gooooooood friday morning to ya!

ds, 12 years 12 months has gone on a field trip to Washington, D.C. .......had to get him to his school by 5:30 this morning.... I've been worried sick about this trip! (Have you listened to Mouse and her trip troubles??) He is intelligent. He is also nearly 13. Anyway...I've eaten most of the kitchen and began on the living room walls.... AND I've grown a lovely THING on my lips for my worries! ARGHH! HE WILL BE FINE and I'm sure that he will EVEN have some fun! Letting the strings go is HARRRRRD!
(Gotta pick him up at 8 tonight and then he has his first parade with the marching band and those damn annoying drums tomorrow! He thinks he is all that and a bag of chips! :) )

Anywho.... Hope you're feeling better Mouse! The rest of you have a wonderful wonderful Friday! I'm going to try NOT to think about *MY* baby! LOL :)

take care,
meee

Robyn!!!!!! Get busy.....clean house.....Christmas shop.........do something, but stay out of the kitchen!!!! (he will be just fine).

Kerry- I owe you a biggie......if I can keep this up thru the weekend, my scale should be down next week. Thanks for helping me to stay honest!

Mouse and Summer......you ok?
Gotta go back for my afternoon..............what a busy day.
See ya !
Ginny

Blew it this evening....Attila the Hun came back to visit my house for the evening......oh, I should be used to this but some days it is tougher than others.
Oh well.
Got all the kiddies home fine, they were not even all that bad! What a busy day, between runs I got to both the Mall and Walmart.....not too bad an accomplishment, being as I have only 4 hours off.....the stores are a half an hour away, and I had almost an hour at home to put stuff away. I put 5 miles on my piggies today (wore the pedometer) and also did the 2 mile tape this am, so all is not lost.
Guess I'll head upstairs and sew some catnip mice for RC (neighbor grows catnip, and I have lots of spare fabric.....she has to have something under the tree too, right? Ok, can you tell I am losing it here......bet you are glad I am not driving your kids to school!).
Hope everyone is doing ok.......see ya!
Ginny

Hey....

kid is home. sat and waited outside of the middle school for in excess of 1.5 hrs in the lovely cold dark. other 2 buses came in together, dumped kiddos and left... his bus was 35 minutes behind. story goes that their driver didn't think that he qualified for HOV lanes and so he took the normal lanes and enjoyed the rush hour creep. i've never heard a more silent group of 7th graders and various adults as they got off the last bus in. exhausted and frustrated. kiddo enjoyed the trip. came home with more than 1/2 his money! said the most interesting thing he saw was a homeless guy playing a great rhythm on various boxes, buckets, trashcans, etc... "mom, he was a very talented musician!" (I was touched that he saw the man's talents not appearance and whatnot) he came home and went right to bed!

i just erased a longggg rant about school.... i wish this was a private spot without so many people reading what the "whiney teachers" are complaining about.... so.....summer you are quite right about those "perfect mothers"..... and today... school was wonderful today. my cherubs were delightful. and i absolutely adore wonderful supportive concerned parents..(could you tell my teeth were clenched as I said it?!)

....stay out of the catnip, girl! Mousie, ??? dr???? Summer, we've missed you! Kerry, you are such a great inspiration to me! Keep going girl!

(((hugs))) and very SLOOOWWWW weekends to everyone!
parade and school Christmas party tomorrow... yippeee skippeee!
take care
r.

Morning Ladies,
Boy was yesterday a long day! We had a bomb threat at our school and had to evacate. That was a lot of fun! Telling your students to get their coats and get ready to take a little hike up to the church on the next street over from the school and not being able to tell them what was going on. Thank God our wonderful custordian brought her Explorer over to my building and told my kids to get in it and took them up to the church. I pushed my one student's wheelchair up there to meet them. So I had a nice chilly hike! I was so tired and worn out by the time I got home last night, I didn't make it in to Cuvres because I laid down and took a nap. So hopefully today I will be able to make it in there this morning.
Robyn, I am glad that your ds had a wonderful trip and could see the talents of the homeless man and not his outward appearance. I hope that you have a nice wonderful relaxing weekend too. Enjoy yourself today at the parade and school Christmas party. Our's is in two weeks on a Thursday night right afterschool.
Ginny, I caved today at lunch. One of the sub's had been with us for a long time and the teachers in her dept. got to gather and had a carry in lunch for her. One of the teachers made homemade chicken and noodles and homemade rolls. So I had a big bowl of that for lunch. But I plan to watch my diet closer this weekend and Monday and Tuesday. So hopefully I will have a loss. Glad to hear that you got some Christmas shopping done yesterday. I am going next Friday with my dh, since I took a personal day to do that.
Mouse, hope your day was better today. Sorry you seem to be getting dumped on at school with a lot of crap. Keep your chin up! Hope you can get some much needed Mouse time in this weekend.
Summer hope all is well with you! Miss you!!! Please come back and chat with us.
Well I better go and get ready for the trip to the gym.
Have a wonderful day!
Kerry

