So, so much to do. So, so little time. So, so cliche´. So, so true.

By they way, Happy Birthday, Alicia! My big sister had a birthday today, her first as a soon-to-be mommy. Can't wait to love on the belly!

My Bloggy Christmas Tour

Thanks to my mom and dad's visit at Thanksgiving, I have Christmas decorations up. I have never been the type to get super excited about seasonal decorating. I absolutely love Christmas and love the decorations, it's just the actual decorating part I can't get motivated for. But with a Christmas decor-loving mom in town, it got done. And I've been enjoying it ever since, so I thought I'd follow my sister's lead and share with you the fruits of our (or my mom's) labor of love.

Come on in!

Here are some decorations gracing the table in the entryway (thanks, Mom D.)...

and another on the closet door (from a Southern Living home party years ago, and just finally put to use)...
Here's a side table in the living room - the tree decoration is from a dear friend and former co-worker.

This is the other side table in the living room - I love Aggie decorations!

My advent tree with magnetic ornaments - I picked this up in my dad's hometown at a great Christmas shop.

On the kitchen table...

Our stockings - thanks Charla!


And here's the tree! This is the first year I've had a full-sized tree since living with my roommate Julie our first year teaching.

The rest are ornaments that I love - it was hard to narrow it down, but for the sake of a shorter blog post, here are the highlights:

This technically isn't our first Christmas as a married couple, but it will be the first we spend together - and I can't wait!

"Go U.S.A. - You rock!"
(as written in a Veteran's Day card for Will from one of my students)

Oh, Texas, how we miss thee!

This tree-topper is from my mom (she took me shopping for Christmas things while we were here). I don't think we could have found one more perfect for our tree! The wooden ornament towards the top is from my Grandma Margaret - she sends an ornament each year. This is one that she picked up at Ten Thousand Villages, a store that purchases and sells fair-trade items from villages in over 30 countries around the world.

Looks like Maddie girl - in pajamas!

And this concludes our tour. I hope you have enjoyed the little glimpse into our home this holiday season. If you want to share, please leave a comment so we all know to check your blog, too! Merry, merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Well, the storm's over...

...and we didn't blow away, or flow away, or lose power. Our house isn't under water, and we don't have any trees down. However, the state is in a state of emergency and there is water still standing pretty much everywhere. Our schools were able to go on as normal because the buses could run - no bridges or roads washed out in our town. Neighboring towns weren't so lucky.

I have been remembering back to this time last year - Will was deployed and our house was leaking. More specifically, our back doors were leaking, and leaking a lot. The builder was giving me the run-around about getting it fixed and they had to rip up our hardwood floors to avoid mold and rot. It was bad and I was alone. In typical fashion, Will has missed out on this bout of bad weather, too. I'm just glad it was short-lived.

I hope the weather where you are is nice and mild. We're looking forward to getting a good dose of unseasonably warm weather (fingers crossed) when we venture south during the holidays. Too bad we can't stay longer!

It's possible that we'll either blow away or flow away today. Crazy weather. I just hope the power doesn't go out at school.

Heavy Rain / Wind

High 53° F

Precip:		100%

Windy. A steady rain. The rain may be heavy at times in the morning. High 53F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. 1 to 2 inches of additional rain expected. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.

Food, shopping, decorating, micro-brews, great wine, more food...

I love having family in town.

A man and his dog...

Our Dixie girl has been a handful, but we love her just the same. I was looking back at pictures of her taken right after she joined our family - and holy cow, has she grown! She's not a big dog, but definitely fits solidly in the medium-sized category. I have no idea how much she weighs, but I'd guess between 35 and 40 pounds. It's supposed to be sunny for the rest of the week (fingers crossed) and I can't wait to take her over to the park and let her run herself ragged. She's got some energy!

My mom and dad are coming, and "Grandma" is bringing the girls some treats. Dixie has not yet met my mom and dad, so she doesn't yet know the sheer joy of a visit from the grandparents. Let's just say the dogs never go hungry. I would love to see the look on the face of the airport security guard who inspects my mom's suitcase...

Thanksgiving at our place...

...is going to be a pretty small affair. My parents are coming up, and we've spread the word around Will's squadron that anyone who would otherwise be spending the holiday sans family is welcome to join our festivities.

I think I'm going to put up my Christmas tree tomorrow. I don't want to waste a whole day of my parent's visit doing that, and if I wait until after they leave, I know I won't get it done. Little by little, the holiday will creep up and then it will feel like it's too late. You see, I'm convincing myself, too.

Car buying..not fun. A stressful way to spend a day off of work. But we're close. Very close.

