Aw Mouse......can't imagine craving Mickey D's!!!! I usually crave sweet gooey stuff....twizzlers are a biggie....anyway- good for you eating some yogurt. Your body can tolerate that ok??? (I thought aspartame was a problem for you). I know you don't trust your supervisors...with all the crap they allow, I would not either. Try to be positive about this- maybe they finally woke up and died right and saw that there was a good need to clean house and got rid of some who actually deserved to go. (I am an optimist.....as you can tell.) Hope you get some sleep!!!!

Yup, Pam, 6 kisses are better than a whole bag blow out....move on and don't beat yourself up over it. Really, 6 kisses are not significant in your days calories if you ate well for the rest of the day. My take on the aliens......I was under the impression that the aliens invaded the middle school kids and took over their personalities.....until 21 of course.....and any semblence of the kid you knew is gone until then. Guess it all amounts to the same. They ain't human. My pastor actually said he ascribes to his fathers theory on adolescents, that they should be locked in an attic from about 13 until 21, with a pass thru (as you would use in a jail cell) to provide food and water.
Ok he is just kidding........and has stopped making those jokes since 2 of his 3 kids have reached the age of 13. Anyway, so sorry you had such a stressful day. Hope you can get a walk in to burn off some stress. BTW- what number was I anyway???? (don't strangle me!)

My kiddies are acting up.....5th graders are off the wall.....because they will be in the middle school next year they act rather wierd from now on. Little do they know.....
So my trips home will be interesting. And loud. Where is the tylenol? My stomach is improving...slowly. Still searching for a Dr (in network) for Dd, who is of course not helping....but I did find one Md who was so kind and gave me some other names to investigate tomorrow.

I have a headache....better go get dinner on. Hi to everyone!!!!! Please, is it June yet?
Ginny

Evening Folks,
I am back! Last week I was so tired from the time change and being back in school from spring break. I was in bed early every evening. Then this weekend, I had a mountain of laundry to do on Saturday and a house to clean on Sunday. So I am finally back. I went to TOPS tonight and gained 4 3/4 pounds. But I think that has a lot to do with it is around that TOM ( should start any day now) and I had not been to TOPS in the last four weeks. So I missed the support from my TOPS pals and from you fine gals. Since I couldn't even find the engery to crawl over to the computer to chat with you all. Oh well I will just have to really work hard to take the weight back off.
Summer, glad you had a wonderful time with you dd last week on your field trip. Congrats on your grade in your night class. Keep up the great work!
Mouse, sorry to hear that your coworkers are being such pain's! Glad to hear that you were able to attend the confernence and interview with some other schools. I will keep my fingers crossed that something great will come from those interviews. Get well wishes going out your way!
Robyn, glad that you had such a wonderful visit with your hs pal. It is always great to see an old friend and get back in touch with them.
Pam congrats on being in the 170's and in a size 16/18. That is the size I am in right now. YOu are so very right about clothes that fit right now and how hard it is to figure out what to wear to work.
Paisley, sounds like you are having a wonderful time with your dance lessons. I would like to try that sometime. Just haven't gotten the nerve to do it yet?
Ginny, hope you are feeling better. I came home with a headache tonight too. My kids are slowly driving me over the edge. It is sad that I have to remind myself that we only have 33 more days of school left every morning as I am driving to school.
Well I better go and get in bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for me. I work at school until 6 and then go work out at Curves. Then come home around 7:30-8 and have to do some things around the house. But I will try to check back in with you all tomorrow. My goal for the week is to try to come on here for more support and eat better. I want to take these 4 3/4 pounds off and start to be on the losing end of things again.
Talk to you all later.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Love,
Kerry

Good morning.
I actually got some sleep last night... I think I slept for a good 4 hours without waking up! That's a good thing.
The fast food cravings are being caused by my being sick. I think I managed to tame them by getting chinese food last night. Most of that is still in the fridge, which is okay.
Ginny: the yogurt has splenda in it, not aspartame. ITs the new "low carb" stuff from Dannon. But it doesn't say that it has live cultures in it, although the high fiber stuff (which is what I have at the moment) says its yogurt. The other low-carb one says that it is "yogurt dressing", whatever that is. But, I'm still itchy!
Thanks to all for the good wishes. I think this afternoon I'll work on those applications.