My morning just sucked yesterday. I really, really, really hate the people I work for. They aren't even human. They can't be human. They just can't be. The first thing out of my supervisor's mouth yesterday morning was that the kid that acted like a twit on the field trip on Tuesday is "having panic attacks and not coming to school/refusing school because of what you did to him". The phrase "I investigated this thoroughly, so I know its true" was in there somewhere too. The kid hasn't missed a day of school: he was here WEdnesday and Thursday. I have his classwork from Thursday and showed it to my supervisor. His mother is saying I'm not following/meeting his IEP, which is total BS. This is REALLY what happened: his mother called the case manager (a brandy-spanky new teacher who isn't certified yet, doesn't have any special ed background, and was a 1:1 assistant at our school until August when we were short teachers, so got a field promotion!) and complained about how I treated her darling. He didn't know what to do about it because mom was saying that I wasn't meeting his accommodations and services, so instead of coming to me (remember, brandy-new teacher...actually thinks department chairs and administrators are there to help him!), he goes to my department chair. Guess what? She is ALSO an uncertified special ed teacher, and has been teaching maybe 3-4 years. He told her that he didn't know how to approach me because he'd sent me emails telling me how to work with the kid (he didn't...there had been a discussion about the kid having pseudoseizures in GYM class, which I finally chimed in on in support of the kid maybe having REAL seizures and not faking them), and now he wasn't sure what to do. Okay. My department chair heard this, "I don't know how to approach Mousie, and I've sent her emails telling her what to do and she won't do it." Did she come to me? Nope! Where'd she go? Our administrator. What did he hear of the whole story, "This kid's mom is calling the county that is paying for his attendance because Mousie isn't following his IEP, the mom is also going to call one of the principals and complain about Mousie's class, and the case manager can't talk to Mouse about it because she won't listen."
:eek: :rolleyes: :mad: :mad: :cry:
There were some other things in there, including the lack of goals for my new student's point sheet and that I didn't take him by the hand and introduce him to his new teachers on Tuesday morning. Hello? YOU... yes, YOU, my supervisor, SCHEDULED ME OFF CAMPUS!!!! I can't be in TWO places at one time? Remember what happened on Tuesday? The lift-van debate? Having to completely change the field trip so that we could still go because YOU didn't do YOUR job this summer???? How many times did I report that I told them transportation was going to be an issue? I'm not doing anymore field trips. Not one. Ever. He wants the survey kids to go, HE needs to plan them.
And throughout all of this they kept telling me that I can't communicate. Part of this was that my department chair interrpreted the following statement, "I don't know if X will be permitted to go on anymore field trips with us because we'll need 3 staff if he goes." as me saying, "X can't go on anymore field trips with us."
Not what I said, is it? And she refused to admit that she might be wrong and kept insisting, "Do you want me to pull up that email?" YES! Pull it up! Print it out! READ IT! You certainly didn't read it the first time!
And if one more person tells me "its not about you, its about doing the best for the student", I'm absolutely going to wig out and scream. Throughout all of this, they kept saying, "Okay, now let it go... its not about you its about the kid and what is best for him." No, you've made it about me. ALL about me. You're thinking I'm going to take the fall for this and let you write me up or other stupid.... NO NO NO NO!
And then my supervisor finished it off by taking away my next Friday (Dec. 10) off. Its Hanukkah. I had plans to be with my family. I was also going to Philadelphia. I asked for the day off in October. He forgot I asked for it off, though... and allowed my TA to take the entire week next week off. So he yanked my Friday back when he realized what he had done and told me I had to find the coverage for the classes or I couldn't be off... or tell my TA that she had to come in.
I wound up not using any of my comp time yesterday: I was at that damn school dealing with this until 1:00 in the afternoon. I left at 1:15, and through some miracle made it to Northern VA for my nutrionists appointment by 2:30. She was very nice, and she agrees that there is probably something screwy metabolicly/hormonely... her advice was to eat 100 grams of protein per day, more fiber, any non-caffinated, no calorie liquid (way more than I have been drinking), and no fewer than 2000 calories per day.
Then I went to an awesome restaurant with my best friend and her husband... mediterrean/italian. They serve hummus with bread at the table, then I had sweet potato soup and eggplant with cheese and tomato sauce (it was pizza, but all I ate till I got home was the eggplant part). It was great. Then my friend and I went to Borders and talked for a couple of hours. I think I've decided that if I don't have a nibble for a job in a decent district in PA, then I'll do one of two things: buy a place in PA and rent it back to my mother and grandmother, or if I can work the numbers (she's going to help me out) buy a condo and go back to Northern VA. I can't take anymore of the crap at my school. I got treated this way in some aspects by other principals and supervisors, but some of the stuff they pull now would never ever happen in a public district because the union would sit on them.
I was hoping to hang on another year and do the whole grad school thing, but I'll find some other way to pay for it. I just can't do this anymore. I can't handle it. I'm tired of being told I don't go the extra mile, don't do this right or that right. I told my supervisor that was bull, because you can't have the comp time I have for NOT going the extra mile.
Sorry this is so long.....
:mouse:

Hugs go out to you Mousie!! I can not believe the crap they are trying to pull on you. That is bullsh@#! I can't believe that they would even think that way about you when you go out of your way to help your students. They are the ones with the communication and listening problem. I feel so bad for you. I am glad that your nutritionist appointment went well and that you were able to go out with your best friend. Hope your weekend is a good one so far.
Robyn, Ginny and Summer how is your weekend going?
I made it to the gym this morning. I put in a good workout. Came home and jumped in the shower real quick. My dh asked me to go out to lunch with him. So I had to hurry up and get ready before he left for lunch. Came home and his niece came over with her newborn baby boy and 3 year-old daughter. So we had a nice visit with them. Her newborn is such a cutie pie. So that is how my Saturday went. I think here in a few minutes, I might go ride the excerise bike for a little bit and read a book while I am riding.
Talk to you all later.
Take care,
Kerry

I actually had a good Saturday night. I didn't do much today during the day because I was dispatcher (I filled in for the regular dispatcher because he had a wedding to go to), and then had swim lessons tonight.
I went to Target and bought some toys for the swim classes: Target has a whole $1.00 section at the front of the store with cheap trinkets. Some good stuff, too, though... I found cat toys (plastic balls with little jingly bells), and they FLOAT, so we used them for the little kids at swimming, also some squeezy toys (more pricey, so I bought way more balls in different colors than squeezy toys), and some plastic toddler spoons. They're advertised as "throw away plastic spoons for baby on the go", $2.49 for 12... so I'd never buy them to feed a kid, but they float and they're in rainbow colors so perfect for swimming!
The toddlers I had, and the 3-5 year olds LOVED going after them. Then I had the kid that always wigs out at lessons. He has private lessons and his usual instructor wasn't there tonight. He's seriously special needs, ADHD and very very smart. So they gave him to me. He's usually really bad for new instructors they said, but he was really good for me. I made up a point sheet that showed him what we were going to do, when we were going to do it, and what he needed to do to earn 10 minutes in the therapy pool.
Then I ran to the grocery store to pick up some more stuff with more protein in it... They had Edamame on sale for $1.00!!! :) Trader Joes has it too, but its more expensive. I have to shell this, but for $1? ;)
I wanted pork chops, but they only had itty bitty packages and they didn't look very good. Small ones, too. So, I bought boca burgers and moringstar farms chik patties instead.
I'm going to go eat my edamame now, and my egg whites. ;)
:mouse:

Good Afternoon Ladies,
Mouse sounds like you had a wonderful day with no or little stress. Good for you. I am glad to hear that your swimming lessons went so well last night. Sounds like you were a hit with the one boy who gets private lessons. I bet that made you feel good. Let's hope your week starts out like your Saturday was for you, great!
Ginny, hope the challenge is still working for you? Yesterday I drank tons of water and watched what I ate very carefully. Since I had that little slip on Friday. I also got a 1/2 hour in at Curves in the morning and in the evening rode my excerise bike for a 1/2 hour too. So I am really hoping to have a lose this coming Tuesday. Hope you have one too.
Robyn, how was your parade and Christmas party yesterday? We had the Christmas parade here in town yesterday. My niece and I took her 3 year-old daughter and newborn son down to see it. It is nice to live so close to the parade route.
Summer hope all is well with you. We have missed chatting with you. Come back so please.
Well I need to talk myself in to do a little school work this afternoon. Plus go to the grocery store. Maybe I should take a nap before I dig into my chores for the afternoon, since I am feeling a little tired right now.
Talk to you all later. Have a great Sunday!
Kerry

Okay, I know I have been MIA, and I am sorry. I have been so friggin busy and overwhelmed. I am the chairperson for the "Everything Christmas" committee, which includes the pageant, the decorating, ornament designs for the 8 ft. tree, the holiday party, yada yada yada. On top of it, I was asked by the director of early childhood to represent our city up in Hartford and be an assessor for the accreditation of one of the preschools. (It is a huge honor, and not something it is wise to say, "no" to, but a huge burden.) I will be in Hartford for three days next week, and my DD is freaking out. Because of this I am opting out of attending the staff party since I don't want to spend an unnecessary night out of my house while DD is feeling so needy for mommy. Also, my principal decided that she would conduct my biannual observation this coming week. If she would only wait till January, but she refuses. Okay, the director of early childhood is sending some consultant to my classroom tomorrow to photograph my room as well as the children and I in action. Again, this is a huge honor, but the timing sucks. We've just pulled down all of the autumn stuff and are in the process of putting up winter/holiday stuff, but are not anywhere near done. I have an empty bulletin board out in the hallway with no work to put on it. Thankfully, the classroom walls are mostly done. These are just the highlights. I have so much to do this month what with Sunday School teaching...a birthday party for baby Jesus...on and on and on. Let's not forget that I have two jobs and a family who all need me to do the normal stuff. Let's not forget that Christmas and all of its demands are around the corner. I have to write my Christmas letter. DD has to sell girl scout cookies. On and on and on.