We may soon be the owners of a vehicle made in this century.

A couple of thoughts on my parent-student-teacher conferences...

-When your phone rings? Three times? Don't answer it. Even if you have a Bluetooth deal and it "will only take a couple of seconds." It's rude, and we only have 20 minutes. And most likely, I've been needing to talk to you for some time about your child...and when I called, you didn't answer, or call back. Irony?
-Leave your dog at home. Yep, your dog - your Yorkie. The one that shivers and whines like a Chihuahua. It's rude.
-Even if you are having trouble with your kid at home, when I praise your child for responsible behavior, at least smile or nod or something. This is time to hear about your kid at school - please understand that sometimes kids act differently in their different realms. And I love your kid, and it breaks my heart when you ignore what I say to tell me how terrible they are at home (especially when they are sitting there with us...).
-Thank you, thank you, thank you for finding something to tell your child that you are proud of - even the smallest thing - because that pride makes my job easier.
-To the mom who cried because I told you that your child has every single quality a parent could ever hope for in a kid - the whole package? You are blessed as can be, but obviously you had such a part in this and I am so thankful for you, too, even though I'm pretty sure I never said that. Thank you for coming to the conference even though you don't speak English (only understand it a bit) and even though I could see it was uncomfortable for you. What an amazing family you have.
-I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the books you bought for me at the book fair. I know that it was a clever marketing scheme for us to have a "wish list" at the book fair so strategically open during conference time, but I really do appreciate the books. Our class will surely enjoy listening to me read "The Teacher's Funeral" aloud.
-Thank you for making the time to come. I don't know why the schools do it this way, on weekdays, and I know you had to take off work to come. I appreciate the sacrifice and I hope you found it worthwhile. So many of you responded so positively and wanted to hear what I had to say. And I know your kids were excited to show you their work, whether they looked like it or not - we've been working hard and they've done a great job.
-One last thing...If you hear something that you've heard before, like, every year before, maybe you should not respond, "Oh, he/she has always been this way/had this problem." How about we try to fix it? Together? When you say that, it's like you accept and don't care if it continues down the line...And when it's something like the fact that they don't know their multiplication tables, I guarantee it will be a benefit to the kid if we help them fix it now. But really, I can't do everything alone. Help me out, okay?
-I lied about the one last thing...Here's one more. When you can't even pay attention for 20 minutes, it's really NO SURPRISE that your kid can't either. And that's called learned behavior not a disorder. Just sayin'.


All in all it was a totally new and rewarding experience to have these conferences (never having been in elementary before). Overwhelmingly positive, and only one unruly parent. It was very interesting, and at times hilarious, to see into the other life of my kids, the home part. They are a fantastic bunch and I hope their parents know it. Getting to know them is really the best part of my job.

The daily grind...Usually when I get to school there is only one other teacher there. It is so quiet and peaceful. I love the planning part of teaching and getting ready for the day. Researching lessons and finding new ideas is just so fulfilling to me. The part with the kids - not always so fulfilling. It's a job where you have to wait for the little glimmers of hope - and sometimes wait a long, long time - to keep you going.

A glimmer of hope made it's way into my classroom last week. Because of Halloween, I kept hinting to my kids that I like sour candy and Baby Ruth candy bars. You know, just throwing that out there. On Thursday, several kids dropped little pieces of candy on my desk, sharing their loot...all the sweet kids who turn in homework and smile and can walk in a line without being reminded how that particular task is done. But then, like a shining star, my not-so-sweet-tough-guy approaches my desk with a FULL-SIZED Baby Ruth bar in hand. "For me?" I asked. It sure was! Turns out my tough-guy was given a full-sized Snickers from a man (of course this kid went to the right neighborhood so that he would end up with the best stash) - and instead of taking the candy and heading off to the next house, he asked to trade it for a Baby Ruth if the man had any. Tough-guy proceeded to tell the man why he wanted to trade, and the sweet man let him keep the Snickers and gave him a candy bar for me. Two other boys in the class, both trick-or-treating with tough-guy, corroborated his story. So, on my desk sits a delectable treat, although I'm not sure I am ready to devour it just yet - it's a nice reminder that it's the little things, the ones no one else sees, that make this job warm my heart. A candy bar on my desk.

Sounds trite, but I'll bet teachers (and moms, too) will know just what I mean.

This place is definitely not rubbing off on me...