Mouse- funny about the yogurt, my Dm just called me about the stuff and said she liked it too. (and she is not a yogurt fan). And the stuff she liked was the low carb/splenda stuff. I am SO glad you are feeling better. After all the nonsense that you have faced at work the past few weeks it was almost inevitable that you were going to get sick. Knock em dead with your applications. You have great credentials...... And your favorite chinese food is???

Kerry- love your attitude about those 4.75#. They will come flying off...you can figure at least half of it to TOM, right? Get a good sweat going tonite in Curves....my sister in sweat (sorry, Leslie ,I had to borrow that one!) Only 33 days.....make me ill...I have 11 weeks.....of pure torture. And BTW, congrats on getting back to TOPS. WW gives bravo stickers out to those who get back on the scale instead of running from it...coming back to a meeting after missing. You will win this battle. And I hear you about missing posting here. Each of you helps me so much.

Paisley- congrats on breaking out of the slump!!! Hey, .5# is wonderful any move down in the dumb scale is better than up. Whatever you have been doing- keep it up.....more will come off.

Monsters were ok, well sort of this am. Fortunately today (I hope) is Mad Science... or something else that has many students staying after late and they are not on the bus. So I might have my wits about me tonite. Well, maybe.
Guess I'd better go get my pm cup of tea ready.....I usually drink it just before my elementary just to make sure I do not fade.
Hope everyone is having a good day. Hi to Robyn, Pam, Summer~ hope I did not miss anyone.
Take care
Ginny

Hey!
What happened to spring? We're back to cold windy weather. Bummer. The thing that really bums me out, is that I cleaned out my closet this weekend and bagged up all the stuff that is too big. I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!
I did keep out a few things that are long sleeves, but most of it was just ridiculously big. I do not have a single dress now! They were all looking like maternity clothes. I am defintely not complaining, but at the same time, I don't have anything to wear, and can't afford to go shopping now, cause we owe uncle sam big time! But, if the temps would creep back up into the seventies I would be all right.
Kerry: We only have 30 DAYS!!!!!!!!YIPPPEEEEEEE! School days that is. Our last day of school is May 25th. We have to go until June 2nd, but that's a piece of cake. Glad you're back. I am still suffering from what feels like sleep deprevation. It seems like the alarm goes off, and I feel like I've just gone to sleep. Awful. But, I get a second or third wind about 7 and then I can't go to sleep until 11:30 or so.
Mouse: I am having all kinds of food cravings. I swear, no reason for it. Nope, McDonalds probably wouldn't be on my list, but we have Bojangles Cajun Chicken down here. Yum Yum Yum. I'm glad you were able to get some sleep. Are you going back to work Friday? We're off Friday for an optional teacher workday. I, myself, am opting not to work!
Paisley: Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!Doesn't it feel great to finally go down a pound? Are you still lifting weights? My husband and are I were thinking about starting that regularly. What are you doing for that? Seems like lately, once I break through to a certain weight I have been working for, that I sabotage myself and then have to work hard to take off the extra pound or two I picked up to get back to where I was. I had gotten down to 178.6. Don't you know we ate terribly this weekend, and by Monday morning I was regretting that. I was at 179.5 today. I also have not been drinking water like I should.
Ginny:You're a nut! That was funny what you said about your pastor. Cause we were talking at lunch, and my coteacher said that working in Middle School was a perfect form of birth control for her. We decided that kids must not get their minds back until atleast thirty. Guess who quit another job??????????????? Not worrying about it...........Just not making life easy for him around here. His car broke down last Saturday night, and it is still sitting at his friends house..........He hasn't mentioned it, neither have I. I think he is getting sick of no transportation because I will not take him anywhere. I just said....Jeez, if you were still working you'd have your car fixed already huh? He sort of growled. Funny to me.....