You all won't be seeing much of me. Please understand that I don't have much choice now.

Summer: Busy as it sounds, some of these are definite professional feathers for your cap! :) That is kinda nice, when you have time to breathe! I hope your aide is getting her rear to school to help you?

I am ready for the week, I think. The library didn't have any of the videos I wanted except Bob the Builder... so I'll show those to my first period class, and keep hammering on the safety. They're going to be upset because my TA is out all week.
She loves teaching them, so I give her a free hand with them, even if she does things very differently from me.

The rest of the groups are going to brainstorm safety slogans for construction, and then design/make the posters. I have card-stock, picked up pencil crayons at the store, so we should be good to go. I'm thinking about putting them in teams of 2, but I'm not sure about that yet. With luck, some of the videos will be in by Wednesday so I can preview and do questions for them on Friday when I'm not there.

I am still upset/ticked off about what happened on Friday; I'm actually wondering if staying in the classroom is worth it anymore.

:mouse:

Sorry not to get personal at all.....and there is so much to read from each of you this weekend. I am a major league burnout this evening.......snow this afternoon made the pm trip a headache plus.
See ya tomorrow.
Ginny

Evening Ladies,
Oh my God I think it is going to be a long three weeks until Christmas break. Everyone's kids at school today was over the edge. My kids' were over the edge with no returning point. I am going to be a busy lady this week. I have three reeval Multi-factored Evaluation meetings tomorrow afternoon and a committee meeting right after school. Plus I am to work my 2 hours of intervention. Then leave there and go to TOPS and then go to my stepsons' ball game. So I don't know if I will be able to come on at all tomorrow or not. Wednesday I work from 7:45-6:15, go work out and then go to Wal-mart to get the stuff for our school's breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning. Thursday I only work until 4:30. But then I have to get ready for my sub on Friday and do my lesson plans and copies for the following week. Friday is my personal day, so I can go Christmas shopping with my dh. Saturday I have to be at school by 7 am and work until 11 or 11:30. Then go to my sdd's two ball games that day. Sunday is looking like a day of relax for sure for me. LOL. So if I don't check in much this week atleast you will know why.
So after all that, how was everyone's day today? Are we all ready for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season?
Ginny, I am keeping my fingers crossed for a loss tomorrow night. I have been really careful of what I have eat this week so far and have worked out every day for a half hour or an hour. When is your WW meeting? I hope you do well also.
Mouse, I hope your day was a lot better than how you ended your week.
Robyn, did you survive your partying from this weekend?
Summer, sounds like you will really deserve your Christmas break this year. Remember to take time out for your self when you can. How is SB coming along?
Well I best sign off and get busy with my chores before crashing for the evening. Talk to you all later.
Take care,
Kerry

Wow! Everybody is sure busy!
Ginny: It may please (or scare you!) to know that one of my homeroom students walked in to the classroom today and said, "We're going to have a blizzard on December 15. I guarentee it!" I asked, but then I was sorry I had, because I couldn't make head or tail out of the answer.
Kerry: Busy!!!! I'm glad that I'm not so busy. I still need to get my mother's Hanukkah gift. I know what she wants, an iPod, but I can't afford that. She wants it for books on tape/CD, so there isn't much point in getting her a smaller on because that won't hold a whole book. So I'm clueless. I bought and mailed my grandmother's already: she loves Red Lobster and to eat out, so this year I gave her a gift certificate to Red Lobster. My father asked for an electronic organizer, but I can't find one that isn't a PDA like mine, and he doesn't want that. He just wants an address book thingy.
My friend David got a Build-A-Bear because he is SO hard to buy for that he didn't get anything last year or this year for his birthday... He's a computer programmer, and helps me out of all my really sticky issues, so the bear was named Fuzzy Logic. :)
I absolutely REFUSE to buy gifts for the people I work with except my TA (and she's easy too... she loves to shop, so a gift certificate to a department store usually pleases her).
HEY! You guys can help me out with this one... My Hanukkah Harry (errr, Secret Santa!) person wants a contempory Christian CD. Which one do I get him?! You can't return CDs usually, so I wasn't sure if I shouldn't just give him a gift certificate to a place with lots of choices. His other requests were diet coke and chocolate, so those are easy. My other friends and I seem not to exchange gifts... I'm never quite sure why, but we just don't.
Hanukkah starts this Wednesday at sundown. Really tough for me to get home by then unless I skip the gym, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. :(
My week didn't really start off better... I got accused of something again today, and had to go PROVE that I hadn't done what they said. Thank goodness it was pretty easy... I was accused of writing a kid up twice last week and not telling his team or his parent. But I didn't write any of the referrals I was accused of writing, and for one of them, I was off-campus! I am so glad our resource room logs all referrals and stuff by time and date! It was easy to prove I wasn't here the days this happened. But I still didn't get an apology!

:mouse:

Oh... and for your laughing pleasure: my class's assignments today were to come up with "construction shop safety slogans" in teams. They're going to use their slogans to design 2 mini-posters on Tuesday and Thursday... Some of the slogans include:
1. Take off your rings, and protect your bling blings!
2. Hard head? No! Hard HAT! (one of the assistants accused a kid of having a hard head today and not listening...)
3. Its not hocus pocus: Keep your focus!
4. Don't you dare be unaware!
5. Wear the shoes, or you'll be singing the blues!
6. The mind boggles: Better wear your goggles

Those are the ones that stuck in my mind. There were many, many others.
I told them that the mini-posters that came out nicely would be laminated and we'd hang them in the construction shop for the teacher out there.
:mouse:

Hey ya'll! I've just finished helping the oldest with his Civics test prep. He also had BoyScouts tonight (I help the leader with record keeping and have to stay for the duration of the meetings!) ....prefaced by the worlds most rapidly thrown together dinner... prefaced by the world's most speedy run through the grocery prefaced by the worlds S-L-O-W-E-S-T and LONGESSSTTT day at school!

Sounds like every one has recooperated from their weekends of "NO SCHOOL"! Isn't it amazing how quickly we get RIGHT back to crazy business of our "work life"???

Dear me, Summer, please don't burn your candle right down thru the middle! SuperWoman that I know you are deserves to take a breather every now and again! We miss you when you are MIA...but totally understand! Visit as you can!

Mousie, sometimes you've gotta change your location. After 17 years, I had to! I'm sorry that things are so crazy where you are currently! Emotional exhaustion is a horrible drain on your body and psyche! Can you widen your search area? You have to get out of where you are!