It's cold here, y'all. Really cold. So cold that I'm finding myself needing a second cup of coffee to keep warm in my frigid classroom. No one makes good coffee at school, so I bring a thermos. However, bringing a thermos for cups two (and three) AND carrying a travel mug is not only cumbersome, but provides for more things to wash. So I'm thinking about buying some of these (at Wal-Mart, of course - they're even made by Dixie, so it's like a piece of the South in my hand...don't think about the disposable part):


Maybe the coffee part is rubbing off on me. But the "environment first, at all costs" part - not so much. So, more trash...but less water, right? Maybe I'm becoming a conservationist after all.

Had a bad day again...

Earlier this week the local paper came to our school. They took pictures of my class using the computer lab. The article the picture was printed with had nothing to do with us, but with a technology levy our district is putting on the ballot in the Spring. No big deal, right? Well, this afternoon I found a card in my box at school. It was addressed to me (well, to they way the paper incorrectly spelled my name). Inside was the ugliest comment, a personal attack, about the way I was dressed.

Our district is very casual, which I think I've mentioned before. I was wearing a pair of blue khaki pants (which did look like jeans in the picture), a jean jacket, and Birkenstock clogs (which are pretty typical here in this part of the country, not surprisingly). The note basically said that the way I was dressed undermined the fact that teachers have had to work hard to be recognized as professionals. Excuse me! What century to we live in? Not to mention it's elementary school, full of glue, glitter, sitting on the floor and playing with kids at P.E. and recess! Just to make sure I wasn't breaking any sort of rules with my dress, I checked the dress code for teachers - nothing revealing, nothing with inappropriate logos or writing...we can wear sleeveless tops, jeans, and flip flops for goodness' sake!

I recognize that my job is a public job. I would welcome anyone into my classroom to see the quality of instruction and the way we conduct ourselves. With all of the stress surrounding our job as educators, the last thing I think we should be concerned with is dressing casually (especially when it is allowed!). Of course, the note was anonymous, because they commenter knew there was no merit in their malicious remark. I wish people would realize that if they would just become more involved in their local schools (especially if they have the time to sit around and write nasty notes all day) they might actually know what is going on and have something a little more substantial to talk about.

Grr. No wonder this guy wrote this and this.

I don't think I've ever done a meme. I saw this one on another blog and it looked like fun. Something to get my mind off of the Ag's loss.

Directions: You bold all the things that you’ve done (after copying and pasting). Play along if you want to! I know it's long...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (does it count if I "climbed" in a car?)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree (with my husband in CA, a HUGE sequoia)
10. Bungee jumped (only once and never again!)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten tipsy on champagne (it can't go to waste on New Year's when everyone else is asleep!)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (Um, Charla? Do you remember that one time in Subway?)
27. Had a food fight (at Pine Cove on a work weekend)
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two harddrives for your computer (well, we have an extra hard drive that we use for both of our computers, and I think that counts)
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales (this summer on the side of a highway in CA)
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe (I don't think backpacking is my thing...)
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing (in the Rec at A&M)
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (with my gals Erica and Tiffany - 'cause we don't want no scrubs)
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (lemonade stand?)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites (Tikal, Guatemala)
70. Taken a martial arts class (once or twice at Knollwood Country Club, I was very young and not at all into yelling and fake kicking)
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (I don't even know what this is)
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice (we wanted to ride the gondolas at Venice in Vegas, but it was ridiculously pricey)
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason (well, not on a holiday/birthday/date or anything, and it was from my parent's - first day of teaching)
84. Performed on stage (middle school choir, very professional)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music (I've recorded myself singing on tape...and so has my sister...and the evidence is in my parent's outbuilding)
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date (my husband!)
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (not actually, but I'm with Will in my mind every time he goes...)
92. Buried one/both of your parents (Grandparents are hard enough)
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently (in my dreams I'm fluent in Spanish)
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (well, we drove over it very slowly)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking (pretty much every morning...Thank God for Spirit 66 on Sirius)
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray (only at SeaWorld)
110. Broken someone’s heart (I hope not)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone (nose)
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild (yep, but I didn't do the gathering)
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery (sinuses, twice...brutal)
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept 30 hours in a 48 hour time frame (only after that major surgery)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (all the time)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper (a couple of times, as a kid - dressed as a witch in a pumpkin patch, and at school while we were tele-conferencing with a teacher's husband who was in Iraq)
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (haven't had any, yet)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (in Haiti)
139. Been elected to public office (5th Grade Class President - Go Pumas!)
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream (in many, many ways)
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care (I didn't do the putting, but I watched...Grandma Trudy)
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair (highlights?)
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Here's what's going on with us....

I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies - definitely a taste of fall. I'll post the recipe later. They weren't a sweet cookie, more like a bread or muffin, and were best straight from the oven (before they got soggy). I even stuck them back in the oven about 3 days after I made them to crisp them up - delicious.

