts! I miss her already!
Love you Winnie!
Where to begin...
Good morning,
Well as I sit here listening to pandora, I am in my best look busy and no one will bother you mode. I am hiding! I am hiding from anyone that may want me to sub for another class. You could say that I am hiding in plain sight, but I have decided that by writing this post, I look very busy!
School is over in three days, and I can tell you that this teacher is very ready! My seniors graduated on Saturday, and it was a beautiful ceremony, and I am glad it is over!
The end of the school year has seemed to drag a bit, which is surprising since we waited soo long for spring break which was soooo late, we all figured that the end of the year would happen upon us in no time...WRONG! It has dragged on like no other!
Anyway, for spring break I headed north to the land of New Jersey, birthplace of both my parents, and new(grudgingly) home for my dad and B. They are there because adorable niece lives there, and they take care of her. I spent break sleeping, reading, visiting with said adorable niece, and a little seeing Fish, and sightseeing! My dad and I went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which I must say was impressive. I lived for 24 of my 27 years within 2 hours of both of these places, and it took until now to get there! Definititely go if you have to chance!
After the Statue, my dad dropped me off at the ferry to NYC and I headed in for Aunt J's birthday. Well I was sure that I would be fine timing wise...Ferry at 4:30, taxi by 4:45 definitely up to the east side by 5:30...wrong again. Friday night in April (a beautiful 80 degree day, perhaps the first of the year) at 5ish is the worst time to get a cab in NYC. So I found one (thank you god!) and then sat in traffic heading up town...what is a girl in shorts and a t-shirt to do in the back of a cab? That is right, get into her cocktail attire in the back....why not? The driver was intent on the conversation he shouldn't have been having while driving me, and I pulled a fast dress over the front, tee over the back change, then shimmied out of my shorts, combed my hair, and arrived at the apt only needing to put makeup on! Very impressive if I do say so myself!
Dinner at the Patron's Lounge at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was as impressive and delicious as ever (complete with tiaras and princess Kate masks, Aunt J's birthday is the same day as the Royal Wedding!)
Afterwards I was able to go out with some Wes friends. We played beirut (not beer pong, just saying) and had a great time seeing old friends!
Since getting back, mom and I celebrated my birthday in Orlando, mom left, and I have spent quite a bit of time sewing and chasing Maggie around like the nut she is.
Exhibit A:
Here are some projects that I have recently completed and let me tell you there are a ton waiting on deck!
Thanks for listening to me rant, back to hiding in plain sight!
S
Well as I sit here listening to pandora, I am in my best look busy and no one will bother you mode. I am hiding! I am hiding from anyone that may want me to sub for another class. You could say that I am hiding in plain sight, but I have decided that by writing this post, I look very busy!
School is over in three days, and I can tell you that this teacher is very ready! My seniors graduated on Saturday, and it was a beautiful ceremony, and I am glad it is over!
The end of the school year has seemed to drag a bit, which is surprising since we waited soo long for spring break which was soooo late, we all figured that the end of the year would happen upon us in no time...WRONG! It has dragged on like no other!
Anyway, for spring break I headed north to the land of New Jersey, birthplace of both my parents, and new(grudgingly) home for my dad and B. They are there because adorable niece lives there, and they take care of her. I spent break sleeping, reading, visiting with said adorable niece, and a little seeing Fish, and sightseeing! My dad and I went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which I must say was impressive. I lived for 24 of my 27 years within 2 hours of both of these places, and it took until now to get there! Definititely go if you have to chance!
After the Statue, my dad dropped me off at the ferry to NYC and I headed in for Aunt J's birthday. Well I was sure that I would be fine timing wise...Ferry at 4:30, taxi by 4:45 definitely up to the east side by 5:30...wrong again. Friday night in April (a beautiful 80 degree day, perhaps the first of the year) at 5ish is the worst time to get a cab in NYC. So I found one (thank you god!) and then sat in traffic heading up town...what is a girl in shorts and a t-shirt to do in the back of a cab? That is right, get into her cocktail attire in the back....why not? The driver was intent on the conversation he shouldn't have been having while driving me, and I pulled a fast dress over the front, tee over the back change, then shimmied out of my shorts, combed my hair, and arrived at the apt only needing to put makeup on! Very impressive if I do say so myself!