Kerry, WHAT kind of sports are your stepkids playing NOW?! Basketball?! Right now we only have Scouts and various Band practices to "enjoy"! We sit out of sports for the majority of the winter! Yahooo! You also need to take a breather every now and again!

Ginny, SNOW?! YUCK! I am sure that you deserve your downtime tonight! Altho I sure missed your mouth! :) Hope the white stuff disappears in time for your morning run tomorrow!

I'm heading off to redo my plans for the week. Not sure WHAT I did....but I printed out the first full week of November instead of the first full week of December! Wow! Very impressive! Glad I didn't have any visitiors in my room today snooping around my plan book! I realized that things weren't "right" just prior to the kidlests arrival! Good thing I've got my stuff "planned" in my head too!

Ya'll take care.......... hope your Tuesdays are calm, cool, collected and fully clothed! (Sorry...couldn't resist!)
meee

Mouse,
The slogans have me giggling! They are great! I bet the posters will be great!
:) I think my favorite is the one about taking off your ring to save your bling bling!
You can tell them THIS ring story....
My parents had been married for 20+ years. My father had never had his wedding band off. He worked at the local Shipyard. He was "grandfathered" about many of the "safety policies" as he had worked at the yard for so long. One afternoon, his ring got caught on a piece of equipment. His hand was pulled into the machine right by the ring. Had it not been for a fellow coworker, he would have lost more than the wedding ring and 4 weeks out of work as his hand healed! The ring cut his finger down to the bone. It was horrible looking AND he can no longer wear a wedding ring at all on that finger as he has horrible scars and extra tissue! YUMMY, huh?!

He also refused to wear the "modern" steel toed shoes! No one said he was a genius! Good news is ... He retired from the shipyard with his feet intact! Not because there weren't close calls tho!

Anyway..... maybe your kidlets will enjoy a true gore story!

enough of my mouth for now!
...and I've GOT to get the RIGHT pages printed for my plan book!
Night.....

Wow, thanks, Robyn... I'll have to share those stories with some of the boys. With one class, I kept pounding on, "If you aren't safe in here, you will NOT EVER get to the shop." because a whole bunch of them really, really want construction for their industry.

But you're right: I need to leave. They just blame me for stuff I didn't even have a part of. I can't figure out hwy that case manager told the parent I wrote her son up when I had nothing to do with either one. I was a witness to one incident, but my department chair said she'd handle it... she filled out the paperwork, and put my name on it. :rolleyes: And the other one, like I said, I was OFF CAMPUS. I knew my TA sent the kid to resource, and I knew it was because he was disruptive (we code our grading sheet because the kids get 10 points per day toward a "workplace/professional behavior" grade... that is 50% of their grade in my class because we're teaching work-skills), but I don't know anything else.
:mouse:

Now howcome everyone is here on the week that I am so darned busy I can't see straight!!!! Good to skim the posts......that is aboat all I am up to now, with this collosal headache.
BTW, I have thursday am off.....have to take Ds to the Dr, you can bet I will go for a long walk......and enjoy a sane morning (if there is such a thing).
Wish I could get personal..gotta go with mini notes.......Mouse, as for your Christian friend, CBD (Christian book distributors is the company name) is a catalog/online place, they have everyone.......and also gift certificates. You could also try a CD called WOW2004 (I think) which is sort of a best of the year thing in contemporary music. Kerry- I kind of blew the challenge for 2 days.......hope to get to WW this evening......but have gotten lots of workouts in. Hope your WI goes great! (I am sure it will!) Robyn- sorry about your long........slow.........day........love your comment about having a "clothed" day.......Summer....you doing ok?
Monsters were ok, or sort of today.....I am pooped. Hope you are having a great Tuesday!
Ginny

Well, I'm home and early too. The fog here is so thick and so bad they let us go before 3:30, and on a staff-meeting day, too. From my classroom, I could not see the building across the street, and the highways were already starting to pile up with accidents. I came home instead of the gym, which bites. I only have half a mile left to swim before I'm finished with going around Key West. I really wanted to be done today, but the fog is really bad. And, honestly, I needed to do laundry anyway since I put it off last weekend, and wasn't home the weekend before that. Its been almost a month!
The kids were absolute MONSTERS today. My 4th period class is the most severe kids anyway, but they were just insane. It was like they completely lost their minds. They had this thing going where one would say "balls" (and yes, they DID mean THAT kind!) and another would fill in a curse word. It took 25 minutes to get one of them out of the classroom to the resource room, and then resource sent him back in 10 minutes. He came back doing the same thing, too.
Another one tried to fake slap me and intimidate me into letting him do what he wanted. After he tried that slap I just looked at him, and he's shorter than me, and said, "Out. Get OUT. Go." Which is not normal... I try very hard to keep them in the classroom most of the time. While that was going on, two other kids decided now would be a good time to wrestle. I told resource that they should just move down to my classroom for that period.
Ginny: Thanks for the tip. I'm going to go check out the catalog. I'm thinking a gift certificate is the best route to go, because I don't have any idea what he has.

:mouse:

Mouse.......guess this whole month the kids are going to be monsters.......they get so excited about the holidays (BTW, Happy Hanukkah!). Guess the fog helped you out, sent them home sooner!!!!! (ok, bad weather is murder for me, good for you!)
Good luck with CBD- I have dealt with them for years and they are good to do business with.
My brats were not too bad......but the same with the preholiday excitement. I live from tylenol to tylenol........did not get to WW, either tomorrow, Thursday or Friday...depends on how my other errands go. Have to get my BP checked tomorrow.....how bad do you think that is??????(I am on meds).
Gotta go help Dd study for Science. Sorry for being so terse.
Have a great nite!
Ginny

I spent 2.5 hours at the hairdressers tonight....got my hair colored and cut and styled and spent the time "talking girl talk".... ohhhhh it was wonderful! I've been going to the same salon for about 8 years.....sooo when I walk in it is sorta like "Norrrrm!" It was JUST what I needed!

BUTTTTTTT....while I was enjoying myself.... the rest of the world went on with out me and NOW I'm behind!

Not enough time to get personal tonight....

