Seein' Spots

Summer, 2011

2011-07-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

This has already been a very busy summer. I've gotten Synvisc injections in my knees and am starting physical therapy. I went to Florida and spent 2 1/2 weeks basking in the sun and floating in the pool. My mom came back to Illinois with me. It was a fun trip with my 2 dogs and her two dogs. We were home for just a few days when a huge thunderstorm and windstorm knocked out the power for 52 hours. It just came back on yesterday. Our roof was definitely damaged. Hopefully it won't leak as the roofer cannot get here for another 10 days.

I took a 1 credit hour course this week. That puts me at a Masters+10! Hopefully I'll be able to move over a lane in the fall. It depends on contract negotiations, though, so I'm not counting on the extra money on each paycheck. I need to take more coursework in the fall. I want to move over to the top of the payscale as soon as possible as the last 3 years count toward retirement.

The rest of the summer promises to be busy. I'm going to Springfield to work on the Illinois Alternate Assessment next week. I'm also in the middle of refinancing my house. I'd love to be able to close next week so I can put that behind me. This weekend my mom and I will be babysitting my great nephew and great niece. Sam is 9 months old and Delaney is 5 1/2 months old. It's going to be a lot of fun. Sam has started walking early, just like his daddy. Delaney is just plain sweet and cuddly. They are total opposites!

Hopefully I can get my roof repaired or redone before we go to the Dells the first weekend in August. After that I will be taking my mom back to Florida. This will be a quick trip. I'll stay there for a couple of days, but will have to return to set up my classroom.

I'm changing grade levels this year. Instead of teaching 3rd through5th graders with severe disabilities, I will be teaching 2nd and 3rd graders. I will also be moving my classroom to the 2nd/3rd grade pod. It will certainly be different.

I'll try and update as things change or happen.
Kathy

2010-12-27T20:29:00.001-08:00

Wow! It's been two years since I last posted. I've graduated with my Master's in Teaching and Leadership and am in my 32nd year of teaching children with severe disabilities. The past year and a half have been very challenging. Teaching is more about paperwork, teaching to the test (yes, even with my severely impaired students), and making my classroom look more like a regular ed classroom. It's been a challenge with much frustration with a little success added in. I have four years and 99 student days left (but who's counting?) until I can retire. I never thought I'd start a countdown this far out, but started last year with 6 years to go when the dramatic changes were brought forth by a new and very aggressive administration.

Enough of that, though! I've had the upstairs bathroom gutted and redone. The basement was to get new walls and doors. I ended up separating the stool and shower into a full bath with a beautiful sink/vanity in the basement. The laundry room has lost some space, but is still large. Dan now has a bedroom. It still needs trim and doors down there, but it's very modern looking. No more knotty pine and vinyl tiles! I'm starting to make plans to redo the kitchen, but that will have to wait until I know if we are or are not going on strike in the fall. The changes aren't extreme, but should make for a much better flow through the kitchen.

The pets are doing well. The cats will be 11 years old in March. They are both fat and very sassy. Hogan, the lhasapoo, is 11 years old. He's still crotchety when it comes to being groomed, but has mellowed enough to let me trim him some. Trixie, the yorkie, just turned 3 years old a week ago. She's helping to keep Hogan young. I love to watch them play. She's also the reason for my increasingly gray hair. She's just recovering from severe pancreatitis. I'd feel really sorry for her, but she got in the garbage and ate chicken fat and bones. She's on a bunch of meds and is getting better.

I'll update more often, maybe twice a year. LOL. I live such an interesting life that blogging doesn't take up my time.

Moving forward

2008-12-31T15:07:00.000-08:00

I've changed the picture on my blog. It's time to move forward. It's hard to see my Bindi's picture when I log in. I really miss her. If you've ever been owned by a dalmatian you will understand that the incredible silence and lack of mayhem takes awhile to get used to.

