Nature Trail

There is a two mile nature trail in our "city". It is behind the mall. Really. Half of it is on land and the other half is on this bridge walkway over the water. If you're quiet you can see lots of wildlife, like this heron. Even if you're not quiet you can see lots of trash.

It amazes me how up in arms we all are about the oil spill ruining the coast, but people continue to litter and destroy the environment themselves. Part of the reason I wanted to highlight areas around where I live is to help me like it more. Most of the time I feel like I live in Redneck Central Station. What with deer hanging from trees (in season), 4-wheelers and Confederate flags every which way you look, and accents so thick you can cut them with a knife I usually feel out of place here. So I want to go out of my way to find the "jewels" that are here to remind me that it isn't all bad.

This nature trail is nice, but the trash that is overwhelming it is pretty much par for the course where we live. It sums up the attitude of most of the population: I don't give a damn about anything but me. I won't even start on how that attitude is reflected in the driving.

Enjoy the pictures. This is probably the prettiest place we've lived.

My Messy House

Before I go on vacation I like to get my house super clean. I want to be prepared in case I die in a fiery interstate crash and someone has to go through all my stuff. That could be a pessimistic way of looking at things or it could be seen as being a great motivator to thouroughly clean my house twice a year.

Well, we are three and a half days away from leaving for the Outer Banks and the above pictures show the current state of the house. At this point in time I simply want the bathroom tiles in. I suppose I can chuck everything in the garage at the last minute and it won't be too bad.

On top of everything else, a bug flew in my eye while I was out walking last night. It either bit or stung me in the eye/lid. My eye is still watering today and I can't wear my contacts. My eye doctor happens to be out of the office this week.

In good news, S got her ACT scores and they went up a little!!! She's going to take it again in September. One more point and she can get free tuition at Auburn!

Weekend Cocktail

I wrote up an entry in Word and tried to post it from there. It left out the pictures and I couldn't figure it out, so deleted it.

The only way I can put pictures in is to put them at the top of the post. I'm going to work with it more another day. Tired today.

So the first two pictures are our cats: Mr. Socks and Lizzie. Mr. Socks (orange) was M's 9th birthday present. Shortly after her birthday he decided he hates her. He is super friendly toward everyone else, even strangers. But he will attack M if he finds her wandering the house on her own, especially at night. Weird. Lizzie (short for Miss Elizabeth Bennet) is a year younger than Socks. I picked her up as a replacement for Mr. C when he went to kindergarten. I wanted another "baby" and she is it. She is a little princess and she knows it.

These little stinkers have been keeping me awake nights lately. I've been sleeping on the couch to keep an ear on Mr. C. The cats are very active at night and don't mind running over me as I try to sleep.

The last picture is the kids' bathroom. The tub is in but we decided to do the floor as well. We've had the tile since we moved in. We figured as long as we were doing the tub it was time to do the floor as well. We've never done ceramic tile, so I'm a little anxious how it'll turn out. However, Hubby knows how to do everything, so it will be done right. It's nice to be married to someone who can do so much. I have to remember that when he's driving me crazy.

Lastly,soccer. Can you believe the screwed up call during the England-Germany game? I can't believe they can't go back and change the goal. I think that England would have played better if they hadn't had that call against them. They might have still lost, but it would been more even. We watched the USA game Saturday. What a heart-breaker. I was surprised they got as far as they did, and then I wanted them to keep winning.

Sights Around Town

Since most people who might read this have probably never been here I thought I would occassionally put up some pictures of some sights around town.

First some background information about where we live. Our home is in a tiny town sitting across the river from another tiny town--we share a middle school on their side and a high school on our side. The tiny town across the river runs into a small city. It is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. So really, we live across the river from a small city. Sometimes I say we live in that city because most people haven't heard of our town. Have I totally lost you?

Well, to get to the city we have to drive across the river on this bridge. At one point in time it was a two lane, two way road. Scary thought! Now it is one lane going into the city. To get back home we have to drive on the new two lane bridge which is higher up than the old bridge is tall. The transportation department just finished a million dollar study to find out that this old bridge needs to be replaced. Surprise! However, the state only had the million dollars for the study so there is no way to pay for the construction which is 16-20 million dollars.

Another interesting fact about the bridge is that "in the old days" it used to swivel to allow boats to pass. I have looked at it closely--as closely as you can while speeding over it--and I don't see how this was possible. But several long-time residents have told me about it, so I'm sure it's true.

