Good morning Summer???? This is AOL- we heard that you really wanted another year of our crummy service, actually liked being booted offline......want me to be quiet now?

Anyway- yesterday was busy.....not bad just busy and I ended up the day feeling sort of like a cold was setting in. Amazing how one day back to work and I feel beat all over again.

Back to you Summer, sorry about the aide with an attendance problem. Hope that gets resolved soon, for your sake. Glad you had fun watching DD cheerleading- bet that felt good! And no, you did not scare anyone, it has been a bit slow here.

Well, I have a busy day...Ds left this on so I thought I would say a quick hello.
Have a good day!
Ginny

Busy day ended up being not as busy.....Dd woke up with some bad stomach cramps.
And being that Dh had a stomach bug last nite, I kept her home. She felt pretty crummy this am, but seems much better now, although tired. They are desparate for drivers, so I will work this afternoon....and take her with me. I did get a ton of paperwork done this am, the bills and that (why does that take so long?? anyone else have that problem?)
Gotta go....see ya later.
Ginny

Hey guys!
Hope everyone had a good day! Mine was great! We had another early dismissal today at 12:30 because the water pump to the well at school died and we had no water. I was especially excited because I was supposed to cover ISS during my planning today. I DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT! Our grade is the only grade that has to cover for the guy who does ISS. I know everyone needs a break. However, this man comes and goes as he pleases, spends more time in the office than in his room and is a general slacker. It ticks me off. However, didn't have to do it today! Yipppppeeeeeee!
Ginny: I am all about that new excercise program of yours! Works for me. I actually got up and excercised this morning before work. Aintcha proud? I woke up at four thirty to the sound of freight train snoring coming from my hubby. Could not go back to sleep. I finally got up at 5:15.
Summer: THAT WAS ME WITH THE AOL PROBLEM FROM ****!!!!!!!! Still have it as a matter of fact. So now, I'm paying for high speed and Aol. At some point or another they did a thing on AOL to update information. Well, since my husband was the one trying to sign on, he logged in and changed the billing thing. Now, everything went from being in my name to his, but they won't talk to me because he is the one who changed it.........He has had similar problems. I need to go back on and get the 1800 number again. They make me ill! Maybe it will eventually get cancelled. This has been going on since December. It's crazy.
Finally lost another pound. Yippppeeeeee. I feel like I have been losing in slow slow motion. But, nobody's fault but my own. I have had this love affair with food for so long, it's hard to say goodbye. Atleast to the good stuff. I know it is taking longer, but if we really want to go out and eat we do, I have still been trying to make better choices, however. It's working for me. Although, I would love an instant fix sometimes. I guess I have just realized that, this is going to have to be a life long process, and that I may as well just learn to make the best choices I can, and not be discouraged if things aren't perfect.
Enough of my yapping. Talk to you all later!
Pam

Hiya!
Pam, congrats on the # loss! How neat that you broke out of your slump.....bet it feels so good!!!!! Yup, I am so proud of you for getting that workout in. Even if the freight train had to wake you up to do it!!!!!!!(funny, the same train comes thru my town too!) Sounds as though you had an all around good day. Hopefully that will be the beginning of good days for all of us. I am starting to worry about Mouse, Kerry (ok she is busy with school, I guess) and our resident cheerleader, Robyn. They used to check in so regularly.
Ok, nuff from me. I am going out for a short walk. Dd seems much better. I did drive this afternoon, and had only about 20 students- between drama and enrichment most of the kids stayed after. That makes a very happy bus driver!! :)
Have a great nite.....
Ginny