Mouse....I'm with Gin....Get a WOW2004 CD and call it a gift!

gotta run
take care

Hi Gals,
I am proud to say that I lost 1 1/2 pounds this week. So that takes care of the 1 1/2 pounds that I gained last week. LOL So Ginny thanks for the mini challenge. It really helped me. So I hope that it helps you as well. :)
My day went okay. My meetings went well all things considered. Our electric went out due to the high winds and rain we had. So we spent the last two hours of school without an electric. So that meant I was able to go home two hours earlier than normal since they cancelled the afterschool program. Came home to veg for a little bit and then went to TOPS for a few minutes of the meeting and than off to the boys' basketball game. Then I came home to watch the Biggest Loser. I love that show. Then I was motivated to workout afterwards. So I am hoping to have another loss next week.
Ginny I think we are all going to be very busy for the next few weeks. I know my kids are starting to drive me nuts. So I can just image how it must be trying to drive these little kiddos home all hyper. Hats off to you, sweetie! No wonder you have been having headaches lately. Hope you are able to find some time this week for you. Good luck with your weigh in.
Mouse,I agree with Robyn and Ginny about the gift certificate. It is always hard to buy gifts for co-workers when you really don't know their tastes that well. I have to buy two presents for two parties next week. One is for my TOPS gift exchange, were we are going to play The Right Family Christmas game. I have to come up with a $10.00 gift. It is hard when the majority of the group is older ladies in their late 50's to early 60's. They don't excerise that much so I can't buy a working out video or a set handheld weights. Any suggestions? I hope that your day goes more smoothly tomorrow. I loved the slogans your kids came up with yesterday. I bet their posters turned out great today. You will get to swim that 1/2 mile tomorrow. Enjoy your swim.
Robyn, glad that you got to pamper yourself tonight. It is always nice when I get to do something out of the ordinary for me. My stepkids are playing basketball this winter. My dh is the girls' coach for my sdd's team and the boy's coach for my 2 sds' teams. So it makes for an interesting next couple of months. I think the kids are going to play a sport for each season of the year from now until they are out of school in 9 years and 11 years. So I am going to have to get use to the constant running around from practices and games. But I still make time for my workouts in all this confusion.
Summer hope all is well with you. How did your visit and picture taking going? Well just think only 16 more days until Christmas. So your maddness will come to an end soon. But probably not soon enough for you.
Well I am off to bed for the evening. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Take care and have a great Wednesday!
Kerry

Ok, I am here to keep myself from devouring every piece of junk food I can possibly find, make, beg for or scrounge up........

Robyn- congrats on the hair cut! (doesn't it feel so good!!!!) I am jealous.......but happy for you. Sometimes that down time/girl talk is just what you need. And usually the humor at those places is pretty hysterical......what you get when you can let your hair down, literally!

Kerry- congrats on the 1.5#!!!!!!!That is wonderful, and I am so happy for you. Glad I could be a wee part of it.....even if just to provide some incentive. As far as your gift goes, how about a Healthy Exchanges cookbook (or WW or whatever.....). Also, there are some great videos for more mature individuals, but if this is a grab bag and you do not know who will get your gift that might not work. (collage.com has tons of excercise videos, and many for the older ages). What about a gift package of herbal teas or flavored coffees??

Well, my day was ok.....the normal running around and I was actually looking foward to a sane nite (tomorrow I am supposed to take Ds to the Dr for his hand). Then at 5, Dh calls with the news that he had an accident and the truck is totalled. He is fine.....thank the Lord, so the rest is just fluff, really. But he is just such a regulation crab right now....I had to pick him up from where he was. And thought that in doing so it might make us late to get Ds from bball practice. So, I did what I thought was the right thing to do..called school to tell them that maybe we will be a few minutes late getting Ds and that everyone is ok.........(hey, to me that was the logical thing to do, right??) Well, he is proud....and upset that he had an accident (and the more I hear him talk about it some of it had to do with the way he drives, I find him a bit aggressive, but then with what I do all day, I cannot be aggressive at all, as a matter of fact, my family teases me constantly about how much of a non risk taker I am behind the wheel.......gee, I hope none of you are english teachers, this is the most awful runon sentence ever!) So ~ I got chewed out for even mentioning that he had an accident. Now he insists on going to get Ds and drive him to baseball tryouts (from basketball.........). I would rather have gone instead of him but he is so proud....ah, testosterone is a wonderful thing. So, here I sit a burnout......Dd's car gets out of the body shop either tomorrow or Friday. (ironic, right?)
Anyway, enough babbling from me........with the car situation now, I wonder if I will get to WW this week.....might have to skip again, which I have never done before. And now the major question..........next week I have an appointment to have a "Robyn" done for my hair- cut and colored.......have had the appointment for 4 weeks.....I am considering skipping the color part to save $$ (now that that is becoming an issue with all this car stuff!). What do you ladies think??
Off to take some tylenol........BTW, my blood pressure was great this am 112/74, resting pulse 62..........both are probably orbital now!
See ya later.
Ginny

Hey!

Gin, here are some (((hugs))) for you! Sounds as if you could use a few tonight! I'm
sorry that the demolition derby is continuing for your family! Thank goodness that your dh was unhurt!
.....about your hair...... I say GO do it! Is the amount of $ that you would save REALLY going to make THAT much of a difference? I sound like a spoiled girl.... I went years without having my haircut in order to save money and time.... mmmm.... didn't save the world...the money saved was NOT noticed or appreciated by my own Attila...AND I felt horrid cause I looked so haggard.... And with your family wrecking cars.... well.... I know it sounds horrible....but I think it would do your blood pressure some good to go sit and be pampered for just a little while!

Kerry, Congrats on that loss! You are a true inspiration! Keep up the great work! Enjoy all those sports practices and games! :P

Mouse, congrats regarding your KeyWest swim! :) good for you! Hope today was idiot free at work! REALLY... you need to leave! I am LOVING my new job! :)

gotta run!
take care,
meeee

God has a way of forcing us to slow down...forcing those around us to leave us alone...forcing us to breathe...this time it is my darling little girl getting a bad cold with a high fever that did it. Yesterday around 1130am, the nurse called my school and told me to come and get my very sick child. I was worried about her, but I actually felt a sense of relief because nothing else would have stopped this crazy pace I've been on. There is no such thing as a sick day or mental health day for teachers in my building...not when we have a principal who wins an annual award for "Perfect Attendance." Apparently she has never gotten sick; her children have never gotten sick; she has never needed to attend a funeral...yada yada yada.

So, I will proceed to tell you everything that has kept me from you, and then I will attempt to respond to what all of you have been going through.

On Monday the editor of the CEA Advisor (Connecticut Education Association), a professional periodical, came to photograph me interacting with my students. Then I was interviewed for an hour. I will be featured in their January issue in an article about funding for preschool! How cool is that?!

"Everything Christmas" has been launched. Teachers are going nuts with the door decorating contest...everyone is trying to one-up each other. The ornaments are almost all done. Everyone is practicing their songs for the pageant. The tree lights have been restrung to look better. The permission slips to see "The Polar Express" have been passed out. Santa hats are on hold since we haven't been able to find child sizes. Imagine that...adult sizes only!!! There is still much to do, but at least we are on our way. This is pretty fun except for the Scrooges and Grinches who can't quit complaining.

I was all ready for my observation which was supposed to take place today. Well who knows when it will occur now.

I have planned my Sunday School lesson for Sunday, but haven't done the involved prep work yet.

I need to read an extremely looooong document called a "Self Study" written by the school I will be assessing next week. The validation process has to be based on their "Self Study," so I practically have to memorize it. I hate boring paperwork like this. I would much rather be at school refereeing all of the bickering between those who are filled with the holiday spirit and those who want to ruin everyone's fun.

My Christmas letter has yet to be written.

My friend and her family are moving to England after Christmas. But, we won't have time for a proper "Goodbye" because the moving van is arriving on Monday and then they are off to be with extended family till they need to be at the airport. I am so sad that they are leaving. My friend and her husband are such nice, down-to-earth people. And their daughters are so sweet. Their oldest is a good friend of my DD's. The only thing that makes this bearable is that they deserve to have this utterly amazing experience, and I want them to enjoy every bit of it. In fact, I wish I was going along!