Here I am at dinner...fascinator and all!
Here is Maggie recovering from all the Royal Wedding excitement!
Dinner at the Patron's Lounge at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was as impressive and delicious as ever (complete with tiaras and princess Kate masks, Aunt J's birthday is the same day as the Royal Wedding!)
Afterwards I was able to go out with some Wes friends. We played beirut (not beer pong, just saying) and had a great time seeing old friends!
Since getting back, mom and I celebrated my birthday in Orlando, mom left, and I have spent quite a bit of time sewing and chasing Maggie around like the nut she is.
Exhibit A:
Here are some projects that I have recently completed and let me tell you there are a ton waiting on deck!
Thanks for listening to me rant, back to hiding in plain sight!
S
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Hidden backpacks...
So my day was fine, but it just got hysterical at the end of the day.
I had a crazy headache during 5th hour and then lunch, and when I came back after lunch it wasn't too much better, but leave it to my 6th period honors class to make me feel better...Just to give you an idea this is the class that told everyone I was drunk at the baseball game on sunday and dancing on the dugout. (I wasn't by the way! I did however get roped into the trivia contest where I had to stand on the dugout and answer a Mets question) One of my 6th period students was at the game, hence the rumor I was drunk and disorderly.
I arrived and unlocked the door for all the kids. Two of my students were mia and I figured they would come in with some harebrained excuse...they did of course, something about picking up garbage...sure, sure...
Well one of the kids hid Eddie Haskill's book bag in one of my back cabinets. I had no idea, but when EH came back he knew immediately that his book bag was missing and that The Beav had something to do with it...
I went on with my lesson, and during this time, EH told me "I don't understand why you are still teaching, we have a serious problem here!" At this point I am on the verge of hysterical laughter but managed to keep it together. EH is walking around the classroom opening things, demanding that I open my A/V cabinet, interrogating his classmates and generally disrupting everything. In his best Eddie Haskill way, he told me that he couldn't take notes without his backpack (he rarely takes notes to begin with!) I told him I had no idea where his backpack was and that he either needed to sit down and hush or go report it as missing to the resource officer. He left the room, at which point the Beav ran to the back of the room and pulled the book bag out of the cabinet and placed it on EH's seat. I lost it at this point and was hysterically laughing...the kids were yelling at me that I was going to give it away, and I tried to pull myself together....needless to say he came in, found his book bag and caused a little more of a ruckus. My headache was alleviated by the endorphins from laughing!
Anyway here are some picture of my classroom:
S
I had a crazy headache during 5th hour and then lunch, and when I came back after lunch it wasn't too much better, but leave it to my 6th period honors class to make me feel better...Just to give you an idea this is the class that told everyone I was drunk at the baseball game on sunday and dancing on the dugout. (I wasn't by the way! I did however get roped into the trivia contest where I had to stand on the dugout and answer a Mets question) One of my 6th period students was at the game, hence the rumor I was drunk and disorderly.
I arrived and unlocked the door for all the kids. Two of my students were mia and I figured they would come in with some harebrained excuse...they did of course, something about picking up garbage...sure, sure...
Well one of the kids hid Eddie Haskill's book bag in one of my back cabinets. I had no idea, but when EH came back he knew immediately that his book bag was missing and that The Beav had something to do with it...