Hi, everybody.
It was a real busy weekend: I was in DC for a Red Cross youth thing Saturday, then did the St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday. The one student I figured would ride in a vehicle insisted on walking the entire 1.3 miles.... so I walked with her. Until I tripped over a manhole cover near the end of the parade route. The other teacher caught me, but that did me in, and I had to ride the rest of the way. At least it wasn't in front of the review stand.
My TA is still acting like a jerk. She doesn't talk to me, doesn't do anything that she isn't directly told to do, and does whatever she wants if I'm not in the room. And my supervisor still isn't doing anything about it. It'll be interesting: I'm attending the CEC convention April 6-9, and won't be in the classroom on those days, or at the school. I'm also scheduled to take kids to DC for a Red Cross event on April 15th, so there's another day out of the room. Plus IEP meetings upcoming (I have 2 or 3 in May), and any other reason somebody wants to yank me out of the classroom... including Passover.
I woke up with a headache and not feeling so hot, and normally I'd go to work anyway, but I stayed home and slept today. I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow, but its only the 2nd day I've missed all year long. Even if he lets me use my comp time, I still have 43 hours of comp time left... if not, I have 51.5 hours. And I'll get more on Friday and Sunday... we have two leadership seminar events.
:mouse:

Just me again!
Too much time on my hands today! Ha! OK ALL YOU SNOW HOGGERS AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE................What was the drill Ginny? Silver spoon under the pillow, flush the toilet three times??????Something else. They are predicting slight (as slight as it may be) chance of snow the next three days. Ok, I'm only one one day. I have tons of papers to grade and a house to clean, youngest one's having a birthday party Saturday, presents to buy..........I NEED THIS SNOW INFO ASAP! :D
Mouse: You must have esp or something, Ginny just talked you up. Hmmmm Ginny: have a little psychic twinkle going on? Sorry your TA is being a butt.....Sometimes it's good to stay home when you aren't feeling well. If it's anything like where I work, they make you feel guilty. And there's so much sub stuff to do when I'm out, and then the wake of the substitute...... Hope tomorrow will be better. I hope you are feeling rested. You stay so busy you need some rest!
Cooking spaghetti tonight. I hate it! It's everyone elses request so, I am eating cereal and a bagel. Sounds good to me. I could live the rest of my life without ever eating spaghetti. Now lasagna on the other hand...Yummy!

OMIGOSH, I FORGOT TO TELL YOU. The marine's are trying to recruit my son.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o :mad: :( :?:
This man is so persistant. I truly admire the military, and am a navy brat, however...........I don't want my son getting his face shot off. The guy keeps calling, and came to my house yesterday when I wasn't here...He is trying to entice him with a five thousand dollar sign on bonus. Ok, so I put a scrolling screen saver that says.........GET A JOB, SAY NO TO THE MARINES!MONEY WON'T HELP YOU WITH YOUR FACE SHOT OFF! Ok, that may be a little harsh, but that gives me a stomach ache. It took me a long nineteen years to get him to this point, alive, and well, and he is my baby! I've tried the guilt trip, the what would your grandfather say???(He was a navy chief.)
He says he's thinking about it. However, he has a job interview day after tomorrow with a manufacturing plant, so we're being hopefully optimistic. Say a prayer......The roofing thing didn't work out!

Pam

Mouse- glad to see you back....so sorry you are not feeling so good. I think it is great that you took the day off. Best that you rested up, and hopefullly kept this from turning into something worse. Stinks with your TA (is it something with TA's???Summer is having trouble with hers too). You ok after that trip on the manhole cover?

Pam- gee I hate to scare you.....and I am a promilitary person, my Df (deceased) and Dh are both veterans. But I have a coworker who enlisted into the army, and was promised "no Iraq". Guess where he is going in 2 weeks.......Ok, I personally think that he was mistaken in even believing such a promise anyway during wartime- but it is a consideration. I'll pray for you and your son....but then there are stories like my Dh's- he was scheduled to go overseas into a hotbed, and was called to be an MP- stayed stateside. God has His ways, and you never know. On a lighter subject......lets get this straight!!!!!!! Silver spoon under the pillow. Flush the toilet 3X right before you go to bed. Wear your pajamas inside out and backwards. I have a 3rd grade student who swears by it. Best of luck. And if it does not, I will give you Valerie's phone # for a conference call regarding what you forgot (valerie is the 3rd grader).

