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Oh my god … why am I watching this movie?

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It is literally painful to watch, and yet I can’t make myself stop. 

In other news, my little darlings have been getting into all sorts of trouble.  Case in point … on Friday Erik forgot his cookie in the classroom during lunchtime.  To a seven-year-old child, this apparently is a dire emergency.  One of my smartypants girls decided to come to Erik’s rescue by attempting to pick the lock of the classroom door with, of all things, a wood chip from the playground.   Betcha can’t guess what happened next.  Yep, the wood chip broke inside the lock, and we all ended up being locked out after lunch.  Aren’t kids a hoot?

On Wednesday the WHOLE ENTIRE SCHOOL is going to the L.A. County Fair.  Thankfully, the weather has finally cooled down.  Let’s just say that hundreds of farm animals and hot muggy weather aren’t the best combination.  The kids (and me too!) are bummed that they won’t be able to eat junk food, shop, play games, or go on any rides, but I keep reminding them that it beats staying at school.  I’m going to try to get them to the more exciting animals and maybe the homemaking building.  I love looking at the decorated cakes and the table settings.  If not there, maybe the kids’ science and art exhibition halls.   We’ll see what time and behavior permit.   

Quote of the Day:

And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until
then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself
than ever before. 
~Francesca, Bridges of Madison County

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Quickie update:

  • now entering Week 3 of jury duty …
  • just got back from a quick trip to San Simeon … it was lovely; Hearst Castle is amazing, even on the third visit
  • new A/C installed and I’m $3,000 poorer
  • eagerly awaiting the arrival of my copy of the final Harry Potter book
  • fighting a huge headache brought on by trying to play microscopic solitaire on the iPod in the car … hence the brief entry

Quote of the Day:

When you go into court, you
are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart
enough to get out of jury duty.   ~Norm Crosby


You can just call me Little Miss Sunshine

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Summer vacation is now two weeks old.  Wanna hear the highlights?

  • found out we are losing our principal, meaning major changes coming down the pike next year
  • experienced minor meltdown
  • called off wedding
  • backed out of escrow on a house and took mine off the market
  • spent a very hot, sweaty, dusty day packing classroom
  • attended a one-week training that was a criminal waste of taxpayer dollars … didn’t learn a single thing in five whole days
  • got to break wedding news … over and over again ALL week long
  • was rearended on the freeway … car sustained considerable bumper damage but nobody injured
  • while on the phone reporting accident, received a call informing me that my uncle died
  • was nominated by sisters to break the news of uncle’s passing to dad
  • started week two off with jury duty … can you say “false imprisonment?” 
  • spent one day in waiting room of surgery center waiting while dad had what are hopefully only polyps removed from sinuses
  • received our estimate for the new condenser on our A/C … to the tune of $3000!
  • received my “Back to School” catalog from Lakeshore today!

So, tomorrow I find out if I will be a juror on a case expected to last two weeks.  That would just be the icing on the cake.

Aren’t you glad I updated?

Quote of the Day:


Life is a long lesson in humility.  ~James M. Barrie

Okay … three things I am thankful for today:

  • Otis Spunkmeyer cookies in the courthouse snack shop… best thing about jury duty
  • amusing histrionics on the part of jurors attempting to shirk their civic duties … second best thing about jury duty
  • good books to keep me company … just finished Lisa See’s new book, Peony in Love.  Great book!


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Hey … guess what!  I’m clairvoyant!  Remember this?

“I’m almost done with the grades, so I will have the rest of this week to work on comments.  Somehow I know I’ll still be writing comments an hour before they’re due.”

Well, I bet you can’t guess what I spent the evening doing.  Yep, the dreaded report card comments.  But,  they are finally done, and I don’t have to worry about that again for a couple months.

I saw “The Departed” today.  Mafia movies aren’t usually my cup of tea, but how can one not like two and half hours spent with the likes of Matt and Leonardo?  I am a big Matt Damon fan, but I have to say that Leo outshone him this time.  I still hope to catch “The Last King of Scotland” before the Oscars.  Has anyone seen it?