I went on with my lesson, and during this time, EH told me "I don't understand why you are still teaching, we have a serious problem here!" At this point I am on the verge of hysterical laughter but managed to keep it together. EH is walking around the classroom opening things, demanding that I open my A/V cabinet, interrogating his classmates and generally disrupting everything. In his best Eddie Haskill way, he told me that he couldn't take notes without his backpack (he rarely takes notes to begin with!) I told him I had no idea where his backpack was and that he either needed to sit down and hush or go report it as missing to the resource officer. He left the room, at which point the Beav ran to the back of the room and pulled the book bag out of the cabinet and placed it on EH's seat. I lost it at this point and was hysterically laughing...the kids were yelling at me that I was going to give it away, and I tried to pull myself together....needless to say he came in, found his book bag and caused a little more of a ruckus. My headache was alleviated by the endorphins from laughing!
Anyway here are some picture of my classroom:
The students hands decorating my back wall
one of the creative things one of my students created
My crazy desk area
messy desk as always
It is a little better now, but if I work really hard I may get it back to this mid-season form soon!
Until next time,
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Day off!
So it is raining here in Sunny FL, and we had the day off from practice...Hooray!! I love the girls and even practicing but I am/always am sleep deprived so a day off allows me to take a nap, and today that is exactly what I did! An hour and a half sleeping with over two hours just laying in bed cuddling with my "siblings" see below:
We had some very good cuddle time and I got some much needed rest :) yay for days off from practice! :) everyone needs an afternoon off once in a while :)
Until next time,
S
Sunday, February 27, 2011
So I have a problem...
With buying fabric...these picture are old too!
I would be seriously embarrassed to show you my room now, it is stocked with fabric and seriously messy...but I LOVE it in there, it makes me soo happy to go in and sew!
I've noticed....
That a lot of teachers have blogs...
We must need them to keep ourselves sane!
My short week was busier than most regular weeks!
The three day weekend was just perfect and I slept a lot and got a chance to relax and eat some yummy food with mom. She also gave me a massage appointment for Valentine's Day and I went Monday morning...let me tell you that was a great way to start the day!
Tuesday - school and then practice. This was followed up by running home and scooping up mom to head back to school for the boys basketball playoff game. We won and are now one game away from the state final four! crazy! Go Cobras!
Wednesday was a really long day, but we secured our first win! A come from behind victory against a team that most people doubted we would beat! It was fantastic! The girls worked together, never gave up and definitely enjoyed their win! It was especially sweet for me, and those that know me know why. We didn't get back to school until 10:30 and then I got home at 11:00ish and showered...needless to say I got about 5 hours of sleep and again, those of you who know me know that I do not cope well without sleep!
Thursday brought our second win against our rival school. We were expected to win, and did (big!). But this game did not go as well as the night before. The girls must have been tired along with me because there was a lot of whining and complaining about playing time and pretty much everything. We were good sports on the field making sure that we didn't win 35-0 (which we totally could have) but are good sports so we stepped off bags and made outs so that we could eventually end the game.
The parents this game were also especially vocal and had lots of complaints about our playing time
Friday was another game (whoever planned this schedule should be in trouble (---->me<----) oh well next year I will remember to space them out some!
We lost to a cross-town rival and shouldn't have lost as big as we did...we fall apart in the 5th inning! After the game mom and I headed down to the baseball game our guys vs. the guys in the town we live in...it was a good game, but sadly we didn't come out on top...next time!
Saturday we headed out to the first Spring Training game of the year! It was very exciting. If you don't know me, I LOVE baseball, and I LOVE the Mets! Here are some of my photos from the game!
We must need them to keep ourselves sane!
My short week was busier than most regular weeks!
The three day weekend was just perfect and I slept a lot and got a chance to relax and eat some yummy food with mom. She also gave me a massage appointment for Valentine's Day and I went Monday morning...let me tell you that was a great way to start the day!
Tuesday - school and then practice. This was followed up by running home and scooping up mom to head back to school for the boys basketball playoff game. We won and are now one game away from the state final four! crazy! Go Cobras!