There is a lot of stuff at DD's school. The nutty Brownie leader, Little Mrs. Suzie Homemaker, continues to email me daily to try to add to the weight on my shoulders with miniscule crap. She can go take a flying leap.

My aide has been in school but constantly on the phone because of the latest family drama. Her boyfriend's grandmother died (you'd think her own mother died by her hysterical behavior) and she has been totally feeding into all of it. The funeral is tomorrow, so she gets a three-day weekend.

I know there is more, but you get the gist of it. I really needed today to catch my breath.

My eating? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!! At this point, my only goal is to maintain through the holidays.

I'll be back to post my responses to your posts.

Wow do I have a lot of catching up to do.

Mousie, the WOW CD sounds good. I like Amy Grant, in fact, her two Christmas CD's are outstanding. There is another CD called, "My Upmost For His Highest" which is excellent. I agree with Robyn's sentiment that you need to find a place where you will be happier. I know that you are there for the kids. But at some point you need to take care of yourself and do what is best for you. Those slogans gave me a great lol :lol: !

Kerry, you sound about as busy as me. Congratulations on the weight loss! You should be very proud because this has got to be the most difficult time of year to lose weight let alone not gain any. KEEP IT GOING!!!

Ginny, it appears that you have been almost as MIA as me these days. Just think, before we know it, we will get our much deserved break.

Robyn, your posts continue to be so entertaining. You are so cool. I'm glad you got some time at the salon. I'm in need of something, but I'm afraid to walk in there for fear that whatever they are going to do with my new darkish roots will cost me an arm and a leg. As if I actually had time to go anyway!!! Good thing I'm tall. I just can't let anybody see the top of my head!!!

I will be preparing for the next few days for my trip. Then on the 13th I will be leaving. So I am disappearing again. I will let you all know how it goes when I get back in the middle of the week. I am such a big baby. I have never driven alone in Hartford before, so I'm worried about that. I have never stayed in a hotel alone, so that is freaking me out. And the work I will be doing, I've never done before. Do you see the pattern? I have major fear of the unknown! Please say a prayer for me that I have safe travel and that I am able to handle this intimidating task they are giving me.

The next time I post, it will be all overwith.

Summer, I am so glad to hear from you.......we all are! I was starting to get a wee bit worried and was considering sending something snail mail to let you know that we wer thinking of you and missing you. So good to hear that you have this in perspective with slowing down from a most hectic pace...... Try not to stress out about all that you must do...the Christmas letter, I am assuming that that goes in cards that you mail? You can either be brief......really brief......or send the cards out with a promise that the letter will arrive separately in January when things do slow down a wee bit.
Just an idea.... As far as weight loss goes, maintaining is not a bad goal at all! My WW leader last year told us that there are 3 options open.....letting the chips fall where they may (and probably gaining!), making an effort not to gain (which allows some slip ups and as long as you are honest with yourself is fine!) or trying to stay OP and lose. She recommended either of the last 2, and actually said that for her, maintaining her present weight was the how she was going to cope. That way she was not set up for failure,if she knew that holiday eating was going to be difficult. As far as Susie Homemaker goes, I think I would find great joy in deleting her emails....possibly before reading too! Who needs a creep like that. Your school sounds like such fun, with all the decorating. Enjoy it!

Robyn- thanks for the encouraging words, I needed them so badly. Felt a few tears well up when I read your post...you understand, and that was all I needed. I have been unable to tell anyone much about these accidents...my mother is up to her eyeballs with worry about my sister, whose husband lost his job- again. (about the 10th time). So she knows nothing about either Dd's or Dh's accident. And Dh being a very proud person, wants noone at work or around here to know (my work that is,guess cause we drive for a living). So I bear this alone. Thanks again.

Mouse- love those slogans.....how did all that go? And how did you fare with your shopping? And happy Hannukah. You getting any swimming time in?

Kerry- hope your day goes well. You must be so pleased with the weight loss, and have every reason to be! Keep up the good work.

Well, I have sunk a bit low this am, and am on the rebound now. My kids (who were expecting a sub driver this am, as I was to take Ds to the Dr) were happy to see me- and actually cheered for me at school while we were waiting for dismissal. That made me feel good.....I needed that. Dh took Ds to the Dr, and will be back soon. He is a bit sore, and achy from the accident, of course will not go to the Dr. Guess it is a guy thing. And I will be without a car today and tomorrow. Dd's car will not be ready until Friday afternoon. I just have to figure out how I am getting to work tomorow am, when Dd goes in with me. The rest of the time, I can walk or will have a vehicle available. (fortunately the bus garage is a wee bit over a mile from home). So I have belly ached....and it is not really worth bellyachin' over. We are all ok and that is all that matters. Funny, how yesterday, before the accident I read from Psalms a verse about trusting the Lord thru all our trials, and looking to him first to get us thru them. Did He have to test me on that reading so soon??????
Ok, nuff from me. Dh should be home soon. Thanks for listening to my babblings.
Hope everyone's Thursday is going well.
Ginny

OK Summer, you snuck in on me!! I will absolutely pray for you. There is nothing to be afraid of. Hartford is somewhat hectic (we looked at U Hartford last year for Dd) but not overwhelming. Bring lots of books or something that you like to read for the motel.
take advantage of the quiet time......see if the hotel has a nice pool /gym and take advantage of that too! Most of them have treadmills at the very least. Treat yourself well for those days you are gone, and it will go quickly. We will miss you.
See ya later.
Ginny

Ok, I made it thru today....and every nice thing I said about my kids earlier, well, it was a tough trip home. Had one little girl who brought her turtles on the bus (real live ones).....and no animals (other than the human ones) are allowed on the bus. So, even though they were contained in a plastic tank in a handled shopping bag, I radioed in to ask if I could bring the turtles home. I could hear them laughing in the office at my request and had to put up with all kinds of jabs from other drivers when I got back in. The kids themselves were loud....rowdy...the flashers little brother was obnoxious. A pity that he cannot sit with another student- he is such a show off/clown/ham that unless he sits with someone who he cannot impress or upstage he is a hazard. So the best situation I can come up with is that he sits with my daughter, who reads while on the bus or does her homework. I'd love to find a student for him to sit with, but no matter what he is a wacko. And if I was not sure that a wee bit of my irritation this afternoon had to do with Dh's accident and all the details of handling that, I would have written him up.
So now I have vented.......thanks for allowing me that. Better go be a mommy to my poor Dd who has been rather neglected the past 2 days.
See ya tomorrow. (when I should be able to post in the am.....I am carless until 5 pm)
Nighty, nite!
Ginny

Hi, all. I finished the Key West miles yesterday, but somebody snuck in ahead of my on the 7th and did like 7 miles in one day (according to the chart). So I am 5th. Big deal. I knew going in I wouldn't be in the top 3, because my friend and the supervisor for Saturday swimming was in it, and we're in the same age category. ;) I stayed at the gym longer than I should have, and had other running around to do so I didn't get home till 8.
It was nasty again today, raining and icky, but I'd promised my mom those ribs, so I braved the rush hour traffic and rain to drive to Columbia to get them for her. I came home intending to eat dinner, get the cat and go to her house, but I'm so tired... I decided to get up like my normal work time and hit the road then.
I'll be off-line from tomorrow morning, then, until I get back Sunday night. I was going to take the computer because my friend (the one who got the Build A Bear) gave me a wireless card for Hanukkah last year, so I have been looking forward to trying it out. But I still don't have a battery.
I'm worried about my Imp being with my mom's cat all weekend, but my mom insists that I bring him. Imp is going to have the den/basement to himself, since it has a door that closes... but that seems so unfair: to lock the poor thing in a room. But we'll see if that works. My mom doesn't want Imp here by himself in case anything happens, but reality is that if there were a fire or something in the building and we had to evacuate, Imp would run under the futon or on top of a bookcase at the first loud noise, and I'd never get him. :(
Summer: WOWOWOWOWOWOW! I don't know what else I can say. Good luck!!