I spent the past week fighting a cold … the kind that migrates around and delivers a new brand of annoyance each day … first the scratchy throat … then the dry cough … followed by the post-nasal drip … and then the stuffed up ears … and finally the lingering juicy cough. 
Most of yesterday was one long nap.  That seems to have helped, but I’m still dog tired.  So, I’m off to bed hoping to finally kick this thing.

Coming soon: Kelly jetsets to Vegas.  In the meantime, please send some good vibes in the direction of my terrarium.  I’m hoping everyone will still be present and accounted for tomorrow morning.  Oh, and the roaches are going home tomorrow.  Finding one on my classroom carpet was the last hurrah.

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I have spent the weekend on the edge of being sick.  My throat is scratchy and hot, and I feel quite a bit less than energetic.  I’m hoping vitamin C, echinacea, and zinc will stave off the full-blown cold.  I swear I should don a hazmat suit at work.  I know exactly where this came from … the petri dish that is my classroom.  Could it have been Vanessa coughing all over me?  Or maybe Erik breathing steamy breath all over me while I was helping him with his math?  Or perhaps their cooties all over my eraser that they love to borrow?  Yes, I think it’s all of those.

I spent today working on report cards.  We have new standards-based report cards this year, meaning that we have to evaluate every student on every standard on top of giving effort and achievement grades for each subject area.  It takes FOREVER!  But, I actually like the new report card because it gives parents such specific information about student performance.  I’m almost done with the grades, so I will have the rest of this week to work on comments.  Somehow I know I’ll still be writing comments an hour before they’re due.  Yes, I know this is becoming quite an exciting entry.


My sister’s birthday is tomorrow, so that means I get to eat a dinner I didn’t cook. Yay!  I’ve been trying to avoid eating out, and I’m getting sick of my own cooking.  My youngest sister was responsible for the cake, and she is so proud because she found one that looks like a giant hamburger … one big blob of frosting … not that there’s anything wrong with that.  ;-)

Well, I’m off to down a few more vitamins.  Happy Monday to all!

Unrelated Quote of the Day:

“A woman’s heart is a deep ocean of secrets.”~Gloria Stuart in Titanic

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Inspired by Jason and the evil specter of cramps, I took the day off today.  After the guilt (and cramps) wore off, it was like heaven.  I have been so stressed lately; it was so wonderful to just read a book, take a nap, do some laundry, and basically just enjoy some peace and quiet.  And I still have my students’ welcome to look forward to tomorrow.  The kids’ renewed love and appreciation is one of the best parts of missing school.   

In other news, we have some new classroom pets on loan from a student’s family.  The first to arrive were the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches … about eight of them.



I am rather proud of myself because I finally managed to hold one.  Hey, if an itty bitty first grade girl visiting my room after school can do it, I can too!

Our other pets arrived a couple days later in a big terrarium.  Two snakes, three frogs, and three lizards … all sooo, sooo cute! 

Then, sadly, one of the lizards died on the first day, and the following day, one of the snakes bit the dust.  I spoke to the parent, and he doesn’t know what could have happened, but hopefully, whatever it was won’t happen again.  We’ve learned enough about the circle of life this past week, thank you very much.  I was initially pleasantly surprised to see how cute the snakes were, but I am now keeping a close eye on the remaining snake because, while it may just be my own prejudice, I have a feeling he may be the culprit.  I practically held my breath all weekend, hoping I wouldn’t return on Monday to find a fat snake and nobody else, but, since Friday, we haven’t had any new fatalities. 

The kids have been decidedly naughtier since our pets’ arrival, but I have now threatened to send the pets home if I don’t see a quick return to their usual good behavior.  The no-more-Miss-Nice-Guy threats seemed to have helped.  I told the sub to be ruthless today, so we’ll see.

Well, off to bed and back to the salt mines bright and early tomorrow.

Quote of the day:


Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.  ~Richard Carlson