History

I love teachable moments.

Teachable moments are those moments where you don't plan on something increadible happening, but it does and it leads the class on an awesome discusion or discovery that otherwise might never have occured.

This election has done so. History was made. Although, if you think about it, if McCain had won, history still would have been made with the first female Vice President!

Our school gets a boatloa of newspapers everyday for anyone to use/read. Often a class will take a whole stack and do some activity but more often it is just the teachers taking a newspaper to read throughout the day. My coteacher and I grabbed a large stack today that had the "OBAMA WINS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION" headline and passed them out to our class. We talked about the importance of this election and no matter who we/you/I thought should have won, history was made and that this could be a very important event that years later our children may ask us about.

We led them on a newspaper scavenger hunt to find out how many popular and electorial votes each candidate got, found a quote from each candidate, how many electorial votes Florida controls, an article in the local section about the election, and various other things. At the end, we told them that they might want to hang on to their newspapers as it is possible that years from now it may be worth something, and if nothing else, it will remind them of the importance of voting.

Tuesday Teaser (on Wednesday!!)

Even though I have homework, I still find ways to sneak in "me time" now and then!

I'm still working on making my way through Brisingr and The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide For Women and since I've already "teased" these books, the only other book I'm reading is my textbook. sigh. I'm sure it's not the most interesting book in the world but I have to admit it is WAY better than the research class I just finished!

So today's 2 sentence teaser may not interest too many people but it is relevant to my life as a Special Education teacher. From page 146 of Understanding Reading Problems: Assessment and Instruction (7th ed.) by J.W. Gillet, C. Temple, and A. Crawford,

"Second, formal reading tests typically do not assess reading in authentic ways. In real life, comprehension is often demonstrated by doing something with the information that is gained."

Even though we aren't at this point in the book yet, I couldn't agree with this statement more! When I read, I read for enjoyment most of the time, however, when I read for information, it is because I am going to DO something with the information. Only in school do I ever read something because I know that I will have to answer questions about it.

Also, in real life, if I am reading for information, I don't have a time limit on it. I can take my time, read slowly and re-read if I need to for clarification. Children who are being tested don't have that luxury, well most don't anyway. Unless a child has an IEP or a 504 plan due to some disability or medical issue with testing accommodations, he or she has to read the passage and answer questions within a limited amount of time. Even in college, I rarely had a real time limit that was measured in minutes rather than days. The information was to be read prior to going to sit for the test rather than having to read cold (new) material during the testing.

What are we doing to our kids? Are we actually preparing them for adulthood and life after school, or are we just collecting test data? Thoughts??

Anger

I found out some very sad news yesterday. My uncle passed away a few days ago.

We all know about the stages of grief and quite honestly, I didn't expect to go though much more than sadness at his passing. I don't mean to sound heartless or cold or anything, but we weren't all that close. Don't get me wrong, I loved him, but I didn't know him until I was 18 and I only saw him a few times (at most) every year; mainly at Christmas or Thanksgiving. We just weren't as close as we may have been had I known him since birth and grew up with him next door as my half brother and sister did.

I think that I jumped from zero to anger to acceptance, of course with sadness mixed in all over.

Sunday night I was tired. Downright, out and out, pooped. I was already in bed sailing along in dreamland when my phone rang at 10:45pm. Not wanting to fully wake up or deal with anything, I decided not to answer the phone, even though I saw it was my biological mother. I thought to myself, "I'll call her back tomorrow," thinking it was about my little brother's boot camp graduation again.

Monday morning I woke up, got dressed, and went to work, forgetting my cell phone and in turn not checking my message. Getting a feeling that I needed to know what that message said, I called my husband from work asking him to check the message on my phone. He did as I waited. That is how I found out that my uncle had died.

At first I thought I was OK. A little in shock and of course sad, but together enough, I thought, to finish my day at work. I teared up talking to my co-teacher about it, but overall I thought I was handling it and would be able to make it. However, after a little while I realized that I did actually need to come home because my mind was not on my students or what was supposed to be going on. My students need me to be on the top of my game 110% of the time so to be distracted isn't acceptable. Better to go home, deal with this, and come back fresh.

On the drive home, anger hit.

Damn him for not taking care of himself. He knew he had diabetes but he didn't lose the weight, he didn't watch what he ate, and he didn't always take his meds as he needed. He was already going blind due to the diabetes and had lost one toe completely and all feeling in both feet. Why, why, why, didn't he just take care of himself?!

Why didn't I answer the phone? Not that I could have changed anything, but why did I put myself above my gut feeling that something was wrong. I should have known that my mom wouldn't have called me that late at night unless something was going on. Why didn't I just answer the darn phone and talk to her rather than her having to leave a message for my husband to relay to me later?