Hi to everyone else......gotta go.
Ginny

I am sick :p . DD gave me her cold. On Monday, when I felt it coming on, I forced myself to go to school. So here I was, sneezing like crazy, with a sore throat, and I had to make due without my aide. Because of state regs, I have to maintain a ratio of 1:10, so I do get "help." But since my aide is out so much, and the teachers complained about losing their aides all the time, the principal came up with an hourly schedule for several different aides to take my aide's place. It is utterly hectic, and the kids get really confused by all the comings and goings of different adults. It is not unusual for an aide to be midsentence in a read aloud and just drop the book and leave because her time in my room is up. If NAEYC was aware of this "system" they would have a fit. And, since I have basically trained my aide to be like a co-teacher, these replacements can't do much more than take someone to the bathroom or photocopy. Some will talk to the kids and get involved with activities, but the majority just want to gossip with me. And, I don't have the time or the desire to do that. Anyway, Monday was a joke between me feeling like crap and the revolving door of aides. By yesterday when Miss Thang returned, (she had a new hairdo and her nails had new acrylic tips!) I was really sick...body aches and the like. But, I really am trying to keep my sick time usage down. Between DD's illnesses and my own, I've been out 5 days which isn't a lot, but it is enough. So, I suffered till 5pm yesterday at the after school program. At 4:55pm, I told the principal that I wasn't coming in on Wednesday. So, now I'm up to sick day #6. :(

Oh, and on Monday when I spoke to the principal about the fact that Miss Thang is on probation and supposedly was going to be suspended if she was out one more day (she's been out 4 more days), she told me that my aide now has a clean slate because her new cycle began in January. So, despite the fact that her attendance record for as long as I've known her has been atrocious, nothing is being done. And, I guess I must accept the fact that even though my principal arrived at our school ready to conquer all including my aide's attendance, most of her promises will not come true. :mad: Someone else is pulling the strings. :?:

I got myself in trouble yesterday at dismissal. Mrs. G. lives next door to Mrs. J. They are supposedly good friends, and their DD's play together. They are both in my class. Well, Mrs. J. can't always pick up her DD, so Mrs. G. picks up both girls a lot. Lately Mrs. G has been picking up very late, so yesterday, Mrs. J. said she could bring Mrs. G.'s DD home. I saw no problem since these women are friends and Mrs. G. is always helping out Mrs. J. I thought it was nice of Mrs. J. to offer. Well, when Mrs. G. arrived 30 minutes late to school and found out that her DD went home with Mrs. J., she had a fit. Her DH blew a gasket. Apparently Mrs. G. doesn't trust ANYONE with her DD, including Mrs. J. My question is, "They why are you friends with someone you don't trust?!" So, now I'm in trouble. :( I wrote a letter of apology for my aide (if she is there today) to give to Mr. & Mrs. G. Hopefully the matter will be dropped, and they won't go to the stupidintendent. :?: My mistake...I shouldn't have assumed. :p

AOL, what a friggin nightmare. I was on hold with them for over an hour Monday night. When I finally got through, the jerk on the other end of the phone played all sorts of games with me and tried to trick me into staying on with AOL. He kept asking me why I didn't want AOL and trying to make a deal with me. It ended in a screaming match. I still can't believe how hysterical I became. I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau, which I plan on doing. Nothing I said worked until I became so crazy that I think I scared the man. You should have seen my DH's face. This isn't my normal way of dealing with things, but I had no other choice. If the man had been in the same room with me, I would have beaten the sh*t out of him. So, Pam, don't give up. The numbers are: (888)265-8003 or (888)265-8008. Don't bother trying online cancellation. It didn't work for me, and when I got online assistance, that turned pretty ugly pretty quickly. The funny thing is that when my cheap rate for my new online service expired, I was considering returning to AOL, but doing broadband. After their behavior, I not only refuse to return to them, I will use my BIG FAT MOUTH to let people know to stay away from those horrible people.

Mouse, I'm sorry things have gotten so bad with your aide. At least when mine decides to show up, she speaks to me...even if I don't feel like speaking to her. Sorry about your fall. Are you alright?