I am done with my first semester of grad school. I think I did well. Christmas was wonderful. My mom came up from Florida shortly before Thanksgiving and is still here. She'll probably head back to Florida on Monday. I think she needs to thaw out. We've had a record snowy December with near record low temperatures. While she was here we were really busy. She helped my son dig out his "man cave" in the basement. We went to my nephew's wedding. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas together for the first time in 23 years. She's at my sister's house right now. We are going to have a second family Christmas celebration on Saturday, so I'll get to see her one more time. The good news is that another nephew is getting married in March, so she'll be back!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Bindi

2008-10-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

My 15 year old dal, Bindi, has crossed the rainbow bridge. I took her to the vet yesterday as she was vomiting a lot. She was happy and doing well otherwise. She had an x-ray of her stomach which was inconclusive. We started her on antibiotics and stomach meds. She got worse and worse throughout the day. My son brought home painkillers for her when he came home from working at the vet clinic. They barely touched the pain. She moaned and groaned all day and most of the night last night. So, the kindest thing we could do was have her put to sleep. Luckily, even though the clinic was closed, the vet was there this morning. We got to take her in with no other people around and spend some quiet time with her. I feel sick to my stomach, but I know she's playing with her brother, Murphy, who met her at the bridge and helped her cross.

Where has the last month gone?

2008-09-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

We've been in school for almost 4 weeks now. We are finally settling into somewhat of a routine. I have one new student who I thought would really give me a run for my money, but he's not been too bad. I like my new classroom. We've got a ton more storage and the way the room is arranged is really conducive to teaching and learning.

My grad classes are going well. I'm doing well so far, getting A's on all projects/papers. I have 2 projects and 3 papers to write by next Wednesday. I guess I'll be busy this weekend.

The dogs are doing well. Bindi is looking older every day. Her hearing is not good and her vision is failing. However, she's still got spunk and is a complete love. Hogan was such a grump about having a new "sister" that he had to be medicated. He and Trixie are best buds now and play all the time. Gotta love puppy uppers. Trixie is almost 9 months old. She's a doll. She's playful, funny, cute, and a real cuddler. She's curious about everything. She used to be pretty shy when I first brought her home. Now she'll head out the backyard in the dark with no hesitation. Her potty training is coming along pretty well. She had a setback when I went back to work, but is now able to hold it all day, from about 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. I do put her in a large crate with toys and a bed. She doesn't screech anymore, but gets a stuffed toy and curls up.

I'M A GRADUATE STUDENT!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

I found out yesterday I'd been officially accepted into the Masters of Arts in Teaching and Leadership through St. Xavier University. It's a good thing, too, as class starts tonight. I'm trying to not dwell on it. I'm nervous and excited. It's been 31 years since I graduated from college.

School starts tomorrow. We have 2 institute days, then students start on Monday. I've moved to a new classroom, so I get to be a bit more creative with the set up. My paras will help me with that tomorrow. I'm on my own on Friday. I've got most of my paperwork set up. I need to make materials for the first couple of weeks. I guess that's what I'll do on Friday.

Where has summer gone?

2008-08-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

This has been a very active summer! I went to Florida in June, the Wisconsin Dells over the 4th of July weekend, and to California toward the end of July. I'm finally settling in at home. I go back to work in just a couple of weeks.

Let's see, Florida was fun, except for dislocating my right index finger. I go to the hand specialist in 4 weeks as I still have pain and do not have full range of motion. I did pick up Trixie and bring her home. She has really grown a lot. She's been spayed and had her puppy

teeth pulled. Her personality is the same as my first dalmatian's. We say she's Murphy, an 80 pound dalmatian, stuffed in an 8 pound body.

I went to the Wisconsin Dells over the 4th of July weekend. We had a wonderful time despite the fact that Lake Delton breached and drained into the Wisconsin River. We did go on a Duck ride down the Wisconsin River and did see where it breached. So much silt landed in the river that it was only 7 feet deep at that point so we had to turn around and not go any further up the river.

At the end of July I flew to California with a friend. She and her brother were settling their dad's estate and had to go through his storage unit. We got to do some sightseeing while we were there. We went to Santa Rosa to the Charles Schulz Museum. That was really neat. We also spent a day in Napa Valley, visiting the wineries. I've learned to really appreciate fine wine and did bring some home for a special occasion.