We've had lots of kids sick. By a miracle, I've had none of it. I think its the nearly daily chlorine dip. There is some kind of highly contagious, quick moving GI thing going through the hospital that runs our program: so any staff that stay out sick for nausea/vomiting/diarrhea have to be cleared by the infection control people before returning, and have to stay home a minimum of 48 hours after it stops. And they've extended that to the school.
Anyway: ALL, enjoy the weekend. Get some rest.

:mouse:

Hi Robyn, Mouse, Ginny, and Summer,
The countdown is on for Christmas break. We only have 9 more days to go! Atleast for my school that is the case. But atleast the 20th is a fieldtrip and so is the 22nd. So I am happy about that.
I will be so happy when Saturday morning is over and done with. That is the day of my school's Breakfast with Santa. Since I am the chairperson for the committee that is putting it on, I have been under a lot of stress this past week. I called to order the food and the lady from our county office asked how I planned on paying for it. I said that I was told she would. So I had to go ask/beg my Title One coordinator to help me out of that bind. Then I went to Wal-mart last night to the film, candy canes and snow. I spent an hour looking for decorative photo cards for the kids pictures with Santa. Didn't find any so I don't know what we are going to do about sending the kids pictures home once we get them developed. I had to make sure that before I left school today, I got everything arranged for my committee members to set up the Santa room tomorrow afterschool, since I took the day off to go Christmas shopping with my dh. Saturday morning I have to be up and out the door by 6:30, so I can be at school and starting the food by 7. Thank God one of my friends offered to meet there to get stuff started. Then I have to stay at school until 11. Rush off to the high school to see my sdd's basketball. Then home for a little bit before we go off to another game for her at 4. Thank God that one is just down the street from our house. So it looks like I am going to have to use Sunday to regroup and pull myself together to make it through the next week. Hopefully the pace of next week will be a slower one. I have two Christmas parties next week. So that is a nice thing. Well enough about me babbling about my busy life.
Ginny, hope things are slowing down a little bit for you. Sorry to hear about your dh's accident. Look on the bright side you are an old pro at filling out the paperwork to get it fixed. :) Since your life has been hetic this week and you won't able to make it to your WW meeting, how about we do the mini-challenge again for next week? I loved your advice you gave Summer about your WW leader and also about delating the emails from Little Miss Susie Homemaker. Hope tomorrow is a better day for you!
Summer, you must be a bundle of nerves right now. Please don't let the fear of the unknown get to you. You will do just fine going to Hartford on your own. You should take some time and enjoy those few moments of Summer-time and relish them. Check out the hotel's gym and use the treadmill or take a swim. That is what I did when we went to see my family over Thanksgiving weekend. It helps you not feel so insecure and destress a little bit. I hope that your dd is feeling a little bit better. Glad that you were able to be there for her when she needed some TLC. Even though she is sick, atleast you had a day to relax and not be feeling so rushed by the holiday season. How is your SB going?
Mouse, hope your week is going better for you. Did you get your Key West miles in than? Here is a good story for you: You know that we are going on two fieldtrips the week of Christmas, right. Well I am only taking 6 of my 7 students. I have myself, my two TA's and a parent going as chaperones. Well one of my parents called me on Monday to ask if she could go along with us. I told her that I already had enough help. Well she got mad and hung up on me. I guess as soon as she hung up on me, she was calling the school back and talking with my principal. She said that her son gets sick when the lights go out and throws up. Mind you, when they have music class on the school stage and she shows them a movie and turns the lights out he is just fine. So my principal tells okay she can go. He never mentions anything to me about it. But I have two coworkers say something about it to me. I was upset because this lady can't come in for any meetings we have or request with her. The only time she comes in is for parties. I will have to be on my best behavior around her on the days of the fieldtrips. I though you would get a kick out that one! So how is your safety posters going?
Robyn, hope your week got better. I think I have had a few of those shortest, but longest days this week. I have worked on school stuff three nights this week at home until after 10. It was so nice to walk out the door tonight knowing that I had tomorrow off and just bring home my bookbag with the books I got from the bookmobile. I just hope that I can read them over the break. So what has your weather been like the last few days? We had some wicked winds on Tuesday. Knocked the power and phones out at school that afternoon.
Well I am better go and put my workout clothes on. I want to work out for a half hour. I think I am going to go read some of my trashy novel and ride my excerise bike for a few minutes and then tackle my dh's weight machine. Talk to you all later.
Have a wonderful Friday!
Take care,
Kerry

Good morning!!!!
Here I am stressed out sally....ok, I am pretty much ok. Walked home from work this am, and played a CD that I knew would make me cry- just had to let it out. So I do feel better.

Mouse- hope all goes well this weekend for you and Imp. I personally can't imagine RC moving around from home to home like that, but I did have one cat that I did that with and he was fine. Congrats on finishing the Key West miles!!!!! (5 th place sounds good to me~ you finished, and that is an accomplishment!) Glad you are staying healthy, the same sort of illnesses are floating around here in NY too. And take your own advice, try to get some rest this weekend...you have been stressed and up to your eyeballs too!!!!!!

Kerry- reading about your Saturday makes me out of breath! What a busy day. Sounds like fun too.....just so hectic. I hope that your afternoon games are enjoyable and that you can relax a wee bit while watching them. I enjoyed the story of the wacko mother who won't show up for conferences but insists on going on the field trip.
I have a good comrade for her......How about Summer's Suzy Homemaker......they would probably drive each other nuts! (I have a warped mind).:) Good for you with all the plans you have to work out today.....planning makes all the difference, taking the time out for you! You deserve it. Yup, I am up for a challenge for next week. Not sure which day I will get to WW next week. I decided to go ahead with getting my hair done (thanks Robyn!) and might scoot to WW right after I do that. I am rather close to the WW center then anyway.