Pam, congrats on the weight loss. You have a very healthy attitude. I can't imagine how you must be feeling with the marines stalking your son. There should be laws against that...yeh right...that'll happen! :lol: I swear, I would march right down to that recruiting office and give them ****. What is wrong with me lately? I'm totally going postal! It must be perimenopausal hormones run amok!!! :devil: Everybody better watch out for that crazy fat blonde preschool teacher!!!

Ginny, glad DD is better. I hope she doesn't give you the bug.

Pam & Ginny, that train makes trips through my bedroom every night as well! Sometimes though, I'm the train!!! :o

Have I told you all about the nimrod who is our new custodian? In case I haven't, let me get you all up to speed. 1. While filling the snowblower up with gasoline INSIDE THE SCHOOL, the nimrod spilled all of it all over the floor. It caused students and teachers to become dizzy and some to vomit. The principal refused to evacuate. 2. The nimrod mops the hallway floors during the busiest times when all classes are passing in the halls. 3. He does the same thing on the stairs. 4. The nimrod was messing with the electrical and caused a power outage in the cafeteria...ovens and refrigeration were affected. 5. The nimrod likes to vacuum my classroom while I'm in it working or trying to eat my lunch...and he has B.O. so he stinks up my room. 6. The nimrod says, "Hi, how ya doin'?" about 50,000 times a day. Eye contact must be avoided at all cost. 7. The nimrod mopped urine off the boys' bathroom floor and then while waiting for my aide to exit the nurse's bathroom proceeded to MOP THE NURSE'S DESK WITH THE URINE-SOAKED MOP! 8. He was storing all of the school's reams of paper in the boiler room. The list goes on and on and on... The school secretary, the assistant custodian, and I have all reported him to the principal who (am I not surprised?) refuses to do anything about it. She still doesn't believe what my aide said about the nurse's desk even though nimrod admitted to it and said, "Yeh, huh, well that was my mistake." We reported these events to nimrod's boss who continually defends him by saying, "Well he doesn't have common sense, but he works hard." In other words, he isn't doing anything about it either. He just checks in on him to make sure he hasn't blown up the place. If you ladies don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, you can be sure that nimrod has either killed us by doing something stupid or has finally gone postal!

Take care. I'm going to bed.

I have survived another DOT......my arms are aching and I am tired. Now just hope the darn bus passes on Friday. The mechanics gave me a break- washed the outside for me and finished my seatbelts. I think they are kinder to drivers who take careof their buses and they can see that there is some effort in daily maintenance. All I know is that it saved me about another hour of backbreaking slave labor. I hate DOT.

Summer- hope you are feeling better!!!!!! Sorry that Dd was so generous with her cold and shared it with you. Drink lots......tea, water, soup....and get well. Good thing that you took the day off, perhaps it will help you get over this sooner.
As far as the Mrs G and J thing- golly a most common mistake. I might have been tempted to do the same thing.....hopefully common sense will prevail and nothing come of it. Gee, that janitor sounds interesting!!!! Please do not send him to us....I work with enough wackos as it is!


Got a 15 minute walk in this am.......and then my intense bus cleaning, which at the pace I was going at Ifigure is worth at least 1 AP. Gotta go regroup for the afternoon.
See ya.
Ginny

I am pooped......did not sleep well last nite and then to top it off my fun activities this am. Glad that the kiddies were pretty good, although I did mention to them all the stuff they left me.......smashed in seatbelts and candy wrappers in the seat cushions.
Oh well........nuff of me babbling for one day. See ya tomorrow.!
Ginny