Bindi, the dalmatian is now 15 years old. She's really looking old. She's basically deaf. She can hear high pitched sounds and some really, really loud sounds. She barks when the other dogs bark. She's stopped making her "mooing" sound to get my attention. That makes me sad. She still has hyper dalmatian moments, though, and makes me laugh.

Hogan, the lhasapoo, has loved being with his "mommy" most of the summer. He loved going to Florida, but wasn't happy when we brought Trixie home. He's still trying to sort out his feelings. He'll go outside and hunt bunnies with her, but has no patience for her when she tries to play with him. He still loves to go "Nigh-nigh in da bed under da bankies wid da mommy" and will gallop toward the bedroom when I use those words with him. He's come a long way since I rescued him almost 4 years ago.

Then there's Trixie Jane, the yorkie puppy. She was 5 pounds when I brought her home. She was 8 pounds when I weighed her the other day. She is 7 1/2 months old now and is probably nearly fully grown. She's a character and I love her to death!

Finger update

2008-07-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today about my poor sore finger. It's still really swollen. The doctor poked and prodded it. It didn't hurt. I told him it really only hurt if I tried to use it to turn a key or a knob. It also hurts when it gets pushed back toward the pinkie finger. X-rays showed no problems, which is good. I have an appointment with a hand specialist, but not until September 3rd. If my finger gets better before then I'll cancel. If the swelling remains, I'll get an MRI before I see the hand specialist. The doctor tried to get me to take a pain prescription, but I have a few pain pills left from my foot surgery, so I'm fine. If it starts hurting, he'll get me a prescription.
Kathy

Poor little Trixie Jane and other ramblings

2008-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Poor little Trixie was spayed yesterday. She also had several baby teeth removed. She got her rabies shot and was microchipped. She's on pain meds and I bought her canned puppy food. She's so sweet that I hate that she's this miserable, but it sure beats the alternative.

We had a bad storm last night. It was a little humorous because as the storm was getting really bad I looked at the weather watches and warnings on television. There was nothing in our county. That's the last thing I saw before the lights went out! The electricity was off for almost 8 hours. It finally came on at 3:45 this morning. I didn't realize how much noise this house makes until it powered up again.

I made a doctor appointment for tomorrow afternoon to get my index finger looked at. I really injured it a couple of weeks ago on vacation. It's a little better, but still causing pain and tingling. I can type for short periods, then it absolutely aches.

I'm leaving for California in less than two weeks. This is my summer as a traveler, I guess. I'm going with my college roomie to help her and her brother clean their late father's storage unit. Hopefully the finger won't be too bad off so I can help.

I'M HOME!!!!

2008-07-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

I got home from Florida a few hours ago. It was quite the trip. I left on June 11th at 5 a.m. and stopped just south of Atlanta, GA around 8 p.m. (7 p.m. central time) for a total of 14 hours of driving. Whew! However, I managed to make it to my mom's in Florida by 2 in the afternoon on Thursday. Then, on Saturday I got sick with a respiratory flu. I was miserable for about 2 1/2 days, but perked up after that. Then, last week, I injured my right index finger while working in my mom's pool. My index finger got caught as the inner part of the ladder broke loose in the pool and floated away. The finger laid completely over to the right pinky finger over the top of my hand. Then there was that nasty snapping noise. I wrapped the finger and hand in an Ace wrap. It's much better, though still does hurt when pushed toward the pinky finger. It didn't affect my ability to float around the pool, though. I did bring little Trixie home. She and Hogan have created a tentative truce. Bindi seems a bit put out, though. I'll have to give her lots of extra attention. She's looking really old and seems to have lost even more hearing in the past 2 1/2 weeks. She still is a great snuggler, though, and that's what counts.
Kathy

ONE MORE DAY!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! Tomorrow is the end of the school year. I'll take Tuesday to get ready for Florida, then leave really, really early on Wednesday morning. I'd love to eat breakfast in Kentucky! There's a goal to shoot for! That would mean leaving at around 3 or 4 in the morning. It's doable. I'm taking Hogan, the lhasapoo (or as we think he really is...schnoodle apso) with. He's 8 1/2 years old and a bit of a grumpy old man. I think it's best that he meets Trixie, our little yorkie puppy, on her turf. He'll have a harem of girls. My mom's corgi mix is 14 years old. She also has a 1 year old yorkie/shih tzu mix and a 3 1/2 month old yorkie puppy. If that doesn't put him in his place, I don't know what will. I'm hoping he'll be happy when we come home with only one puppy.

