The Last Week of School

My experience last year as the P.E. teacher in charge of field day (or three of them) in no way prepared me for the enormous waste of time the last week of school is. I have been thinking a lot on this recently. And I realized that there is no way around it. The last week must be a waste of time. If we shortened school a week, there would be a new last week. (Don't think too hard about this, it probably leads to a logical warp hole. Beware, here there be dragons.) Anyway, so the last week is when we cram in field day, dance festival, movies, and cleaning. The teachers especially like the help with cleaning. I know I wish I could personally borrow some of my children to help me pack up my apartment.

So. Today was dance festival and field day. The fifth grade, for ONCE this year did not fall on their face in front of the school or parents. Our dance was wonderful, and Lisa got compliments on it from various parents during field day. Yes, field day. The universal day of sunburn. No matter what precautions I take, I invariably end up looking like a much redder version of myself. (and freckled. I freckle when I tan/burn. Yep. Another blessing.)

Both of these activities ended early, leaving me even more time to entertain the troops. Unfortunately, these little fellas are not entertained by piano playing, singing, or dancing (well, if it comes down to it, I guess I could try those, but I really doubt if it would work.) Okay, so I'm rambling, just blame it on a case of the too-much-to-dos. Speaking of having too much to do, I do. Bye.

Update

First of all, I apologize once again for not posting regularly.

If you're wondering what's happening in my life, you're in good company. I have absolutely no idea. I move a week from yesterday to St. Louis for the summer. Yep. The word of the day is STRESSED: A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression (dictionary.com).

I am now willing to live in St. Louis or Kansas City, whichever decides to produce a job for me first. I am actively searching in STL now since KC seems to have yielded no results so far.

I told my kids today that I wouldn't be returning. I explained that I had lived away from my family for six years and wanted to be nearer to them. Responses ranged from the demand to make THEM move here for me to the boy who laid down and grabbed my leg (a born actor). Surprisingly, there were now shouts of joy or halleluia.

I think that most of all, after my friends here, I will really miss my students. I didn't realize from my P.E. teaching job last year that I could build such a bond with my students. Everytime I look at my rapidly emptying classroom. I want to cry. Unfortunately, there is not enough time. Tomorrow is dance festival and field day. Thursday, for once, we are watching a movie. The afternoon will be filled with cleaning and I have no idea what else.

Well, I have no more time to spare. I have a course to work on besides moving and getting everything else known to mankind accomplished.

For those of you still actually reading, I apologize for the lack of wit, humor, or basically any type of writing skills. I am on autopilot and humor is out the window for now. (Except for when I rock back and forth and laugh hysterically)

Not Knowing

So. I met with three principals yesterday, as well as the man in charge of HR at the district I'm interested in moving to. I enjoyed the first two interviews the most, although I felt I did okay on all of them. I sometimes wonder exactly what they're looking for. Each place has different "buzz words." At the same time, though, I try to implement researched-based practices in my classroom.

I've been staying at my sister's this week. I love my nieces and nephew! I wish I had been more of a help. I've been stressed to the max. I can't wait until this is over and I actually get decent sleep.

Well, here's to not knowing. (It'll probably be at least 10 days before I know one way or the other. Great, huh?)

Ack! Ergh.

So. I've decided. Maybe. to move to KCMO. Whoa. Big decision.

We'll see what happens. I have an interview with a school district on Wednesday. I'm excited, and I hope I get through the screening interview. Oh, well. ACK! I can't even string together a comprehensible sentence.

Me and the Terrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Day

Let's just say that today was not the best day ever. There is something frustrating about killing yourself over something, working hard, and having it blow up in your face. Yep. Just that great.

The day was so bad, I don't feel like reliving details. Goodbye.

The Good Little Girl:

How I Got to Be a County Delegate for My Precinct

So, being the good little girl that I am, when I was told to go and make sure that education got represented within my caucus meeting, I went. I have actually never participated in a caucus meeting, nor did I have any idea what to expect. Needless to say that I didn't really imagine getting elected as a county delegate for my precinct--Hmmm, how do I get myself into these things? We don't know. (Otherwise, we could prevent them.) Not that I'm upset; I'm kinda excited; I just don't know what possessed me to do such a thing.

A perk of the meeting was that a great guy from our ward was there. I got to give him a ride home. Also, I helped make sure that at least one of the state delegates is pro-education.

A disclaimer here: I wouldn't have actually gone to the caucus meeting if I didn't feel passionately about education.

Darn! Darn! Darn!

So. It turns out that keeping ones cellphone in the car is not the best decision on a Friday night. The ONE time in my life someone calls, I don't have it with me. DARN! (Take note that phone call was from friendly boy.) By the time I called back, plans had been made, and they didn't include oblivious me. Ergh.

Well, at least I can pray that they somehow get turned away at the doors of the dance they plan on going to and call me and say, "We need you!" (Am I allowed to pray for something like that?)

Anyway, wish me luck.

Nerd that I am

One of the big negatives about moving to American Fork would be losing the libraries I have here. Sigh. Books.