I just want to say that our 7th grade group is whacko...... I had another boy arrested today for marijuana. And two were suspended for having sex in the bathrooms again. They see more action that me. Ha! I have been at this school for nine years, and I swear I have never had a group like this.
Sorry if I missed anyone.............Let me read back, Summer and Robyn. Hope all is going well for you.
Pam

Hi, all.
I know I already posted once today... I'm not quite sure what to make of the fact that my team leader did my IEP updates and this last week of grades for me. I offered to come in and do it, but was told not to because they don't want what I've got. I'm probably not contagious anymore, and was DEFINITELY contagious last week when I was there because I had the sore throat on Friday. Oh well. She says she is my friend, but friends don't do what she did last week... they just don't, even if they are your team leader.
The McD cravings won out this afternoon. I literally DREAMED about a cheeseburger and fries. :sigh: My favorite chinese food? Toss up: I love shrimp with lobster sauce, but I also really like stir fried veggies, chow fun, and lo mein. I could probably eat chinese everyday, and I never order the fried stuff so its okay. I'm not a big fan of fried rice. The only fried stuff I eat are crab rangoon (sometimes), egg rolls (only 100 calories), and veyr, very rarely, shrimp toast.
I am most likely going back to school Friday. I will probably be really tired, because I was wiped after just walking across the street to the McDs earlier, and had a coughing fit when I came back. We were supposed to have Friday as a professional day (no students), but they are using it as a snow make-up.
I did one application today, will do another tomorrow. I hate moving, so that is a big negative to changing jobs in my book... but I just can't imagine doing another year with my current supervisor. And there is absolutely nobody I can go to for advice because the director has made it very clear that she won't talk about it without him being there. He does my evaluation, so I'm pretty sure that is a bad idea.

Evening Ladies,
Well I had a sort of good eating day today. I did break down and eat two Oreos with my kids for snack this afternoon. But I was good in the excerise dept. I got up this morning at 5:30 and did my two mile walking video and went to Curves this evening. Then my dh and I took a walk through town this evening when I got my chores around the house done. He made popcorn tonight and I didn't have a single piece of it. But I did put a little bit in a baggie and plan on eating with my sandwhich at lunch tomorrow.
My dh is a little mad at me right now. He asked me to clip his hair this evening. So I got the shaver out boy did I clip his hair. Seems I was so tired from my day with my kids at school, I forgot to put the blade on the clippers and gave him a really nice buzz cut. We both couldn't figure out why the pile of hair on the floor looked so large compared to the last time I cut his hair. Oh well, I guess he didn't find it as funny as I did. Guess he is never going to ask me again to cut it at 10 p.m. when I am PMS'. LOL.
Mouse glad to hear that you are feeling a little better. I love that low carb yougurt from Dannon. I eat it all the time.
Pam, we had the cold windy weather here to today. This afternoon it did warm up a little bit. I have the same problem you do with the clothes. I am going to have a yard sale at the end of the month so I can have money to buy new clothes for the summer.
Paisley Congrats on the 1 pound loss. Way to go! It must be all that dancing you are doing!
Ginny, I feel better since going back to TOPS. I think the accountability has a lot of motivation for me. So I will do better next week. Hope your little kiddo's are driving you too crazy.
Hello to Robyn and Summer, hope you are having a great week with your kids! My kids are taking turns being wacko. I am ready to ship one to the moon if he doesn't straighten up really quick.
Well it is off to bed I go. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Have a great Thursday!
Love,
Kerry

Spent hours with my inlaws who have returned from Florida for the summer.
Spent hours sitting in winter clothes in April wrapped in a blanket watching my son's baseball game......

It has been A DAYYYYYYYYYY!
going to bed under my electric blanket!

sorry to be so brief...my hands are frozen.....hopefully I will thaw under the blanket!

hope veryone is feeling better.....
my kids are WFO this week! Maybe it is because we've had summer and winter 2 days apart????

take care,
~R

Hi!
Robyn- warm up Honey!!! Hope you thawed out........How did the visit with the inlaws go?? Has Dh had any leads on a job yet??