Wednesday was a really long day, but we secured our first win! A come from behind victory against a team that most people doubted we would beat! It was fantastic! The girls worked together, never gave up and definitely enjoyed their win! It was especially sweet for me, and those that know me know why. We didn't get back to school until 10:30 and then I got home at 11:00ish and showered...needless to say I got about 5 hours of sleep and again, those of you who know me know that I do not cope well without sleep!
Thursday brought our second win against our rival school. We were expected to win, and did (big!). But this game did not go as well as the night before. The girls must have been tired along with me because there was a lot of whining and complaining about playing time and pretty much everything. We were good sports on the field making sure that we didn't win 35-0 (which we totally could have) but are good sports so we stepped off bags and made outs so that we could eventually end the game.
The parents this game were also especially vocal and had lots of complaints about our playing time
Friday was another game (whoever planned this schedule should be in trouble (---->me<----) oh well next year I will remember to space them out some!
We lost to a cross-town rival and shouldn't have lost as big as we did...we fall apart in the 5th inning! After the game mom and I headed down to the baseball game our guys vs. the guys in the town we live in...it was a good game, but sadly we didn't come out on top...next time!
Saturday we headed out to the first Spring Training game of the year! It was very exciting. If you don't know me, I LOVE baseball, and I LOVE the Mets! Here are some of my photos from the game!
Jason Bay - LF
Fernando Martinez - RF
David Wright - 3B
My Boyfriend (I wish/wouldn't want the stress)
Dave Racianello - Bullpen catcher
Ike Davis - 1B
Josh Thole - C
Jose Reyes - SS
Jennry Mejia - P
Chin-Lun Hu - 2B/SS
It was hysterical by the way with all the Hu - pronounced "Who" - jokes and puns!
Tie Ball game - 5-5 after 10 innings
During Spring Training they don't go crazy with extra innings, they just leave it at a tie. The Mets came back twice to tie it! Great game!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
My crazy week!
Monday
This is how my day started...
Need I say more? There was more all over the floor, and it stayed there all through 1st block...the kids continually asked me if I wanted them to pick it up for me...I told them to leave them that I would eventually get them, and I did...
Tuesday
1st Game
This is how my day started...
Tuesday
1st Game
We were excited before, needless to say that we were not as excited on the way home...
Wednesday
2nd game
Lost again, but a much better game...
Thursday
rained out - pedicure with mom, an hour nap, and accomplishing some work that I needed to do...
Friday
School and practice... we are watching this movie in my psychology class which the students really enjoyed and were blown away when they realized that some of the major characters were hallucinations!
Friday night I played in a slow-ptich softball game...we won 12-4 and had a fun night!
Saturday
Two JV Softball games... it has been a really really long week...we were at the games from 9am until 2:30 and it was a long day...there were some flashes of brilliance and some ugly moments but I think they learned a lot! I am super wind burned and tired, but hopefully I will get some sleep and get to relax a little tomorrow
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My day in class
My day here in class...all the necessities:
- work the teacher has already approved on my screen - check
- both my cell phones - on silent of course - check
- papers to grade - check
- red pen - check
the only thing you can't see at the moment is the tea I have with me as well :)
I love tea :)
Past Couple of Day and super busy days to come...
So hello all (and by all I mean when I choose to share this with someone other than the random people who find it by clicking next blog)
I flew back from DC on Sunday night and fortunately did get some sleep (thank you God!) there is nothing worse than a cranky Ms. G on a Monday morning! Well I was still cranky from the lack of sleep over the weekend, but I made it through Monday and even taught lessons every class period! I decided to cancel practice since SH wouldn't be there, and it was a GREAT decision! I came home and managed to get a pedicure, buy prescription sunglasses (my first pair ever!) and have a nice dinner with mom.
Tuesday was yet another crazy day at school, and to top it off, one of my players threw-up in the dugout! I mean WHAT?@?!>@?#>#? Who does that right in the middle of the dugout!? I had to find someone to clean it up since it was all over the dugout and because it was a biohazard!