And while we are on it, damn her for not trying the house phone after she didn't get ahold of me on the cell. If she would have called the house then I would have known that something was going on because she obviously really needed to get ahold of me.

All of which, I know, are irrational angers. As much as I would like to, I can't change my uncles past behaviors, and he didn't want to die I'm sure of it. Me answering the phone wouldn't have made him live. In fact, because I didn't I was able to actually get a good night's sleep before dealing with these emotions. I have no right or reason to be mad at my mom for not calling the house. She had just lost her brother, I wouldn't be thinking clearly if something had happened to my brother either.

Once I finally got home and was able to call my mom, I found out at he had actually died a day or two ago but no one knew. My Poppa was the one who found him. How horrible must that have been to find your baby boy (no matter how grown up - 49 years old) dead in his bed. My poor Granny is going though the beginnings of Alzheimer's so this has to be very upsetting for her as well with her lapses of memory that she knows she is having.

Cue the anger again. Why didn't my grandparents know he was dead before he laid in bed for a day or two? He lived with them after all! Wouldn't you notice that your son hasn't been out of his room at all? And now the rational side - Uncle was always a "hermit" even in his own house. He would stay in his room on the computer or watching TV sometimes all day long only coming out to grab food and take it back to his room. Poppa worked in the groves from sun-up to sun-down. He often wouldn't see Uncle because his "food gathering times" didn't always coincide with when Poppa was at the house. Granny, like I mentioned, is starting to have memory lapses. She may not have realized that she hadn't seen him for a while. It's possible that she thought he had been out for breakfast when in fact that was 3 days ago. The fact that it took a day or so to realize that something may be wrong is still very sad, yet understandable now that I'm over the anger part of my grief.

I've yelled and I've cried and, for now at least, I think I am doing better. Thursday is the viewing and Friday the funeral. Until then, I'll take it day by day and do the best I can.

Menu Planning Monday (and last weeks cooking adventures)

Last Week:

I didn't get as much cooking practice as I had hoped for this past week. Again, life seems to get in the way...well, life and some kind of bug that got me too :(

I did manage to (sorta) make the Chicken Supreme on Thursday. Tuesday morning, hubby took out some chicken to marinate before he went to bed to grill for dinner (night shift). When he did finally get up, he didn't feel well and didn't feel like grilling it. However by this time it was too late for me to make anything either since I had to go somewhere that evening. The next day we were both sick and neither wanted to do anything. So by Thursday the chicken had been marinating in a mixture of Mojo and Tequila Lime for 2 days and we needed to cook it but he still felt bad and couldn't get out of bed. I decided to try the Chicken Supreme recipe and use this chicken even thought it had been marinating. I also used green peppers and white onion instead of green onion because I forgot to get any. It actually still turned out pretty well! I paired it with Lipton's Mushroom Rice and it was a nice little dinner :)

Saturday Morning I hopped up and tried to make Trina's Pumpkin Bread for breakfast before hubby got home from night shift. I was mixing away doing (what I think was) a great job, then all of a sudden, the eggs that had been in the fridge only one day before were GONE! I called hubby to see what had happened to the eggs. He said he had tossed them because he thought they were the old ones! UGH!! No eggs, too early for the grocery store to be open and I've got 1/2 of it made already. ::Note to self, check for ALL ingredients BEFORE starting to cook!:: I did have some egg beaters and even though I wasn't sure if it would work or not, I figured it was worth a shot and I'd call it a learning experience! The muffins never did quite set right (as I thought they might not because of the eggs) but they tasted absolutely Delicious! I can't wait to try it again with real eggs so hopefully they will be more like bread and less like goo! I wish someone had already invented scratch-and-sniff computer screens because they made the whole house smell pumpkiny spicy and Yummmmmmmmy!! :)

A little later on Saturday morning I decided to try a new crock-pot recipe because hubby and I were going to go to our Capoiera class that afternoon and we knew we would be hungry when we got home but too tired to cook. I got this recipe from About.com's Southern Food. It was called Cowboy Casserole on one page and Beef and Bean Casserole on another page, but because I grew up in the sticks with a bunch of cowboys, I'm going to call it Cowboy Casserole! It was really good, and quite cowboyish! It was a tad dry looking as it was cooking so I added some water to it but it turned out perfectly.

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This week (subject to change at a moment's notice):

Monday - Hubby will be visiting his parents so I'm on my own. Probably left overs or a sandwich or something

Tuesday - ??? Hubby may or may not be back from his visit back home.

Wednesday - Hot Potato Casserole (third times a charm?)

Thursday - Creamy Broccoli Chicken

Friday - ??? Hubby's night to cook or take me to dinner!