Got my walk in this am....another on in an hour as I have to walk to work today. Its ok, I do love my walks, even if it is raining.
Gotta go, my time is cut a bit short today because I am hoofing it to and from work.
Dd's Christmas program is tonite......
Happy Friday Mouse, Summer, Kerry and Robyn!
Ginny

TGIF Greetings,
Well I got up this morning to beat it into the gym when they opened at 7. Put in a really good workout. Came home to get the banking stuff, ran to the bank and back home to get a shower and dressed for the day. Then it was off Christmas shopping. My dh drove me nuts today. He was very angry and moody for some reason. I wanted to clobber him several times in the stores. He rushed his mom and I through the stores and than would take his good old time at the sporting goods store. Mind you Christmas is only 14 days away and all we have for his kids is snow gloves, boots, 2 nerf footballs, a Wilson Pee Wee Football, and a soccer ball. We had to hurry home so that we could get the kids off the bus at 4. I wanted to go to Wal-mart and look at the Leap pad Cartridges and board games there but no we didn't have time. We got home at 2:30. Wal-mart is only 10-15 minutes from our house. It wouldn't have taken us that long to run in and look. But now we have to wait and go again next weekend when everyone will be out doing their last minute shopping. I can't handle alot of rude and stupid people when I am shopping. I wanted to get a couple gifts for other people besides the kids. But I was only able to get a fleece top for the one lady at school who I drew her name for the gift exchange. Now I just might sneak away on Sunday and go shopping by myself for a little while. I know that I really didn't waste a day off from work, but I just feel like I did. It must just be that it is that TOM and my emotions are screwed up right now. Well I better go, since my dh keeps coming over to the computer desk trying to read what I am typing. Talk to you all later when I have calmed down a little bit. Thanks for letting me vent.
By the way, Ginny thanks for the laugh about wacko mom meeting Susie Homemaker that would be a riot to watch.
Take care,
Kerry

Calm down Kerry.......and take solace in the fact that the same man lives in Southern Ohio and Orange County New York.....I think it is a first how one man can live in 2 states at exactly the same time and be a total crab in both places!!!!! (Lets lock them in a room with Susie Homemaker and the obesssive mom......who do you think would perish first???) Glad you got your work out in.......proud of you!!!!! I agree with you about the shopping, it is so much easier to do during the week. I wanted to do mine today and yesterday.....car stuff prevented that.
Hang in there.......gotta go!!!!!!! Smile!
Ginny

Thank you for the laugh. You are so very right about what you are saying. Would the room you are talking about be a rubber room or what? I am much calmer now. I think I was starting to get stressed out about the big Breakfast with Santa at school tomorrow morning. Tonight I went to McDonald's to get the boys their dinner and stopped at Subway to get my sdd and myself a sandwich. She kept saying that she wanted a BLT for dinner. So when we get there I asked her if she wanted her BLT on a deli bun or a sub bun. She said that she wanted the deli bun with turkey, lettuce and tomato on it. I asked her if she really knew what a BLT was and she swore up and down that it was the type of bread they use. I said no sweetie it is bacon lettuce and tomato. Well she just thought that was gross. So she got her deli turkey sandwich. Now I think that I am going to go put on my workout clothes and ride my bike for a little bit and read my trashy novel at the same time. Hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend.
Talk to you all later.
Kerry

Hi Kerry!
I know today is your busy day......Rubber room.......boxing ring.....whatever for our Dh's and the obsessive mom and Suzie! (too bad that Summer and Robyn are not here to add their comments ). Maybe Mouse also has a person to add to the ring.....
Anyway- glad you got your bike ride in. Wonderful way to get rid of the stress. Atilla here calmed down a bit, after a somewhat rocky start.
At least for now, things are quiet.
Better go......I hope to get a walk or something in. We are going to Inlaws today to celebrate FIL's bday later And that is a long story..........
See ya later....
Ginny

I made it through the day. The breakfast was nice and I was also able to do a little Christmas shopping at the craft show. The one lady there was selling Avon gift baskets for $5 or $6. They came with a shower gel, powder, lip balm and hand lotion or soap. So I didn't think that was a bad gift. So I bought four. One for my TOPS gift exchange, one to give along with the fleece sweatshirt to the lady at work, and one each to give to my wonderful aides in my room. I was able to come home and take a nap. But I woke up with a killer headache. It finally went away. Good thing since I had to go to my sdd's ball game. Which they got stomped on by the other team 40-1. The lost their morning game 33-3. So I think they still have a lot of practice time ahead of them. They seemed afaird of the ball, basically would throw the ball into the other team's hands, wouldn't pick a player and guard them. So they are going to have an interesting practice on Wednesday night.
Hope everyone else is having a great weekend. I think here in a little bit I am going to workout. I only got to ride the bike this morning for a half hour before I went to school. The road was awful lonely at 6:30 in the morning.
I will share a funny with you all before I go off line. My dh's one friend is the recreation board's director and he oversees the basketball games. After today's game he was picking on my dh about his ex-wife. Mind you the lady is very large person who seems to think she looks good in tight clothes. Then his friend made the comment that I looked totally different from my dh's first wife. My dh told him that I looked great and that here in a little bit I will looked even better when I reach my goal weight. It is kind of nice to be getting notice for the way my body is shaping up and curving out in all the right places. Instead of being looked at as a fat person. Mind you I am 31 and this guy is still a kid in my eyes, he is 23 or 24. So now I might know why I have noticed men checking me out more and staring. Silly me I thought I had a hole in my clothes,toliet paper sticking to my shoe or food sticking in my teeth. :)
Well I best be getting off here for now. Go get a workout in. Maybe that was why I felt crabby today and sounded like a b with my family.
Take care,
Kerry

Kerry- what a great boost to you with the comment Dh made!!!!! You have earned this...and have much, much to be proud of! Ok, and Dh gets the atta boy award for noticing how great his wife looks. Too bad about sdd's games- sounds as though they are in for some miserable practices. (been there done that with my Ds).
Other than that, it has been a bit quiet here for today....got my WW tape in so I feel pretty good for now.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. See ya later!
Ginny

Evening Ladies,
Hope everyone had a wonderful day. I got up this morning and did 15 minutes on the gazelle and 15 minutes on the excerise bike. Then I got ready for and walked to church. Came home from church and spend the afternoon doing a couple loads of laundry, running to the store to get stuff for my lunches and dinners that I have to eat at school for the next 8 days. The countdown is on till Christmas break. Enjoyed a few small pieces with the kids and dh for dinner. Then went for a brisk two mile walk around town. Had to chuckle when I walked by the bank and saw that the temp. outside was 46 degrees. Then came home and done another 15 minutes on the gazelle. So I feel pretty good about my eating and excerise for the weekend. I am hoping to have a good loss on Tuesday night. I think since my dh's friend made that comment about me, that was just the boost I needed to keep pushing forward to reach my goal of being 200 or below by the end of the year.
Please say a prayer for the kids' stepdad. He is in the hospital with congestive heart failure and an enlarged heart. Their mom called this afternoon to say that she was going to the hospital with her new hubby because something was wrong with his chest. So we are keeping the kids over night and getting them ready to go to school tomorow. This man is a very large man and he has never watched his weight or felt that there was anything wrong with him. When I talked to the kids mom this evening, she said that he was being starved to death because he has only had some water and is on a liquid diet. I just hope this is a wake up call for both them weight wise and health wise. Well I best be getting ready to go to bed. It has been a very long weekend. Talk to you all later.
Take care and have a great week!
Kerry