Kerry- is that a chain saw I hear in the background????buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Got a little exhuberant with the buzzer,eh? Oh, I have done the same thing, except with a scissors, Dh telling me he only wants his hair cleaned up and I make him look military. Hey- they should know when we are PMSing might not be the best time for a hair cut! One great thing about hair, it does grow back quickly,especially in the warmer weather. And of course you know all the $$$ you save by doing it yourself. Good for you getting all that excercise in. I hear ya with needing the accountability. I too know that even if I ever reach goal and get to be lifetime, I will have to attend WW meetings forever.
Even the leader today admitted that she too is stuck with meetings forever...as long as we lose, then it is all worth it, right? I admire your determination, those #'s will come off.

Mouse- I hope you have gotten some rest in. Glad you got that Mickey D's out of your system. Who knows, maybe your body needed something from what you ate to heal better? I hope that tomorrow goes well for you. Try not to overdo it- although with the gang you teach, that might be impossible.
Glad you got an application done. No sense worrying about moving just yet, I guess (unless you have a lease to break). You really do not know what the future holds for you as of yet. I agree, moving is awful, I hate it too. Did you get any reading done while you were home resting this week?

Pam- yup, middle schoolers are great birth control....and I am going to throw 5th graders in with them. But I have to keep a sense of humor about them- otherwise I would go insane. That sure sounds like some bunch of 7th graders you have. Can't imagine all that going on- sex in the bathrooms and smoking dope- you must have the patience of a saint. And I was going to rank on you for bragging about only 30 days left, when I have almost double that.....you deserve a summer off from that bunch. Always amazes me how so many rotten apples can get into one class, and then the next class can be so totally different. It happens all the time. Sorry about Ds and his job. Yup, that car can sit for years at the friends house before I would offer to help him with it. Sooner or later he will figure this out. Ok, and was it YOU who got me hooked on these darn Kay Scarpetta novels???? Dumb things are addictive....and I have Body of Evidence and her next book all in one....am getting no housework done because when I can grab a spare moment, I read...so all those dust bunnies have your name on them, my friend! Ok, I am enjoying the book. thanks!

Kiddies were semi wacko today. I had to break up the 5th grade months ago, as they had way, way too many self control issues (or lack of said) when they sat together. So, this am I mellowed- and as a reward to one 5th grader who really used her head (she dropped a book while leaving the bus and very calmly told me about it- it had fallen under the bus and did not panic or attempt to get it) and asked me how to deal with the situation instead of doing something unsafe and stupid. So, moron me, I told her that as a reward- (and the whole bus heard the story) she could sit with anyone she wanted for a week, in any seat. So instead the entire 5 th grade goes off the wall.....and once they lose it the rest of the bus goes in the tank too. Stuff being thrown over the seats.....across the aisle...guess I'd better go back to my dictator ways tomorrow. 50 some odd more days of this garbage????? When I had our taxes done (in February) the form from HR BLock asked if any of my pay was "Military, Hazardous Duty", next year I am responding with yes.... I know you ladies work much longer hours than I do- but time on the road with these kids is so intense..... Gee I forgot, they were good yesterday!
Ok, nuff of me babbling...Summer, Paisely hope you are doing fine. I miss hearing from you. Gotta go make dinner. Have a great evening.
Ginny

Oh, not that this is worth announcing....I gained 1.6# this week, suspect some of it is water as PMS is here. And I thought I was really good this week and got lots of excercise in. Better luck next time!