Je suis une artiste

Well, maybe I'm not a real artist, but I can pretend. Here is my first attempt at mobile making. Actually I followed the directions, so there wasn't a lot of creative thought put into it. But now I have the basics down I can try to make some on my own.

I had tried this before but couldn't find the right kind of wire, so had put it aside and forgot about it. Last night we were at Lowe's looking at plywood--Mr. C has designed some kind of scooter that would operate like a railroad pumpcar, don't ask--and I turned around and saw the most perfect wire. It's intended use is to hang dropped ceilings. I would never have thought to look in that section for wire.

I finally bought Mr. C a tripod so he has begun work on his claymation. The girls should be working on summer reading, but are watching Invictus instead. It is way too hot to do anything outside. Even though it is beautiful out the window, I feel like we are starting to get cabin fever.

Testing

A picture of my practically perfect crape myrtle tree. And now what's on my mind.

This post probably won't interest most people, but I think it's important. I ran across this article on Yahoo about testing. I think that there should be uniformity among states not only for the high school graduation test, but for all the other standardized testing starting in 3rd grade.

As someone who has moved from state to state, I speak from experience. It is hard to know how to compare schools when you are moving to a new area. One thing we do is check out school testing scores. I know that that's not always a good indicator of how good a school is, but it's where we start. We also visit and talk to people at the schools. Being a teacher, I am probably more picky about choosing my own kids' schools. We do go to public schools.

Another reason that I think that the states should give the same test is so we know that no matter where a child goes to school in this country, they are learning basically the same things. This does not mean that we need to "dumb down" the curriculum to cover everyone. I think it means that we need to raise the educational standards in many states.

I know there are those who believe that it is the states' right to choose what they teach the students in their state. However, are those students going to go to college out-of-state? Might they possibly seek employment in another state? Isn't it to the students' benefit to meet the highest possible standards?

Having said all that, let me add that I hate the idea of testing in the first place. Most teaching is done to the test, no matter what is said publicly. That test is the most important thing to most schools, if not all schools. The way the educational system is set up now I don't see that changing anytime soon. It is a shame.

One of the reasons I like teaching younger grades-- besides they are just so much fun!-- is that we don't have the required testing. We do have to start prepping the students on how to take the test--filling in bubbles, answering essays inside the boxes, etc. But there is more emphasis on actually learning and not just on learning the test.

As a parent I work with my kids to do their best during the testing periods, because I know that it is important to the schools. Let me clarify how I "help" them so you don't think I'm sitting around quizzing them nightly: I make sure they get a good night's sleep and give them Toaster Strudels for breakfast. This is the only time they get to eat Toaster Strudels. However, I try to keep them from getting stressed out about it. Mr. C gets himself very worked up over the whole thing. It isn't unusual for him to come home during testing week, throw some kind of random temper tantrum, and end up in bed asleep before dinner. This happened more than once this past spring. He's only 10!!! This is too much pressure at this age.

I could probably go on a lot longer, but there probably isn't anyone still reading.

Summer Reading

Mr. C had planned to make a weekly claymation talk-show. He went as far as making the characters but then stopped. He says it's my fault that he can't finish because he needs a tripod for the camera and I won't buy him one.

The video, if it uploads properly, shows one way he spends his days. I find lots of little videos like this on the camera. (No video--I tried and Hubby tried and it wouldn't upload. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Very frustrating!)

Actually, Mr. C has been reading for hours everyday. He finished book 9 of the 39 Clues. While he waits the 70 days until book 10 is released, he has started reading Percy Jackson. He read the second book in less than 3 days! Pretty good for almost 300 pages. Now we hear all about the ancient Greek gods and goddesses. He's becoming quite an expert.

I am so thankful to any author who can get kids to enjoy reading. With Mr. C it is definitely Rick Riordan, but also all the other authors who have contributed to the 39 Clues. With M it was Gordan Korman with all his adventure series. (Korman has also written two of the 39 Clues) With S it was JK Rowling with Harry Potter. I'm just glad all of them enjoy reading. I wish the girls had more time to read for fun. This summer S has to read Sidhartha, The Sound and the Fury, The Catcher in the Rye, The Awakening, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court, & Hardball: How Politics is Played Told By One Who Knows the Game. M has to read Huck Finn and The Scarlet Letter.

Weekend Cocktail

Saturday night is my favorite TV night. I love my Brit comedies on PBS. I know they are all reruns but they are new to me. My favorite ones are As Time Goes By and The Vicar of Dibley. Half the time I fall asleep before the vicar comes on, so Hubby put it on our Netflix instant queue. But I like that it comes on once a week and that I have to "catch" it. I'm not a DVR kind of person. For those of you who haven't seen the Vicar of Dibley, it's not a religious show. It's got that racy Brit humor and quirky characters.