Wednesday I attended National Signing Day for college athletes, and had two of my students sign letters of intent. It was my first event, and I was impressed! Alll in all it was a calm day.
Well the calm was rattled with trying to figure out how to order socks and visors for the team, worrying that the replacement pants won't arrive in time for our first game, order coaching shirts, ensure the windscreen gets put up, wash the uniforms which mildewed over the last 9 months and then pass them out to players, all while trying to teach a senior class and run practices for 40 girls. I am not sure how I manage to fit everything into my day!
Friday I had a student come up to me and ask about softball.
The conversation went something like this:
Her"I'm here for softball."
Me (with a completely stunned expression on my face!): "I'm sorry?"
Her "I want to play softball."
Me: "Sorry it is too late."
Her: "What do you mean? I am going to pay my fee next week?! I had to find money"
Me: "Sorry, our first games are next week, the teams have been split and we are all set."
Her: "well, I can tell you I'm good"
Me: "Okay? Well sorry."
Her: "You really mean I can't play?"
Me: "Yes."
Her: "Why?" - think teenage girl indignant
Me: "We have been conditioning since October, practicing for a month, and I have never heard your name before and you have never shown an interest before today. Sorry."
At this point I walked away into my classroom and she walked away completely stunned that I had said no to what I am sure she believes herself to be - god's gift to softball.
Friday I also found out that there is another possibly dicey situation that I won't go into on the team, but lets just say that the drama level on this team needs to decrease by 100 fold!
We also sent our first girl to the hospital friday. She probably ripped her entire nail off...add it to the list of stuff to deal with before I explode!
SH and I had some time to blow off some steam last night with a slow-pitch softball game. It was a blast even though we got killed! It is nice to get in and actually play sometimes! SH and I always want to play while we are coaching so this is a good outlet! We did though eat pizza before the game, just like we tell our girls not to do, but hey we survived, and please don't tell our team!
Anyway, today I am sitting in my LAST class for my teaching certification. I missed the last day of the class in November so I am making it up today. Get this, it is a technology class, and the internet has been off all morning until now! and I think as I write this it is flickering in and out....
I have been grading papers the entire morning! So glad I remembered to bring busy work!
I am done with everything for the class (but we must stay! curse the program for ensuring everyone has "seat time"), and the teacher told us to explore blogs, wiki pages, and the like, so I figured what better time to write a blog post!
Last nights practice, wrestling districts (which we won by the way!) and softball game were the start to almost 2 weeks of non-stop activities for me...they are as follows:
Today: class 8-5 - groan!
Sunday - day off/Superbowl - I don't care who wins I am mourning the end of the season for the giants/jets :(
Monday - varsity only practice - handout pants/underarmour
Tuesday - away game an hour+ away at 5pm. Hello late night
Wednesday - first home game!
Thursday - home game #2
Friday - JV only practice - softball game (for me!) 7:30pm
Saturday - JV Double Header 8am-2pm ish
Sunday - collapse due to exhaustion
Monday - game away, in county though
Tuesday - home game #3
Wednesday - practice - conference call with the alma mater about our reunion weekend
Thursday - early release for the kids then book it south for a drs appt 2 hours away
Friday - Professional development day - softball game at night
That is my next two weeks in a nutshell! I am sure that there will be a lot more added since my to-do list is a mile long! I need more hours in the day, and a I want my planning period back!!!
Ok enough ranting and raving, wish me luck that I can survive the next two weeks and that my students learn what they need to in that time and that we emerge from the two weeks with at least one win...is that too much to ask? I hope not :(
back to the grading....
S
I flew back from DC on Sunday night and fortunately did get some sleep (thank you God!) there is nothing worse than a cranky Ms. G on a Monday morning! Well I was still cranky from the lack of sleep over the weekend, but I made it through Monday and even taught lessons every class period! I decided to cancel practice since SH wouldn't be there, and it was a GREAT decision! I came home and managed to get a pedicure, buy prescription sunglasses (my first pair ever!) and have a nice dinner with mom.