My college roomie came to visit today so I managed to get the entire public part of the house cleaned up. I will clean my room and the guest room on Tuesday. I'll also clean out the fridge (normally a Thursday evening job for Friday garbage day), and get that out to the garbage cans. I love leaving a spotless house so that it will be a great start to the rest of the summer when I get home. My son will be staying home as he has to work. He'll take care of Bindi, the dalmatian, the two cats, the tropical fish, and the koi/goldfish/tadpoles in the pond. It's wonderful that he's so responsible!

Latest picture of Trixie

2008-05-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here's Trixie Jane, my little yorkie puppy. She's the larger one on the left. The other puppy is my mother's new yorkie puppy, Kiki. She's about 13 weeks old now. Trixie is 5 months old.

The school year that will never end

2008-05-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

I am usually a very patient person. Lately I've been on edge with everyone. I try to not get cranky, but I am very cranky these days. I think it's just the end of school year stress with the additional stress of trying to pack up my room and move it next door while that teacher packs up and moves to my room. I want to be done by 2:30 pm on the 9th. That will give me the afternoon to celebrate with my coworkers and evening to pack for Florida. I want to leave on the 10th, but I may just take a day at home to sleep in and be a vegetable, then leave on the 11th. My main goal is to not hit Atlanta at rush hour.

THE CALL OF THE POOL

2008-05-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the pool is calling. I hooked up the new filter/pump and am currently running it. I skimmed the top of the pool to get the leaves and other debris out. I still need to vacuum the bottom, but I know the water is just too cold. I bought a new solar blanket and have the pool covered. I still need to fill it a little more, but will do that once I have the bottom clean. This has been such a cold spring that pool chores I normally would have done aren't.

I have opened up the house to air it out. I had the furnace turned off for about a week, then the frigid weather returned. I just turned the furnace off again. I'm not going to turn it on until next winter! Last year I turned it off the 3rd week of March and didn't turn it on again until the 3rd week of November.

I finished up my IEP's this past week. I can now start packing up my classroom to move it next door. The second grade teacher and I are switching rooms. This way both second grades will be next door to each other. I'll have an end room with more storage and more square footage. YIPPEE!!!!!! I will also have one solid wall. Both of my side walls are folding walls and are difficult to "decorate" around. It ought to be fun to come up with a new floorplan. I'm going to get rid of my 3 small file cabinets and buy one tall file cabinet with a good lock. That will make my life much easier and give me more floorspace.

Well, better get to my housework. It's not going to do itself.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2008-05-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

We had a little program on our school's "news" show that is televised every Monday by our 5th graders. It was pretty cute. Yes, and the cafeteria served tacos.

Bindi's feeling much better. It took my son and I to wrestle her to clean the port and the area around the port today. We finally had to muzzle her and my son basically had to lay on her while I cleaned the area with hydrogen peroxide. She's got another 2 weeks with the drain port.

I figured out how to spend my PTO money. I have accrued about $235 over the past few years. This year the PTO has decided to take the money back and put it back into their general budget if teachers don't spend it. So, I'm buying a kidney shaped table for my classroom. Next year most of my kids will be in wheelchairs and won't be able to sit at desks. With the kidney shaped table I can position the kids around the table and I can sit on the opposite side and work with the kids. The best thing about getting a table through the PTO is that it belongs to my classroom. If the district ever moves the program out of our building I can take the table with.

I talked with my mom tonight. She was telling me how cute Trixie, the little yorkie, is getting. I heard her barking and growling at her 1/2 sister (my mom's dog). I can't wait to meet her. I also told my mom we'd go looking for a puppy for her dog as a playmate. My mom's other dog is 14 years old and isn't all that playful anymore.