We had a thunderstorm in the middle of the day today. We were able to sit out on the back deck and watch the rain and lightning. I love having a covered deck. The temperature dropped from the upper 90s to the upper 70s. It felt amazing!

The kids went to see Toy Story 3 and said it was great. I can't believe how fast time flies. I remember when the first Toy Story came out and we took S to see it. Either M wasn't born or was too small to go to the movies. And now Andy is all grown up; and S is too, almost.

I've started working on a problem/condition that Mr. C has always had. Without going into details, it isn't anything horrible, but I get anxious about it. Well, because of the process involved I'm not getting much sleep, or able to sleep in my own bed. So if I seem negative, short, or gripy over the next few weeks (months???) this is why. Pray that things go smoothly and quickly!!!

The Problem With Blogging

The problem with blogging is that I feel I have to put something up even when I don't have anything interesting to say. M tried to help give me ideas. "Write about the tomato that is rotting on the counter." No. "Write about how the US should have won their game today." No. "Write about going bra shopping at Victoria Secret today." You really want me to write about that? "No."

I'm also not going to write about the bathroom because it still isn't finished. Hopefully this weekend...

The flowers are blooming outside. Pictured is one of my calla lilies. These are my favorite flowers to look at. My favorite to smell are the Confederate jasmine. The impatiens didn't just reseed themselves out back. They are growing like weeds in front of the house. I could open a nursery if I wanted. Our crape myrtle tree is one of the prettiest, best-shaped ones I've ever seen. All in all, we have a pretty nice little yard.

I love summer!

Senior Pictures--Take Two

I had written about the bad experience we had trying to get S's senior pictures taken. I friend of mine takes pictures as a hobby and volunteered to take her picture. We met him last night and I think he did a great job. He even got some of Hubby & I with S. For fun he took a few of her with his car. He'll be giving us a disc with all the pictures this weekend. This was such a good idea, I'm glad that the other pictures didn't work out now.

I didn't make the blackberry pie. When we went back to the market the blackberry guy wasn't there. I also had an email from Mom telling me that when I was little I didn't like blackberries because the seeds got stuck in my teeth. Well, maybe I won't mind that now. I like raspberries and they have seeds.

Tomorrow I'll post a picture of the girls bathroom. Hubby has been working on it all week, putting in a new bathtub. I helped the first day but then we had some disagreements about how it should be done. Now he's on his own. Posing for the above picture is the most I've seen of him this week.

Farmers Market

Our local farmers market is open every Monday and Wednesday during the summer. Since I'm not growing my own garden this year, we have to buy our vegetables--UGG! Next year I will definitely have the garden back.

I bought all the regular stuff: zucchini, squash, tomatoes, watermelon, corn, peppers. There was one guy who was only selling blackberries. I'm not a dessert person normally, so we bypassed him. But I kept thinking about those blackberries all night and today I found this recipe. I'm going back tomorrow to get some berries and attempt to make it. I'm not even sure if I like blackberries.

[ Imagine a picture of our muddy, torn up back-yard

right here because I'm tired of trying to get a

picture to paste here. I'm sure it's simple but... ]

The reason I don't have my own garden this year, aside from my laziness, is because we had a water main break back in the fall. By the time the water company got it straightened out and planted grass, I didn't want to mess with the yard at all.

Teaching

I've been going back and forth between trying to find another teaching position or going back to school and doing something entirely different. I wanted to put down some of the reasons to, or not to, teach.

This last year was a very difficult experience for me. The school where I taught was an inner-city school without any funding for basic supplies. I guess that's how most schools are now, but unlike schools who have fundraisers and parents who are willing to donate time and supplies, our school was bare bones. That didn't bother me too much. What did bother me was the attitude of my principal and other teachers that the students were second-class citizens--or not citizens at all in the case of the few Hispanics.

Paddlings occured everyday. Sometimes several times a day. The first time that one of my little first graders got paddled last year I cried all the way home after school. I stopped sending them to the principal's office, until I got in trouble for not sending them often enough. There was a weekly conduct sheet and so the principal could see that they were getting in trouble for talking, bothering others, etc. She informed me that they needed to come see her every time they "moved their clip"--referring to the classroom behavior management chart where students began on green and then moved their clothespin to yellow, orange, and red everytime they misbehaved. An example of something my principal actually said to one of my girls was "It is on. You keep on acting this way, you gonna be down here in my office getting a whooping. We gonna do this everyday until you learn how to behave." Yes, the girl in question did drive me crazy by daily throwing herself along with all the contents of her pencil box on the floor and throwing temper tantrums, but no, I didn't want her to be threatened and subsequently paddled by the principal. She eventually moved to another school.