Tuesday was yet another crazy day at school, and to top it off, one of my players threw-up in the dugout! I mean WHAT?@?!>@?#>#? Who does that right in the middle of the dugout!? I had to find someone to clean it up since it was all over the dugout and because it was a biohazard!
Wednesday I attended National Signing Day for college athletes, and had two of my students sign letters of intent. It was my first event, and I was impressed! Alll in all it was a calm day.
Well the calm was rattled with trying to figure out how to order socks and visors for the team, worrying that the replacement pants won't arrive in time for our first game, order coaching shirts, ensure the windscreen gets put up, wash the uniforms which mildewed over the last 9 months and then pass them out to players, all while trying to teach a senior class and run practices for 40 girls. I am not sure how I manage to fit everything into my day!
Friday I had a student come up to me and ask about softball.
The conversation went something like this:
Her"I'm here for softball."
Me (with a completely stunned expression on my face!): "I'm sorry?"
Her "I want to play softball."
Me: "Sorry it is too late."
Her: "What do you mean? I am going to pay my fee next week?! I had to find money"
Me: "Sorry, our first games are next week, the teams have been split and we are all set."
Her: "well, I can tell you I'm good"
Me: "Okay? Well sorry."
Her: "You really mean I can't play?"
Me: "Yes."
Her: "Why?" - think teenage girl indignant
Me: "We have been conditioning since October, practicing for a month, and I have never heard your name before and you have never shown an interest before today. Sorry."
At this point I walked away into my classroom and she walked away completely stunned that I had said no to what I am sure she believes herself to be - god's gift to softball.
Friday I also found out that there is another possibly dicey situation that I won't go into on the team, but lets just say that the drama level on this team needs to decrease by 100 fold!
We also sent our first girl to the hospital friday. She probably ripped her entire nail off...add it to the list of stuff to deal with before I explode!
SH and I had some time to blow off some steam last night with a slow-pitch softball game. It was a blast even though we got killed! It is nice to get in and actually play sometimes! SH and I always want to play while we are coaching so this is a good outlet! We did though eat pizza before the game, just like we tell our girls not to do, but hey we survived, and please don't tell our team!
Anyway, today I am sitting in my LAST class for my teaching certification. I missed the last day of the class in November so I am making it up today. Get this, it is a technology class, and the internet has been off all morning until now! and I think as I write this it is flickering in and out....
I have been grading papers the entire morning! So glad I remembered to bring busy work!
I am done with everything for the class (but we must stay! curse the program for ensuring everyone has "seat time"), and the teacher told us to explore blogs, wiki pages, and the like, so I figured what better time to write a blog post!
Last nights practice, wrestling districts (which we won by the way!) and softball game were the start to almost 2 weeks of non-stop activities for me...they are as follows:
Today: class 8-5 - groan!
Sunday - day off/Superbowl - I don't care who wins I am mourning the end of the season for the giants/jets :(
Monday - varsity only practice - handout pants/underarmour
Tuesday - away game an hour+ away at 5pm. Hello late night
Wednesday - first home game!
Thursday - home game #2
Friday - JV only practice - softball game (for me!) 7:30pm
Saturday - JV Double Header 8am-2pm ish
Sunday - collapse due to exhaustion
Monday - game away, in county though
Tuesday - home game #3
Wednesday - practice - conference call with the alma mater about our reunion weekend
Thursday - early release for the kids then book it south for a drs appt 2 hours away
Friday - Professional development day - softball game at night
That is my next two weeks in a nutshell! I am sure that there will be a lot more added since my to-do list is a mile long! I need more hours in the day, and a I want my planning period back!!!
Ok enough ranting and raving, wish me luck that I can survive the next two weeks and that my students learn what they need to in that time and that we emerge from the two weeks with at least one win...is that too much to ask? I hope not :(
back to the grading....
S
Monday, January 17, 2011
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