Poor Bindi

2008-05-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

I had to take Bindi, the dalmatian, to the vet again today. She's running a fever and not eating. Her ears are both infected. The right ear flap needed to be drained again. She had bloodwork to see if she has pancreatitis. I'll get those results tomorrow. If it's not pancreatitis, then we have to do an x-ray of her stomach. If she's got a blockage, then she'll probably have to be put to sleep. She will not tolerate another surgery. I'm sick to my stomach about it and really depressed. It's a sad state of affairs when I hope that she does have pancreatitis.

Now I know I couldn't work in an office!

2008-04-29T16:45:00.001-07:00

I spent today pushing papers. I had 4 IEP's to write for a meeting on Thursday. I got a sub, a woman I used to work with. She's a sweetheart, but, well, uh, isn't a real go-getter. She brought her guitar. I knew she would so I wrote in the sub plans specific times she could play it. One of my paras came to find me to tell me that she was playing the guitar, not working on dioramas. I told her to just get all the stuff together and start grabbing kids and work on them. The sub will be back on Thursday, so I'll make sure she only has time at the very end of the day to play her guitar.
I took Bindi to the vet yesterday to get a hematoma on her ear drained. She came home in an Elizabethan collar. The poor old girl doesn't see all that well to begin with. Now she's running into doorways and walls. She has no depth perception at all.

Breakthrough at work yesterday!!!!!!!!

2008-04-24T13:15:00.001-07:00

I sure wish I could share a picture of my little 4th grade student who decided that she needed to "talk" yesterday. I guess a picture of my classroom is going to have to suffice. This little girl usually points at what she wants. Yesterday she had finally had it with another student who is able to communicate using a Picture Exchange Card System (PECS). She started grabbing at the other girl's cards. So, I got her a set of simple cards of her own. I showed her some emotion cards and asked her how she was feeling. She grabbed the "mad" card. I asked her what she wanted. He took the "tired" and "beanbag chair" cards. I told her she could get in the beanbag after worktime and snacktime. She then grabbed the "Happy" card. I was so excited! I talked with the speech therapist today. We are going to make her a communication board that will fit on her wheelchair tray. She'll be able to take it home and bring it back to school. This is a little girl who we never thought would be able to communicate efficiently. She is nonverbal and in a wheelchair. Now the sky's the limit!

HEEEEEEEERE'S TRIXIE!!!!!!!!

2008-04-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here's my new puppy, Trixie. She's 17 weeks old and absolutely adorable. My mom is calling with hourly updates on what she's up to. It's pretty funny. I get to go get her in 7 weeks. Hopefully it will go very, very quickly.

I need a revolving door!

2008-04-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

The dogs cannot seem to get their potty schedules coordinated. One comes in and the other wants out. I'd love a doggy door, but sometimes the gate gets left open when meter readers come into the yard. I don't dare give Bindi any chance to escape. So, I'm getting my exercise getting up and down off of the couch to put them out and let them in.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Katie, my mom's yorkie/shih tzu mix

It's a girl. She's a 16 week old Yorkshire Terrier puppy that lives in Florida. She's my mother's yorkie/shih tzu mix's half-sister. I'm so excited. The only part that is tough is that I can't get to Florida to get her until June. TWO MONTHS! It will go by quickly. I need to send my mom a check to pay for her and buy a harness, leash, and all of the trappings. She'll have my mom's one year old mix to play with so she won't get lonely. I'll take Hogan, the lhasapoo, with my when I drive down to Florida so he can meet her off of his turf. That ought to take some of the wind out of his sails. He needs a puppy to play with. Bindi, the dal, is getting really old and rarely plays anymore. He tries to challenge her, but all they end up doing is wagging their tails and barking at each other in the puppy play crouch.

What's that yellow thing in the sky?

2008-04-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

It started out as a cold, damp, and drizzly morning. Now that it's late afternoon, the sun has come out. The temps are cooler than normal for the area and they are calling for snow showers/flurries later on this week. At least we had a taste of spring this last weekend.