Decisions, decisions

Well, Squirrel boy asked about the possibilities of me leaving the bubble. I actually have to think about that now. At work Wednesday, one of the sixth-grade teachers asked if anyone was needing a place to live. I do, so I asked her about her offer. There's a basement apartment in American Fork available, so we set an appt for me to see it.

I saw the apt today. It's a 3 bedroom, 1 half-bath. Two bedrooms are about the size of a closet, while the third is huge. There may be no dishwasher. There is no bathtub. There are definitely some drawbacks, but I would be living with a great girl (I don't know the other roommate yet) and I would be out of this city. I have no clue what to do, but I would like to live in a place where twenty four doesn't feel ancient.

Argh.

So, even though I haven't exactly seen the new P&P yet, I still had enough faith to buy it--or I would have bought it if I could have gotten my hands on it. I went to Wal-mart this morning to buy the widescreen version and lo and behold, it was not in yet, only the full screen. So, I sweet talked the guy there into holding one for me (not an easy task believe me). Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I returned later to find my copy sold to the masses. Yep, apparently, after my newly-made friend had gotten off work, the manager had made the staff put back all copies being held. I got there at 5 pm to find only a couple of copies of the full screen left.

I am still somewhat undaunted at this point. Three stores and six phone calls later, I quit. No P&P for me in the foreseeable future.

Sniff. Only in Utah county. Only in Utah county.

Productive Day

Well, I actually got a lot finished today. Went to the gym, went shopping at Wal-mart, helped make dessert, ate dinner with friends, watched the third Star Wars, and wrote a talk for tomorrow (well, actually today now).

Hurray for productive days!

It's interesting to me that I'm giving a talk tomorrow. Right now, I have three callings in the ward: ward organist (touched a real organ for the first time on Wednesday), ward missionary committee, and FHE group leader. Yep, lots of fun is had by all.

I'm just glad it's not my Sunday to play the organ. Otherwise, it would kinda feel like the Michelle show. I hate when that happens.

Anyway, goodnight.

Manic Monday

Sometimes I wish that my Mondays felt more manic and less like swimming through a swimming pool of jell-o. I am happy for FHE and all that jazz, but for some reason, returning to school is hard--especially since I'm trying to get too much done at once.

Today in class, we worked on the multitasking skill. We do this very seldom, and I will try not to do it the rest of the year, since it is ineffective.

I just got off of the phone with my bank. My auto deduct into my savings was set up incorrectly, and now it's fixed. I'm very glad.

I am about to start babbling, so I'll sign off.

The End IS NEAR

Yep. The end of the week is finally here. I've had Parent Teacher Conferences and managed to survive without being yelled at, chewed out, or otherwise harassed. HURRAH! (Although, this celebration is a little premature since I still have to contact 6 parents to reschedule.) Oh, well.

Home Again, Home Again (Jiggedy Jig)

Ack!

Still no posts to help rename me. This could be because I've lost most of my readers. Come back to the light all ye poor lost souls. You can do it!

Naming Me Contest

I have to admit, I'm not thrilled with the name I randomly picked out for myself. So, I am accepting suggestions (appropriate ones, please). Feel free to submit as many as you like to the naming committee (namely, Divine and me). The winner will get a free e-mail from me thanking them for the name.

On your mark, get set, NAME!

Blech!

Being sick/tired for a week
Living with parents again
Ekeing out some sleep, once in a while
Chasing a missing paper throughout the house
Having to remind self this IS vacation
!

Too Much Free Time?

Yep. It is possible to have too much free time. Sure, I have plenty that needs done, but very little structured time. Ergh. I will overcome this!

Ode to a Germ

The Germ

A mighty creature is the germ,

Though smaller than a pachyderm.

His customary dwelling place

Is deep within the human race.

His childish pride he often pleases

By giving people strange diseases.

Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?

You probably contain a germ.

- Ogden Nash, 1902 - 1971

I thought since everyone and their mother (including mine) is sick, it was time for a poem. Fortunately, someone already wrote one. My head is not quite up to creating one.

Merry Christmas!

This morning started out at 4am, with a mini-munchkin coming into my room. Not my favorite time to wake up. I finally get to sleep after watching mini-munchkin go off to Nonnie/Poppy's room. Fast forward. 5am: Return of the mini-munchkin. Good morning! Final wake-up time, 6:30. Ergh.

Wake-up time made somewhat better by the opening of presents. Watched mini-monster and munchkin tear through box after box of presents from Nonnie/Poppy, J/A, Santa, and everyone else. 2 kids are so tired they go back to bed almost immediately after.

We will open stocking stuffers at a later time.

At 10:30 am, Divine and I are off to help deliver Christmas meals. We get there, only to be told that they don't really need us. They only sent letters to people who they accepted help from, not to those who they really didn't need. (This did not seem like the brightest idea in the world to me.) So we drive home, ready for collapse.

I've not mentioned that I'm sick. Ugh. Awful, no good, very bad cold. In fact, everyone here is sick. Kids are sick; A/J are sick; Nonnie/Poppy sick; everyone is sick.

Merry Christmas!