I need somebody to help me, because otherwise I *swear* i'm going to kill my supervisor and my TA. Maybe I can get one to push the other off a bridge? Murder Suicide pact? SOMETHING?!?!?!?!?
Because I wasn't there yesterday, I missed the staff meeting. For some stupid reason, they don't send minutes from staff meetings out on email. That'd be a great idea, wouldn't it?? Anyway, they announced a firedrill, which my TA didn't tell me about. My dept. chair came down 2nd period and told me. Fortunately. Then, my TA knows about the fire drill, but WAS NOT IN THE ROOM! Fortunately, the occupational therapist was visiting us and helped me out. We have that one child with us 2 periods per day who has the serious behavior issues. He needed staff right with him or I anticipated (and we almost had as he came back in the building) a major behavioral meltdown.
4th period was absolutely off the hook when they came in the room. One kid slapped another kid's hat off his head (today was hat day). He has a behavior plan for aggression: a backhanded slap to another kid isn't aggression????? It is in my book!!
Then, another kid started something with somebody, and one kid went in the hallway, the other kid went to resource because he told the other student to suck him off. But, I'm in trouble with my supervisor for sending the kids to resource. I asked him to come down and observe instead of sentencing me to attend all of the department meetings for that group, but he refuses. He says that my TA will go to the industry meetings and catch me up, and the department chair will go to the other department htat my homeroom is a part of. Not that this will EVER happen!
I just can't win. And they still haven't done anything about my TA. My supervisor is a total toad. I'm leaving in tears almost every day, and its SO hard to get up and go to that place daily.
And the solution? I'm going to get the lowest functioning kids in the building to teach "mailroom" and basic office skills to. I can't even keep teaching Survey because my TA is going to stay there and they're going to bring in a new teacher.
I don't WANT to teach that! I really don't think I want to teach at all anymore, honestly.
And you can just imagine what this is doing to my exercise or anything else. I'm so wiped, I'm coming home after work and going to sleep. Most of what I eat I throw up again, and the pills they gave me don't help much lately. If I don't throw up, I'm so nauseated, I can't handle it.
Thanks for asking, but yes... I'm fine after tripping. I had the sense to bring my walking stick with me for the hike, and so between that and grabbing the other teacher's shoulder (he had my backpack so I grabbed that), I was okay.
But really: why do I bust my butt doing this stuff only to get yelled at AGAIN by my supervisor who absolutely does NOT support me in anything!? He makes "motions", but he doesn't really support.
:mouse:

Well it seems this is the place to be with all you fellow teachers out there in this weight loss thing together. Anonymouse... yikes it sounds like you have had quite the day... it is def known that sped teachers can burn out especially when there is no support and it sounds like you don't have any right now. I had a similar situation and realized I still loved teaching and just wasn't in the right job... a new job gave me the a whole new outlook on teaching. THe way I am able to get through those exhausting days and still get to the gym is by going right after school, then you don't have time to crash until you get home. Good luck!