My students have been awesome this week. They continue to amaze me with their abilities to push past their disabilities to gain skills that many felt they would never achieve. One of my students is moving up to Middle school in the fall. We went to a meeting yesterday. One of the people at the meeting remembered him from Early Childhood. I reminded her that we had been told that he would never have functional speech. She was amazed when I told her that not only does he talk, but he rarely is quiet. This boy can tell stories that are so believable, that one would think his family life is very exciting. Of course his favorite tv show is "Cops". Today I had a boy who can take about 8 steps independently get up and walk all over the classroom, then down to the library and back. WOW!

are all things I should be doing instead of sitting on this couch with my laptop. I should have never bought this thing!

Beautiful day

2008-04-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect and beautiful spring day. The temperature got to the mid-60's. It was sunny and breezy. I got errands run and most of the leaves out of the pond. I also found my brown goldfish. It sure has gotten huge over the winter. I'll clean the filter and pump tomorrow and change out the water. My son and I will also put the bridge together that my mom got me for Christmas. That ought to be entertaining! I can't wait to put it out by the pond. I am re-energized, which was really needed. So, tomorrow will be a work in the yard day as well as a laundry day. It's supposed to rain out later in the afternoon/early evening, so I can work on the inside of the house then. I also need to run to the local pet store and see if they have tadpoles. We are learning about the life cycle of frogs and butterflies over the next couple of months. I ordered the butterfly larva today, so should get them in the next couple of weeks. The kids will love it!

First week back at work

2008-04-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I've almost survived my first week back at work after Spring Break. I've been so overwhelmed lately. I did finish my Illinois Alternate Assessments on my students. I have to get them scored online by tomorrow afternoon. I know what I'll be doing before school tomorrow.
Yep, I'll be scoring tests online. I also have to get ready for a meeting next Tuesday. I also have to get a meeting set up before the following Tuesday (the 15th). I have another 2 meetings to schedule before the end of April. I also have the final 2 meetings on May 15th. My head will be spinning by then. I'll deserve my summer vacation.

We only have 8 more Mondays of school. The last Monday will only be a 2 hour session with students. We then have the rest of the day to work on closing down our classrooms. I want to head for Florida the next day. We'll see how things go.

I have a podiatrist appointment tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a full release to go back to my regular exercising and activities. I need to really work out to speed up the weight loss. I also need to work on toning up. Summer is quickly (I hope) going to be here.

I'm back!

2008-03-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Wow! I hadn't realized I'd been away so long. It's the last day of March. I cannot believe it! I just got back from several days in Florida yesterday. I went back to work today. It was freezing cold out and very rainy. We had the fire alarms go off so had to go outside without coats. We did send the paraprofessionals back in to get coats for the kids. We were outside for almost 20 minutes before the firemen arrived and assessed the situation. Then we were given the all clear to come back into the building.

I came home and took a little nap after work. I was so tired. We got home from Florida at 6pm yesterday. One of my paras also went to Florida over break. Her husband got sick, so they left today. She'll be home tomorrow and back to work on Wednesday. Another teacher friend also went to Florida. Their flight was cancelled so they drove down, too. She told me today that every time they saw a little white car, they'd rush up and see if it was me. They were about 5 hours behind us, but got home before us. They drove straight through. I just cannot do that.

I have tons of IEP's to get ready for and am really overwhelmed. We are in the home stretch, though, so I know I can make it!

Happy April Fools' Day tomorrow.

What a week!

2008-02-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

I went back to work on Tuesday. It was great to be back. We had several students out each day because of the weather or illness, so it was an easy week to go back. My foot is doing well. I have another week to 10 days with the stitches in. The worst thing about the surgery is actually the inability to take a shower.

Bindi, the dal, got sick this week and ended up with surgery to remove a foreign object from her stomach. At least the mystery of the missing piece of diningroom rug was solved. She's home now, totally miserable. My son needs to put some pain meds in her IV. She really should be in the hospital, but they aren't open on Sundays. If she's still a mess on Monday, I'll take her back to the vet.

I'm so happy!

2008-02-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor today. It's only been a week since surgery, but she has released me to go back to work as long as I stay off of my foot as much as possible. It's healing really, really well! I am so happy I could kick my heels up in joy! I go back on Friday for a bandage change. Hopefully things will still look good.