Saturday - Stuffed Green Peppers

Sunday - Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (torn out of Better Homes and Gardens some time ago - see below)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 1/3 cups water

3/4 cups uncooked long grain white rice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 cups frozen veggies

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper, and veggies in 11x8 shallow baking dish

2. Top with chicken. Season Chicken as desired. Cover

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 mins or until chicken and rice are done. Top with cheese. Let casserole stand. Stir rice before serving.

Orgjunkie has a lot more recipies and menu plans if you want to head on over there and plan your own!

About Me

Questions and Answers:

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:… "...or in our heads, of the things we want to do: I want to visit all Seven..."

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?… The couch

3.What is the last thing you watched on TV?... Super Nanny

4.WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what time it is:… 10:00

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?… 9:55

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?… The TV

7. When did you last step outside? what were you doing?… Earlier this afternoon to help bring in groceries

8. Before you came to this website, what did you look at? Another blog

9. What are you wearing?… T-shirt and shorts

10. Did you dream last night?… I'm sure I did but I don't remember it

11. When did you last laugh?… funny comercial on tv a little bit ago.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?.. Tera Cotta Paint, some pictures, shelves, and sconces

13. Seen anything weird lately?… I teach 6th grade. I see weird things DAILY!

14. What do you think of this quiz?… Entertaining

15. What is the last movie you saw?… Something on Disney Channel

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first? Pay off some bills, and buy some land

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know:… Sometimes I hate running!

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?…I would give everyone more understanding and tolarence of each other and for those different than them.

19. Do you like to dance?… Sure

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? a boy?… A girl- Cadence Maria, a boy-Taylor Kenneth

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?… I'd love to!


I'm tagging anyone who wants to answer... :)

I'm not pregnant

I'm doing things right. Not to imply in ANY way shape or form that any other way is wrong, but mine is the socially acceptable "right" way. I got married first. I got married at 26. I got married to a man I had known since HS but he wasn't my HS boyfriend. I was not pregnant when I got married. I didn't have have a child before I got married. Like I said, the socially-accepted "right" way. (I know MANY MANY people who may have done things "backwards" but ddn't let anyone hold them down or make them feel ashamed and are AWESOME mothers, fathers, and people in general!)

So why does everyone make a big deal out of the fact that I don't have kids yet? Yes, I'm about to turn 31, no I don't have children of my own. Yes, I love children, that's part of why I'm a teacher. Yes, my husband loves children too, you should see him play with our baby nephews. No, I don't want to have this conversation with you.

Why do people think it's OK to ask when/if I'm going to have a child? Maybe we aren't ready yet. Maybe I can't have children. Maybe my husband can't. Maybe we don't want to bring kids into this crazy world. Maybe Hubby and I are trying with no success so far. And maybe, just maybe, It's None Of Your Business!

Every time I'm tired/sick/hungry/have a headache someone asks me if I'm pregnant. No, I'm just tired/sick/hungry/have a headache for crying out loud! Pregnant women may hold the monopoly on Ice Cream and Pickle Sandwiches, but not on being tired/sick/hungry/having headaches!

Why is it that babies and pregnancy seem to imply "come jump right into my personal space and life?" If it is a choice, then it is our choice and you implying that we should have made a different choice is offencive. If we can't/haven't been able to yet, then it is possibly a very hurtful subject that you keep bringing up. I obviously don't want to talk about it with you or I already would have, so your continually bringing it up to me is offencive.

If a conversation of kids comes up, it is not offencive to ask, "Do you and your husband ever think about having kids?" At least, I find nothing offencive about a simple question. The offencive part comes when you continually ask, and when you ask in a way in which it seems like you are accusing me of not doing something that, as a woman, you see as my "job" or "lot in life."

Ugh...just thinking about it is giving me a headache. And no...I'M NOT PREGNANT, but I'll let you know if/when I am!

Rant over.

Halloween Night

I dressed up as Atalanta again for school for Halloween. Halloween is always so much fun with all the little kids dressed up and the older kids acting like crazies! haha! They may be crazy but I love 'em! I got some really good pictures of my students today playing on the playground and enjoying out Halloween party, but to protect them, I won't post them. You'll just have to trust me that they were really good! :) One of my 6th graders even had the exact same costume I had... a mini-me! I had to get a picture of us!

I also ate more than my fair share of Halloween candy and pizza and coke between the hours of 8 and 3! UGH Perhaps that is why I am still awake. SUGAR HIGH! I'm supposed to run 12 miles in the morning. I somehow doubt I'm going to make it. We'll just have to see!

After dressing as an Ancient Greek Princess at school all day, I for some unknown reason STAYED dressed as an Ancient Greek Princess to pass out candy last night! I love seeing all the costumes though. The prize goes to a little girl, probably about 2 or 3, who was the most precious ladybug I've ever seen in my life!!