GREETINGS FROM THE SLEETY, SNOWY BUT NOT STICKING HAD TO GO TO SCHOOL ANYWAY STATE...................UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Ok Ginny: Set up that conference call. My third grader is convinced that the problem was that we forgot the spoon. He said that must be the key because, spoons are cold............HMMMMMMMMMm, never thought about that.
Welcome grracoon, and what should we call you??? You'll love this place. These ladies are the best, and what a group of comedians I must say..... :lol:
Well, it was a day........First period was great....We were constructing three dimensional models and it went especially smooth...I am surprised because they are definitely a group of talkers. It was a long long day. Remember the pot incident I had where I confiscated a baggie of pot during fourth period? Well, the girl came back, and yesterday ratted out two boys saying they had pot, which I was obligated to report, they were searched, they found a condom, no drugs, but a condom. I told the principal that atleast we didn't have to worry about a bunch of babies........The rumor is that this boy is meeting a girl and having sex in the bathroom! :sssh:
GROSS! So, we have another investigation ongoing in the gambling, drug room. This is crazy!
I am happy to report that I have gotten up for the last three days in a row and done the WATP tape. I did it with one eye closed this morning. I keep waking up at like 4:30. Wasn't for the train this time............My husband and I have a deal worked out. He falls asleep immediately once his head hits the pillow. Mid thought, mid sentence, doesn't matter he is asleep. I, however, can not do this.....So, he goes into the livingroom and watches tv until I can fall asleep. He usually falls asleep once he is in the recliner, and lately has been coming to bed in the early morning. I think this is what is waking me up.. I told him that no judge in this land would convict me of murder with the way he snores............ I did the tape twice yesterday. The only problem with me getting up so early, is that I am ready to go to sleep EARLY. I am usually quite a nite owl. Yes, all my thoughts are very random today. Sorry about that........I feel very jumbled today.
MARINE ALERT...............Son got a job today! Ok, well I hate to say it outloud because as soon as I say it then he will quit. It's with a plastics plant. I think it is temp to hire, twelve hour shifts, two days on, two days off. He goes for a tour of the plant Monday, and safety training on Wednesday. So, maybe that will keep the Marine's at bay for a while. I hope so anyway. He played semi pro football last year, and they had their first team meeting of the season last night, so maybe with that and working and possibly going to college this fall he'll stay out of trouble. We'll see.....
Also, two of his friends were hired there also. This is great, I can see my grocery bill going down, down, down already. Imagine the possibilities!
Mouse: Gosh what a crappy day! You crack me up about the murder suicide pack :lol: :lol: :lol: ! The thing I think stinks is that your TA who won't even talk to you is supposed to report back to you about the meetings? Yeah, that's gonna happen........ YOU FELL?????????What happened? I hope you are ok.... Only one more week til spring break here, how about there? That should give you a little hope anyway. We only have forty one school days left. I can't believe it. I can't wait. I am in the midst of a true nervous breakdown. I was thinking of becoming a Walmart greeter myself......Hang in there.
Ginny: Sounds like you've been your usual busy self. Which WATP tapes do you have? I have the one mile, which I use two pound weights with, cause I don't have the kind she uses, and the two and a half mile walk and jog, which I just don't feel like doing. I love the one mile, but since I was walking further than a mile outside, I feel like it's not enough....I have been trying to do it twice. There are so many, two mile with abs, two mile super calorie burn.... I don't know which one I should get next. Any ideas?
By the way, how's the dishwasher? ;)
Summer, thanks for the numbers. I told my hubby all about your story. We feel for you.... Hopefully I will get it straight soon. Glad to see you back.
Well, let me stop babbling and go get some papers graded. I am getting a true resistance work out just hauling my book bag back and forth from home to school. I just keep adding papers to it, guess I should go grade them.Blah! :(
Pam

Hi. Good day today: my TA was in another class all day long helping out. I was by myself, which causes some concern in regards to staffing, but it was much better than being glowered at all day and ignored.
I know she won't tell me what is going on... she didn't bother to tell me about the fire drill. :mad: So what does my supevisor say when I mention this? That he'll tell me. HELLO?? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ADDRESS HER BEHAVIOR?!?!!??!
I guess by this point, the answer is never. Whatever.
Ginny: I tripped over a manhole cover when the parade route swung onto the next street. I was fine... I only tripped because it was uneven ground and I was stupid enough to walk over the cover. I know better than to do things like that. My orthopedist insists that I have osteoarthritis in my ankle from the weight and the previous injuries, and claims not to remember our discussion about nerve damage... but if I have arthritis in the ankle, it should HURT, right? Guess what, it doesn't. Mos tof the time I feel nothing at all... and I trip over rough ground or on stairs because I think i've set my foot down or something, and haven't.
I think I'm going to bed. I'm leaving early tomorrow fo ra doctor's appointment, so I only have to put up with her for 4 periods.
:mouse:

TGIF!
Only four more days til spring break! I THINK I CAN! I THINK I CAN! I THINK I CAN!.......
Tomorrow is the big birthday bash! We're going roller skating. I think I will skate too. I haven't skated in years. I'll probably break my butt or something stupid. Sounds fun though. Still haven't bought my son a present. Can you believe he said that having me for a mother was not a good enough gift? Dang the abuse! Guess the prudent thing would be to get one tonight, huh? Bought the plates, cups, napkins, goodie bags, table cloth all YUGHIO, to the tune of 31 dollars. Gosh, parties sure can be expensive. Haven't gotten the cake yet, but he wants an ice cream cake so, I guess we'll do that tonight, as well as CLEAN THIS NASTY HOUSE! Yuck!
How come everytime I get close to my mini goal that I set for myself I mysteriously gain a pound and a half? It's really starting to annoy me. I was at 181.5 on Wednesday. Now, I was 183. It's making me insane.
Well off to do some work I guess. Be back later!
Pam