Foot surgery

2008-02-04T12:41:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm home from having a neuroma removed from my left foot. It was a simple surgery and I was home by lunchtime. I just need to keep my foot elevated as much as possible. I'm on painkillers, too, but am going to try and not take them very much.

I went to work early to drop off lesson plans and type up a quick letter to my parents to let them know I'd be out this week. Hopefully I can go back to work next Monday. I'm one of those rare people these days that is happier at work than at home. I call it my happy place. I'm ready to take a nap now, so I'll write more later.

Another snow day yesterday

2008-01-31T14:10:00.001-08:00

We had another snow day yesterday. Actually it was a "cold weather" day. It was so cold, below zero, that many of the buses didn't start. So school was called off for the day. It's snowing out heavily right now. We are only supposed to get 1-3 inches by morning, so we should be okay for school. I heard a nasty rumor that the worst winter storm of the winter is on the west coast heading this way for Monday and Tuesday. Spring can't come too quickly!

I am scheduled for foot surgery on Monday to remove a neuroma from my left foot. It's gotten to the point that it's too painful to pedal the bike, so I haven't been going to the gym. I'm taking next week off of work. I just need to notify the sub, who has already agreed to sub for me, and set up a time, probably Monday before I go for surgery, to go over my lesson plans. I'm putting a packet together of lesson plans/activities for each day. I'm going to really miss my kids. They are the greatest!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning, showered, got dressed, and did dog duties. Right before I left for work I turned on the television to watch the news. Scrolling along the bottom of the screen were school closings. I had no clue it had snowed so much last night. Well, my district was not on the list so I kept getting ready. I was grabbing my coat when I hear our district being called. Well, the phone tree hadn't been activated so I sat for a few minutes. The phone call finally came at 6:45 a.m. That's usually the time I'm leaving the house. I was so wide awake by then that I decided to stay up. I have gotten so much work done around the house! It's a beautiful sunny day. The school district I live in did have school, so the buses are lined up in front of my house waiting to load the middle schoolers. I'm glad I had another day, but will be sad in June when we have to work an extra day to make it up.

3:30 a.m. and wide awake

2008-01-17T01:31:00.000-08:00

Well, it's 3:30 a.m. and I'm wide awake. I've been awake for the past 3 hours. My ear infection is now a double ear infection. I went to my doc today (well, actually yesterday, I guess) for stronger antibiotics. He said I should feel better in another day or two. I sure hope so. People are getting tired of repeating everything they tell me because I plain cannot hear them!

Some things I've observed over the past 3 hours: The dalmatian cannot hear when she is sleeping on her left side with the right ear up. I went to the livingroom to get the laptop, which was on the table next to her. She didn't hear a thing.
My normally quiet neighborhood gets a little loud with airplanes (probably UPS) flying in. Here comes another one now! I'm about 12 miles due north of the airport, but pretty close to the flight path. More must land at night than during the day. There have also been a few fire calls as I've heard sirens several times. The firehouse is about 1/2 mile from my house and the trucks run down the street the next block over.
There are funny clunks and noises around my house at night. If I was younger I'd probably be hiding under the blankets in fear.
The lhasapoo takes up more than his fair share of the bed. That might answer the question of why all my blankets are wrapped around me at the edge of the bed. Who would have thought that a 13 pound dog could stretch the width of a full bed.
Well, better put this thing down and try to at least nap. Let's see, if I fall asleep now I can get another 2 hours of sleep. Have you ever played that game? If I fall asleep now, I can get ____hours of sleep. You look at the clock awhile later and think the same thing. Keep repeating until the alarm goes off or the radio goes on. Hit the snooze and hope for at least 9 minutes of sleep. Repeat until the last moment that you know you have to get up to make it to work in time by just throwing on clothes, running a brush through your hair, and chewing Dentyne instead of brushing your teeth.
Good night all!

I'm too old for this!