Hey!
I'M OFF TODAY! Yippeee! No more kiddo's til Monday. I told my husband I was going to sleep for the next three days and only get out of bed to go to the bathroom and eat. Alas, I'm up............
I was really good on the eating yesterday. We'll see how the weekend goes. Seems like I kill myself on the weekends. I am sort of on this baked potato thing right now. Although I use fat free sour cream. I just love baked potatoes. I wish I could do no carbs. I tried that once and lost like seventeen pounds in three weeks, only to gain 6 pounds back the second I went off it. So, I guess that doesn't work for me. I was thinking of doing a no carbs weekend and then going back on my regular diet on Monday. Just to switch things up and get these pounds moving again. I'm sick of the scale not moving.
Mouse: I know what you mean about switching jobs. I pass by seven schools on my way to work. I work thirty minutes away at the opposite end of the county where I live. I just hate to change. I know the people, I know the routines etc..... So, since I am not in the same situation as you I guess I will just stay where I am. I think a lot of our people are going to leave this year because they are not happy with the present administration. We have a pretty high turn over rate every year in Middle School. Good luck, I hope you will find a place where you can be satisfied.
Robyn: I've been there with the sitting in the cold until your face is frozen and you can't feel your arms anymore. My oldest went from football to baseball. So, it seems like we were always sitting in the extreme heat or extreme cold. My youngest is not into sports, we have tried both baseball and football, and he just doesn't want to play. I really sort of miss it.
Ginny: Yes it was me who got you hooked on the Kay Scarpetta. I have to sit and wait for her next one to come out, whenever that will be....... Yes, we do have a crazy bunch this year. The great thing about teaching is you have the summer to rejuvinate, you get a new group of kids and everyday is a new day.............. I'm defintely on count down mode now. Our standardized tests are May 3,4,5. So, I have a lot to do to get them prepared in the next couple of weeks. Not, like we haven't been working towards this all year........But, I'm nervous.
Kerry: I thought about having a yard sale....The bags are currently in the middle of my bedroom floor. I need to do something about that today.
We just have no storage space, don't know where I'll put them.
Ok, I have loads of laundry to do today. Oldest son had actually cleaned the house, and cut the grass yesteraday. What's up with that? So, all I need to clean is my bedroom and bathroom. Wow. I think he is trying to get into my good graces. Ha! I didn't even ask him to do it.
By the way, if I don't come back on here anymore..........My husband has probably killed me. I lost my debit card yesterday!!!!!!!!!! I have already talked to the bank, but he was mad! Ok, well I don't know if I actually lost it yesterday, because the last time I used it was Tuesday to get gas, but I remember having it since then. Atleast nobody had used it! I am going to do a search today. The bank has it on lost status and if I don't find it today they will cancel it and reissue me a new one.
Have a good day!
Pam

I'm sorry for being gone all week, but it has been a FULL ONE. I will spare you the details except to say that in preparation for spring break, I've been working my butt off.

Good news, the 8+ hours spent on my two most recent assignments was worth it. I got a perfect score on one and lost one-half of a point on the other. So far, I have an "A." I have not learned one thing. This professor is being paid to assign us chapters in our textbook, papers, and presentations. She doesn't teach. She lets us take up half of the class with our presentations and shows a video during the second half. The students getting a masters with certification are failing. They need a teacher. When they have questions, she tells them to email her. The only reason I'm doing so well is that the material is all review. This is ridiculous.

Pam, I'm so sorry about your debit card. I sure hope it turns up. Good luck. Our temps have been in the 50's in the day and the 30's at night...still warmer than a month ago, so I'm happy.

Ginny, that sucks about the weight gain. I'm sure it is water retention. I feel like tossing my scale out the window and just rely on measurement and how my clothes fit from now on.

Robyn, my inlaws are back from Florida too. I saw them for the funeral a couple of weeks ago. It is surprising that we haven't been summoned for a visit since then.

Kerry, I think I might be able to help you ship your students to the moon. I just sent mine off. You see, we are doing a unit on SPACE, and we built a rocket ship from a gigantic box, painted it, and fitted it with a control panel. So, let me know if I can be of service!!!

On Monday, Radio Disney and Connecticut's Department of Public Health put on a presentation at my school. I work closely with CDPH and they had called months ago about coming to do an assembly. Dealing with the contact person has been a royal pain in the a**. This chick has done nothing but drive me nuts with all of her miscommunications. We agreed on a 1:30 assembly, and she kept saying we agreed on 1pm. Each time I would correct her, and she would apologize. Well, guess what time Radio Disney arrived at my school? 11:30am to prepare for a 1pm assembly. She didn't show up till 1:30 herself. She kept asking me for directions, but wouldn't give me a starting point. I told her to do Mapquest, but she ended up faxing my secretary the Friday before anyway. She gave my secretary the wrong fax number and had to do Mapquest. Why she couldn't do that in the first place, I will never know. Basically, she would ask me what I thought about various things and then do the opposite. AAAAAHHHH!!! Hopefully she will get involved with some other preschools and leave me be next year.