Dixie eats outside, Maddie eats inside. Maddie is not quite the hog that Dixie is, so sometimes she doesn't finish her food. Dixie has taken to stalking Maddie's unfinished food, and looking rather pathetic in the process. However, she doesn't eat it! She's a good girl.

We got BOO-ED! I now have all of my supplies, so the boo-ing will commence when Will gets home.

Yesterday, my kids "buried" Dead Words. It was a blast! They gave creative eulogies, were very dramatic, and came up with some excellent replacement words to use in their writing. It was the first time I felt at home teaching here - one of the first days I scrapped our "Bed-in-a-Bag" curriculum (thanks, Leslie, for the term!) and did a lesson I was comfortable with, and one that I know the kids would both enjoy and learn from. I'm settling in.


More on the teaching thing - I'm constantly fighting battles here. I want to do what is best for my kids, but it's not what has always been done. Using our reading books, with packaged spelling lists, vocab words, workbooks, and a schedule with the whole week laid out is the norm. To me, this is crap. It doesn't follow our state standards, it doesn't integrate writing, it allows for NO creativity on my part or on the kids' part. The stories are boring. The worksheets are basic. So I'm scrapping it. I came with five file boxes of authentic, teacher-created and proven curriculum written by some of the best teachers I've ever known. So, DUH, I'm using it! Bring on the backlash.

It was clear last night. This is from the Wal-Mart parking lot. See, I could get a good shot - I drove around the whole parking lot until I found a place that I could get Rainier without the surrounding buildings in the way. It wasn't too hard seeing as how the parking lot was nearly empty, what with Wal-Mart and liberals being like oil and water.

Just outside of my neighborhood. Gorgeous night.

And finally, a fall sunset (view from my driveway). Could not be more beautiful. And Will missed it...which is the main reason why I took these pictures. He has missed every nice day we've had in the past month (all three...).

I woke up this morning to clouds and promises of rain by noon. However, yesterday's weather will do a lot to keep my spirits up until the next day we see the sun. Maybe less than a week this time? We'll see. Until then, I'm enjoying warmed-up Kona coffee (I couldn't resist making it yesterday morning). I'm blogging when I'm normally at work, because I just can't bring myself to get there as early as I normally do. I still have an hour until I have to be there. I'd rather spend that time with you. Here's to Hump Day - hope it's a happy one for you!

Will had to go to Hawaii last weekend for work, and I had to stay home. To combat the unfairness of the situation, he was to bring me Kona coffee. I have been saving it all week (I didn't even open the bag to have a whiff) - I just didn't want to gulp it down on my way to work, or sneak sips of it in between answering the same questions a million times and collecting lunch money. So here I sit, enjoying it to the fullest, and wondering if he could go back every month to bring me some of the delicious beans straight from the source. The perfect weekend brew. Mmmmm...

Oh, and they go well with four-day-old Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, about which I will post sometime later.

Please don't rat me out about the Yankee...especially to my husband!

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English 15% Upper Midwestern 10% Dixie 5% Yankee 0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Do you think I'll end up with a headache if I drink wine with my dinner of beer bread and garlic dip?


A couple of weeks ago, my friend Rhonda and I went to a Tastefully Simple party. I had never been before, but Rhonda had and she convinced me to go. She knew what was up - the consultant made all kinds of things for us to sample, like a buffet that we passed around. The beer bread was unreal (so were the cheese balls, soups, dips...but I digress). So tonight for "dinner," Rhonda and I are getting together. I'm brining the wine and a mini-loaf of beer bread, and she's making the garlic dip (also from the party). This is what happens when the husbands are away...

Mesmerized...

I think this is where I'll be this weekend. I'm more than ready for it.

Finally updated the linkage! I love all the new bloggers (or not so new...apparently I'm a little late to catch on). However, reading about the lives of all of my old friends makes me feel so, so far away. I mean, I am far away, but I feel far removed, too. And sad...Happy for everyone, and their babies, and football games, and kids doing great things - but I want to kiss those babies, go to those football games, and see those kids doing great things, you know? So, kiss your babies for me, cheer on those Ags, and keep posting about your kiddos. Some days I really need it, you know? It's like therapy...but free, and I can have a glass of wine and sit on my own couch.

It's snowing in the mountains, just an hour or so away. It's raining here, and has been for a week. They're calling for thunderstorms this evening, which would only be our second thunderstorm to see (hear?) here. It's not common. Oh, and they said hail is possible. It seems like we've skipped right over fall here and catapulted into winter in WA. It's really no wonder coffee is a bazillion dollar business here.