There were lots more examples of run-ins between my students and the principal, other students and their teacher, and general bad-mouthing of the students by the teachers. Why do people who obviously don't care for children get into education?

What was good about last year? We test DIBELS twice a year. The first time the benchmark is 20 words per minute. At the end of the year it is 40. Only about 4 of my students benchmarked on the first test. Wow! and I was supposed to get these guys up to 40 in a manner of months. We dibbled like crazy all year, everyone does at least once a week, but our class did their individual dibbling and then we also ready chorally and individually on the ELMO. At the end of the year all but 3 of them benchmarked. Several of them were up in the 60 range!!! They can learn.

One of the things that I enjoy most about working with little kids is hearing their ideas. One day I introduce the "amazing word" explanation. Before I gave the definition I asked if anyone knew what it meant. One boy raised his hand and answered "A line with a dot!" Wow, that's random, I thought. When I asked him if he could tell me or show me what he was talking about he came up and drew an exclamation mark on the board. That's great! because we learned about exclamations the week before. Good recall!!!

I had one little boy, who I call Little Precious. I could have a blog totally dedicated to stories of Little Precious. When he started 1st grade he couldn't even write his name. We worked so hard on his handwriting, even though it is not a required standard in the curriculum. Sometimes you just go out on a limb and do things that need to be done. By the end of the year he had some of the best handwriting in the class! And he could express himself in writing. One of his last journal entries was: "Mis [Jones] is get on my nurvs". Hallelujah!!! That's when I know I'm doing my job right.

Will I try to get rehired? I don't know right now. There is enough day-to-day stress with teaching. When you add the possibility of a pink slip at the end of each year (at least until the 3rd year) it just doesn't seem worth it. I'm still considering all my options.

Sorry for such a long post today.

Weekend Cocktail

The weekends have a jumble of things going on so I've decided to just lump them all together. We went to the Big City to buy wine yesterday. Our local wine store is pictured here. Unfortunately the wine shop in the Big City was closed so it was sort of a wasted trip. I did get to look around World Market, but didn't buy anything.

We bought beach toys in preparation for our trip to the Outer Banks next month. Two boogie boards, a skim board, sand toys, goggles, blow-up innertubes. Even with all of it, I'm sure the kids will argue over who gets what, & when.

S took the ACT yesterday. She said she didn't finish all the sections, so had to guess at the end. Well, she can only do her best. That's all any of us can do.

Hubby went back to the Dr. for his test results. The good news: no cancer! The bad news: thyroid disease and a trip to a specialist next week. I thought he was just getting fat and lazy in his middle age. I guess he had a medical excuse for the weight gain and loss of energy. Who knew?

We have been following the World Cup. M had a friend over for the USA v. England game. We were so excited that it was a Draw. Go USA! Here is the scoring rubric in case you're wondering how they award points to the teams.

Points
Win (no penalty shootout): 3
Win (penalty shootout): 2
Draw: 1
Loss (penalty shootout): 1
Loss (no penalty shootout): 0

What has Mr. C been up to this weekend? Taking pennies out into the street and hammering them flat. It keeps him occupied for long periods of time. Go figure.

I'm trying to gather my thoughts for tomorrow's post: Why I teach and should I continue to do so.

Catching Up

I was just looking over some of the posts I've had up and saw the one about hiking in Africa. I did look into it and have now decided that it is probably better to hike something like Mt. Cheaha. I'm sure I could do the climbing, it's just the small matter of paying for it. Sometimes I can be pretty loose with money but not into the thousands of dollars.

Changing gears and to update another post: M got her learner's permit today. She passed the written test the first try. Good job! One of her friends was there getting his license. He failed the driving test. What a crappy thing to happen on your 16th birthday.

The kids are off to church for the last night of VBS. As soon as Hubby gets home, we're heading over for the cook-out they are having to wrap things up. It has been really nice to have the house to ourselves the past week. I always wondered what it would be like when the kids are grown and gone. But we survived without them and I even figured out how to cook for two!

Perspective

Sometimes, usually after a glass of wine, but not always, I start to feel philosophical about life. My favorite paragraph ever written is the opening of Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. The last couple of lines go like this: Its [Cannery Row's] inhabitants are, as the man once said, "whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches, by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, "Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men," and he would have meant the same thing.

