Monday, March 31, 2008

April Fool's!

The dreaded day of every person who knows a prankster is upon us. Tomorrow, pranksters of all ages will descend upon the unsuspecting to unleash their terror. Many of us will turn on the faucet and have water spray into our faces (Mom, watch out for that one - my loving siblings got me with that one all the time!!!). Others of us will go to relieve ourselves in the bathroom only to have our waste dribble down the side of the toilet because someone has put plastic wrap on the seat. Then there will be those of us who will sit down at our desks without seeing the up-turned tack in our seats. All the while, the pranksters in our lives will be hiding and laughing at us. Oh, did I mention that if anyone else sees you, they will laugh at you too. Let's just get it out there, you will likely be the subject of everyone's laughter at work or at school for the next month.

Last year I was so glad that April Fool's fell on a weekend. That way I didn't have to worry about teenagers getting the best of me while I was standing up in front of the class. This year however, it's not. Tomorrow, as I wake up, my stomach will be tied in knots. I don't know what my students have up their sleeves, but I know I'm not ready for it. This year I have the upper hand because I already played an early joke on them. They heard this morning that we were going on a field trip tomorrow. Little did they know that it was a fake field trip to the moon (how many times I've wanted to send them for real!!). They were worked up about it all day. I even had one student worry he wouldn't get to go because he didn't have his work done and he got a detention slip. I sent the permission slip home amongst a bunch of other papers. It will be funny to see how many actually come back. Maybe I started early trouble for myself and tomorrow will be a day of revenge.

We shall see, I will keep you updated!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Where are you?

This goes out to my sister because:

1. She hasn't posted on her blog in a long time and I check it every day to see if there's something, and..

2. They love the Grinch so I know she will appreciate it.

"Where Are You Lindsay"

Where are you Lindsay
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

My world is gone now
I only yawn now
Does that mean you’ve gone too

Where are you Lindsay
Do you remember
The blog you used to know
I'm still the same one
Our time is not done
Why you have let me go

Friday, March 21, 2008

Being sick...

Being sick stinks! No matter who you are or how old you are, it just stinks. Every time I'm sick, I want my mom. There's just something about your mom that makes you feel better. I don't know if it's from years of taking care of you when you were little but moms just seem to do the trick. I have a great husband and family that are taking care of me and I appreciate them so much! Josh tried to get Andrew's attention while he was taking care of the yard and that little boy stood at the door and knocked and yelled for Andrew so he could get me a trash can. It was cute! When my head is over that trash can though, I just want my mommy!!!! Love you mom!!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Customer Service

Call me Miss Manners, call me old fashioned, but I think people's customer service skills are lacking. I don't think it's because I live in a large town either. I think people today are just lazy and they honestly don't care about giving you the best experience in a store. Should they care? They are getting paid anyway, whether or not you buy something or leave the store mad. My problem is the people that work for tips. For example, yesterday Josh and I went to get our hair cut. The lady that cut Josh's hair had another guy in her chair before Josh. She must've known him because she was chatting him up the whole time. Now guys don't have a lot of hair so it shouldn't take long, right? Well, she was cutting his hair before we got there and we waited at least 20 minutes if not longer. When it was Josh's turn, she suddenly got grouchy. I understand he's little but he can answer questions. The same thing has happened to Andrew when he gets his hair cut. The lady chats up the cute firefighter in front of him and then clams up when Andrew gets in the chair.

And what's with making people wait? When the ladies are done with a customer at the hair place, they highlight the ticket, they saunter back to their station and clean their clippers (yes, I know that's important but does it have to take 15 minutes?), they lazily sweep the floor, they walk to the back room and have a piece of cake (one they didn't need in the first place), then they finally saunter back to the front and call the next person's name. All of that took 20 minutes when I've already been waiting 20! It's like they do it on purpose to see if another stylist finishes before them. It's almost like they are picking and choosing who they want. If you don't want to serve people, why do you have a job that requires customer service?

How about restaurant service? Can you go anywhere that really serves you and takes care of you as a customer? And what's the business about being afraid to say something? I'm scared to complain about my food anymore. Why? You know when they take your food back someone's doing something disgusting to it or you are scared they will. Why should I have to feel bad about ordering water too? I don't want all the sugar that pop has and pop is stinking expensive! Why can't I order water? Yes, I know it lowers my bill and therefore you are getting less of a tip, but deal with it!

I guess I miss the days of true customer service when someone really earns their tip or their pay. I guess this also shows how my parents brought me up to not be lazy. I think too many people are spoiled today and they get what they want anyway so they don't have to work for it. So in the end, thanks Mom and Dad for not spoiling me!

P.S. I think this deserves the title of a rant! Don't worry, I'm off my soapbox - sorry.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Old people still rock!!

At my school, we try to promote team spirit. So, every once in a while, the staff will vs. the students in a game. In the fall, it was volleyball because that was the sport they were playing at the time. We were a little worried they would beat us because their record was like 5-1. Surprisingly, we won. We also won the year before.