2008-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

I am way to old to have an ear infection. Isn't that something that happens to little kids? I've never had ear infections before this past summer. I have my second one now. I was feeling fine on Friday, then woke up yesterday with the worst earache! I went to the Immediate Care clinic. I'm now on an antibiotic and decongestant. It's feeling a little better, so I think the meds are working. I sure hope I feel much better tomorrow so I can go to work.

It's snowing out right now and covering the mushy backyard. The snow sure makes things brighter and cleaner looking. I love everything about winter except for the darkness and the dirty look when the snow melts (unless it's getting into the warmer spring weather, then I don't mind the dirty look)

15 more Mondays to go

2008-01-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are counting Mondays. We only have 15 more student Mondays left of this school year. Although I am really enjoying my students, I'm still trying to come up with a plan that works for everyone. I don't have students that can do academics this year. I've changed over to more of a Lifeskills type classroom and am putting the academics in through play and group activities. We've done this the past few days and have had some success.

I went to the podiatrist today. The bunion is ugly, but not worthy of surgery at this time. I do have a neuroma between my 2nd and 3rd toes. I'll get it taken out in the next couple of weeks. It's gotten to the point that even pedaling the recumbent bike is really painful.

My weekend plans include cleaning the fridge and the oven. The oven is stewing in oven cleaner over night. I'll get to it first thing tomorrow morning. I also need to do a couple loads of laundry. I'm also going to put the new slipcovers on the couch and wingback chairs. I'm so excited to be able to sit down and not get covered in dalmatian hair.

Tornado Warnings....in January? In Northern Illinois?

2008-01-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

I ran home after work to let the dogs out before it rained. Yippee!!! I made it. So, having successfully completing one task, I decided to hit the grocery store for a few items. Well, it started to pour out. I made it to the car thinking I may have had to inflate the plastic grocery bags and empty the pop bottles as flotation devices if I would have stayed in the store a moment longer. I started the car and heard a computer generated voice saying there was a tornado headed our way and was now 8 miles southwest of my town. YIKES!!!!!!!!!!! I charged home. Luckily the store isn't far from the house so I made it lickety-split. I put the car in the house because, doggone it, it's only a year old and I didn't want it to get hailed on. IWhen I got out of the car I could hear the emergency sirens screaming. I ran to the house, dropped the groceries on the counter, grabbed the lhasapoo and my laptop, yelled at the dal to follow, then ran for the basement. I hung out down there for awhile. I finally came upstairs and turned on the television. A tornado had touched down a couple of miles from my house, then went back up and headed NE. It hit in a small rural town, destroying at least 5 houses. There were a few injuries and the electricity went out for about 16,000 customers. We even made the Weather Channel! Did I mention that this is January 7th? Did I mention this is Northern Illinois? Absolutely amazing! We are still under a tornado watch, but I think the excitement is over for the night. Well, it's probably over for the next 4 months. For crying out loud, I was shoveling 4 inches of snow 6 days ago. We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Can we say, "Global Warming"?

Busy day

2008-01-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

I got all of the Christmas and winter things down and put away. I was going to keep the snowmen up for another several weeks, but decided that it all had to come down! I'm putting the summery silk flower arrangements out to help the place seem sunnier. I took down all of my winter wall decor, too, and am putting the flowery pictures back up.

The pond looks good. I skimmed more leaves out of it. I did see two of the three fish and they look fat and happy. The third one is brown, so difficult to see in the pond. At least it's not floating on the top. We are supposed to get rain and thunderstorms, a rare event here in January, so the pond will get some fresh water. It's almost over the top today, so will be by the time it rains. I also cleaned up papers and other garbage I found in the yard that had been covered by snow so the front yard looks good. The backyard needs some more work, but it will have to wait as it's now dark out.

Well, that's all for today, I guess. I need to get some dinner made and lesson plans done.

Seein' Spots

2008-01-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

I need to be doing something productive in this house. Taking down the Christmas tree and decorations is a priority this weekend, but there is always tomorrow. I need to work on lesson plans, too. But, here I sit with this doggone laptop, playing around on the computer.
The dalmatian is "mooing" at the door. That means, "Put me out so I can find something nasty in the yard that I can eat". So, she now gets to wear a muzzle to go out.
See, I am boring!