In addition to this, I send my husband to the store to pick up BAKING POWDER. That's all, just some baking powder that I forgot to grab when I went to the grocery store a few days ago. He comes home with about 7 or 8 bags of groceries! I JUST WENT ON THURSDAY! Apparently I didn't get any "real food." Also, by judging the contents of his grocery bags, "real food" consists of chocolate cake, five more bags of Halloween candy ("But they were on sale!" he says.), pudding, sweet tea, two boxes of doughnuts, and muffins. I'm finally trying to learn to cook and he says I'm not buying "real food" now?? LMAO ...MEN! haha :)

Finally, In 31 days, I will be 31 years old. To honor this, I'm going to try to post SOMETHING for 31 days in a row. This is my first! :)

Teaser Tuesday

Although I haven't finished reading Brisingr yet, I am also reading The Non-Runners Marathon Guide For Women, Get Off Your Butt and On With Your Training by Dawn Dais. It is a hysterically funny look on one woman's race to become a marathon runner. It is a must-read for anyone trying or thinking about trying to run those 26.2 miles of hell that only us crazy people do. My teaser sentences come from page 64.

"Chipper Jen had told me to look for a multivitamin and a vitamin by the name of 'glucosamine,' which is supposed to help my knees and other joints. Instead of glucosamine, I've always used the popular 'sit-on-my-ass-amine' vitamin, and my knees have never hurt."

Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Should Be Reading, asks you to grab your current read, open to a random page and post 2 sentences between lines 7 and 12, avoiding spoilers and posting the title and author as well. I don't often participate, but the last two Tuesday's I've had something to share so I played along! :) I'd love to hear about what you are reading, even if I don't have time to read much right now!

Menu Planning Monday

Ahhh Life.. You have to love it, but it seems to get in the way of the best laid plans!

Last week's food adventures:

Monday Hubby and I went to Capoiera. Wasn't pretty. Perhaps it was because I had run a 1/2 marathon the day before or because I hadn't eaten much that day but I was not on my game what-so-ever!

Tuesday I made the Pizza Pinwheels and hubby and I LOVED them! They were a tad burnt on the edges and a tad doughy in the middle so next time I'm going to try decreasing the heat and keeping them in a tad longer to see if that helps. This is without a recipe I will keep! I only got a picture of what they looked like going into the oven (I don't have a round cookie sheet so I just used what I had), because they were devoured soon after coming out of the oven!

Hmm...what happened Wednesday? Oh yeah, Hubby decided to take me out to dinner because I had a looooooooong stressful day at work! Who am I to pass up an evening out with my gorgeous husband?

Then Thursday I came home read to take the meat out of the fridge to make the meatloaf (changing my plan of potato casserole to Sunday night) only to find that Hubby had taken out and was marinating some steaks he wanted to grill. Again, if you've ever had my hubby's grilling, you know not to mess with perfection and let him at it!

Friday was my 5K race...I did well but didn't have time to make a/didn't want to eat a "real" meal before running so I just grabbed a granola bar before the race. After the race I ran into some friends of mine that had also run and we went to get pizzas.

Saturday I was on my own as Hubby was out of town. I ran 10 miles in the morning and was then starving all day. I ate everything I could get my hands on that didn't require much energy or effort to make as I was too tired to stand for long! On top of the Power bar/moons/recovery drink I had before/during/after my run, I ate cereal, pretzels, waffles, and a couple of PB&J sandwiches. There were probably more than a couple chocolate peanut butter cups too!

On Sunday hubby called to tell me he was on the way home and I went ahead and had the meatloaf and shells and cheese ready when he got here! Although I think I may alter it a bit and add more ground beef, it was absolutely delicious! I used my "low fat" meat loaf pan (it has 2 layers, the top part has holes in the bottom to drain off the fat which collects in lower) and it was still very moist and wonderful!

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This week I want to try to make this pumpkin bread recipe I found over at 100 Days to Christmas. I'm not going to commit to a day to make it, because... well, like I said, life tends to get in the way and with as busy as I am lately, it's a wonder I have time to do any cooking! However, if this pumpkin bread is good enough to make someone who claimed to have had THE BEST pumpkin bread recipe change their mind and start using this one instead, it's worth a shot!It is supposed to be really moist and yummy. I'll definitely let you know how it turns out for me! I do need to go get a few things from the grocery store in order to make it though.

I also want to make Chicken Breast Supreme one night. I have most of the ingredients already so no shopping for this one :)

I am also going to make the Hot Potato Casserole sometime!

Running as Atalanta

How much more fun can a 3.1 mile race be? Toss in a costume or two and it's a blast! I ran the Pumpkins in the Park 5K dressed as Atalanta. I figured although not really accrate (I wasn't breaking ay speed limits), it was an appropriate thing to dress up as for a footrace!

I had to tie up the skirt so that I could actually run in it, but I plan on wearing the same costume on Friday (but with the skirt down, my hair fixed, sandals, and at least a little make-up).