I have 40 more days of school left. Tomorrow is the first day of spring break. I am sooooo ready for the break. Yes, I have work for my grad class to deal with and school work, so it won't be all play. But, just not having to get up at the crack of dawn, shower, fix breakfast, make lunches, get a 7 year-old fashion-conscious girl ready, and fly out the door will be a welcome break. Once we get back from vacation, it is all downhill to summer. PAST TIME TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!! I got up early this morning and did 15 minutes of abdominal exercises. After school I worked out at the gym. I dropped the Valentine's Day/Easter weight I had put on. I am not 100%, but this week when I will actually have a moment to think about something besides my job, my class, Brownies, cheerleading, gymnastics, field trips, assemblies, bulletin boards, etc., maybe I can get 100% focused on ME. I really want to go to the beach this summer without being totally self-conscious. I don't need to look perfect, I just want to avoid being embarrassed for another summer...you know, comfortable in my own skin.

Take care everyone!

Hi, everyone.
I actually wound up staying home today... the decongestant knocked me for a loop, and I haven't slept. Between it and the codeine, I'm wired for bear! And my lovely supervisor... what did he do? Was he sympathetic and supportive? Did he send me flowers or a get well card? Heck no! He reported me to HR for being out more than 3 days! I have to fill out paperwork for the family & medical leave act (which since I was simply sick, I don't qualify for), and if it doesn't fall under that if I'm out anymore this quarter they can give me a written warning for attendance. Uhm, hello? I don't get it. I had 103 hours of sick leave (I'm down to 63 now), and 40+ hours of comp time. I have a doctors note (I got my doctor to fax it to me and then I emailed them a copy of the fax!). I didn't disappear off the face of the planet, I was responsible and did what I was supposed to do.
He just... there was no need for him to do what he did. I know he did it to my TA last year also, when she had surgery, but I bet he doesn't do it to some of the other staff that is out all the time. I talked to several staff and they all said I sounded horrible, even yesterday.
Just reaffirms my decision to apply to other schools.
As for reading: yes, I did. I finished the new Pern novel, and re-read some old teacher favorites. I have a collection of books by special ed teachers or other teachers that I read when I need to remind myself why exactly I do this... Torey Hayden, Mary MacCracken, others. I buy them used a lot of the time and keep them around. It reminds me that there are other teachers out there getting into trouble like I do, and still managing to keep it together.
I noticed that some of my clothing was absurdly big on me this week... not sure why, because I've been eating junk all week. I was running a fever for most of the week, so that might have something to do with it. I dunno.
As for days left... June 20th. And then I'm back July 5th. I'll have to work for my current school this summer so I can get my tuition reimbursement.

Hi everyone!
It's very early here and everyone is still asleep. I would still be asleep but the cat was meowing like crazy to go outside, then the dog decided she too wanted to go outside.Blah......... I may just crawl back in bed, who knows.
Summer: Yeah for spring break to you !!........Sounds like you have a busy busy week anyway. Still haven't found my debit card, but atleast nobody can go crazy using it so I guess I'll just chalk that up to me being a scatterbrain. I'm lucky, nine year old boys are defintely not fashion conscious. Mine has no sense of style. If he picked is own clothes out for school, it would be green sweat pants and a red t shirt. Sort of glad, that he doesn't really care right now, because before long it will be different.
Mouse: I swear your supervisor is crazy. I've read one of Tori Haydens books. I think One child? Does that sound right? It was really sad, but good. Congrats on the clothes being loose. I feel like I am spinning in circles with weight loss lately. I weighed myself yesterday, and was at 178. But, then we had pizza last night............Oh well, whatever. I wish I could get back into some regular sort of excercise routine. I've been excercising some days and skipping others. I feel like I am getting sick. I am not sick, but I feel like I am trying to get bronchitis or something. Just don't feel quite right. Maybe it's just all the pollen. I hope that is all. I don't have time to be sick now.
Ginny: Sorry about your weight gain. I am sure it is just water retention.
I have gained half a pound! I was at 178.5 and today I am at 179. URGHHHHH.
Hope you all have a great day today!
Pam