This year we tried a new game: kickball. Now, we were even more worried. I mean, old people rounding bases? Do you know the last time I played kickball? I was in grade school (more than a decade ago!). Do you remember "requesting" your pitch? You know: smooth, bumpy, or extra bumpy. So yesterday we played the students in a 6 inning, no strikes, kickball game and we won!! The staff won 25 to 13. See, old people still rock!!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I must be doing something right...

So I've heard parents say that when you're kid tells you they hate you, you must be doing something right, right? Well, it sure doesn't feel good when it happens. Let's travel back 45 minutes...I put my kids to bed, read them a story and turn on their music. My daughter is asleep after maybe 10 minutes, my son...yeah, right! He gets up and I make him go back to bed. I usually use the Supernanny technique where you don't talk to them you just lead them back to bed. Well, it's now 30 minutes later and I have gotten up at least 20 times to take him back to bed. During the times he has gotten out of bed, I have had 2 pillows thrown at me and 2 books thrown at me. He has slammed the door on me at least twice, told me he didn't love me and stuck his tongue out at me. To put a cherry on top, he yelled "I hate you!"

Now, almost 45 minutes and he just came in and apologized to me for throwing books at me, "dicking" (he can't say his "s's") his tongue out at me, shutting the door and being mean to me. At the beginning of this post I was crying because I felt like my son didn't love me, and I wasn't doing anything right. Now, I am crying because he knows he did something wrong, and he knows he should apologize for it. When it comes down to it, maybe I am doing something right.

Friday, March 7, 2008

The only video game I can play!!!


I found these old video games to put on your blog, and I thought I would try adding them a few at a time. The next one I'm going to get is Mrs. PacMan. My sister will never leave my site!!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Test your travel IQ

I found this link on someone's blog and I clicked on it and started to play. It's a little addicting - so beware!!

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

6 Word Story

Do you think you can do it? Ernest Hemingway did! He once wrote a story in just six words. Want to hear it? "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." It has been said that he called this his best work. There are several listed on the internet at:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html

I gave this challenge to my middle schoolers earlier this year and they had fun with it. Some of their stories included:

I'm blessed. Blessings gave me friends.

Serving in the gym, playing volleyball.

Shoes, very comfy, fun to wear.

Cute shoes in the store. Now pinching.

Cow born, makes milk, fresh beef (I think this one is my favorite!)

Volleyball, smooth going, Friday. Going down.

Good luck coming up with one of your own!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Teacher of the Year

No, I didn't get nominated from my school just in case you were wondering. I do want to explore the criteria for someone to be voted on (by other teachers) for teacher of the year. What does this title mean? Can this title only be held by people who are veteran teachers? For example, does a teacher who has only taught 2 years deserve this title as much as someone who has taught for 20 years or longer? What about education? If someone has more education, do they deserve that title more? I can't complain too much because I forgot to turn my nomination in so I really have no room to talk. I am just confused because of a situation that happened which involved a so called "Teacher of the Year." I guess the question comes down to who deserves it and who has worked for it. If they are the same person that's great but if they're not, one needs to do more consideration before a vote is cast. I'm sorry if this is a confusing post but I'm just trying to blow off some steam. You know my phone number if you need more explanation. By the way, this stuff will happen at any school :-)

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

My list of books

I love to read and that's just the beginning. One day, I started a book in the morning and I didn't finish it until the afternoon. I think I read from 9 until almost 3. Sometimes I will see or hear about a book I want to read but then I forget about it. I am forever making lists about books I want to read so I won't forget. Of course, then I lose the list! So, here's my list (I can't lose this one!)
  1. Blink by Tim Deeker
  2. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
  3. The Gift by Richard Paul Evans
  4. The Witness by Dee Henderson (I actually have this book from the library, it's just a matter of opening it and starting it.)
  5. House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton (this one should be first on my list because my 7th graders are reading it right now. They're on chapter 7 and I have to get ahead of them!!!)
  6. Any new books from Terri Blackstock's Night Light series. If you have not read these, you should. It is a great series!

That's my list for now. We'll see how I do!

Monday, March 3, 2008

Josh's Arm

As many of you know, Josh broke his arm in early December. He was playing at school and fell. The break was right at his elbow joint so there was a concern about whether or not it would heal right. If it didn't heal right, there was the possibility he would have to have surgery and have a pin put in. He had his final appointment in early Feb. The doctor took x-rays and said his arm looked great. She said it looked like it had never been broken in the first place. Many people would contribute that to us being lucky (which we aren't) or to him being a child. Us, on the other hand, are contributing it to the amazing healing that God can do. We fully believe that God healed Josh's arm and allowed it grow back the way it did. Thank you to all of our family who prayed for him - we so appreciated it. I've included a picture of what he looked like with his cast on. His first cast was blue and his second cast was glow-in-the-dark.