I'm not a great student of literature. I'm more self taught, but those lines to me mean that life is all about perspective. I think about that often when I find that I've been looking through the same peephole for too long. Lately my peephole has been that the glass is half empty. Mostly because I don't have a job and am not sure of my prospects for next year. Every morning I search the district website for openings that aren't there.

To add to this half empty cup is the fact that Hubby had to go for a sonogram on his neck today. I am hopeful that the doctor is just being overly cautious, but I keep running all the worst case scenarios through my mind. I'm trying to look through another peephole, but sometimes I think they are all plugged up.

Bad Hair Day

I got the most hideous 'do today. I actually thought if I got a perm I would be able to just let my hair dry and go. Which would be great for the summer when I don't feel like spending the 20-30 minutes it takes just to make my hair look like I've done nothing with it.

Well, now my hair looks like a Shirley Temple/afro. I came home and washed it TWICE and then put it in my own big curlers, thinking it would make nice big curls compared to the crimpy little things I got at the beauty shop. UGG!

I am not posting a picture of the hair. Hubby said it's not too bad. Like being married to another woman, I think is what he said. Hopefully he doesn't think this new wife can cook any better than the old one.

I'm posting an older pic of Mr. C in place of my hair. I'm hoping to post one of his claymation videos on here soon. He's got a couple and is planning on starting another.

Neverending Worries

When the kids were first born, I worried they wouldn't wake up in the morning. I would tip-toe into their rooms at night just to make sure they were breathing. After they made it to the magical one year, I let up on the late night checks, unless they were sick. For the next few years I worried about falls--down stairs, out of trees, off bikes and skateboards. Then there is a relative calm period when they find their coordination and seem to develop a sense of awareness that they can't fly from the roof of the back porch.

The calm period lasts about five minutes and then comes the DRIVER'S LEARNER PERMIT! Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to give 15 year olds the right to drive? I was a wreck when S got her permit almost two years ago, but I, and more importantly she, survived. Now it is time for M to get her permit. Actually it was time last Monday. Naturally I was very apprehensive about this. After all, M is my fearless wild child. Can you believe that she did not wake up at 8am on the appointed day and demand to be taken to the DMV? Here we are a week later and she is still reluctant to go. Do you think Hubby and I are elated by this lack of interest in driving? His remark was, "If she thinks she is getting out of her fair share of the driving on vacation, she better think again." We'll see.

On the topic of driving. S started a weeklong ACT prep class in the Big City. She has to leave by 7am to get there by 8:30 and she gets home by 2:00. This is in preparation for the ACT on Saturday. Today was her first day. I kept the TV turned on the news just to keep an ear out for the traffic report. Of course there was a wreck on her way there. She keeps her phone on silent when driving so I couldn't call and ask her about it. Instead I called Hubby at work--as if he could do anything about it. Well, she wasn't IN the wreck but she did get stopped for awhile because of it. She handled it very well and it makes me a little less apprehensive for her to go back tomorrow. Of course, I'll have the news on the whole time.

Weekend Cocktail

We had a good time last night at First Friday. First Friday is something our town does the first Friday of every month. Usually it involves a car show, food, live entertainment, and all the downtown shops staying open late (6-9pm). The main street through downtown is blocked off and you can just walk up and down-- looking, buying, eating, running into friends.

Today we are just doing the regular--laundry, cleaning, lazing around. Lately Hubby has been obsessed with the BP oil spill. It is too depressing for me to think about for too long. I'm sure he's in the other room right now watching this. It is such an overwhelming problem and it's one of those things that just seems like there is never going to be a solution. That's a pretty negative outlook, but I don't see any other way of looking at it.

Just one more teensy gripe and then I'm done. The oil might reach North Carolina by early July. Guess where we're going for the Fourth. Oh, well at least we'll have a pool.

I watched USA beat Australia in soccer this morning. We're getting ready for World Cup to start next week. M has her official World Cup South Africa 2010 T-shirt and has printed some brackets that are hanging on the fridge. We have the full schedule in the Official Licensed Sticker Album which we got here. M's going for Germany. Mr. C and I are for Brazil. I also always like Argentina. We've all agreed to cheer for Ghana. S and Hubby aren't that interested.

Senior Pictures

Let me just start by saying that this blog is not meant to be one big complaint, but there are some things...

Today we went to get S's senior pictures. She had three outfit changes, plus the "drape" for the yearbook picture. For those of you who are as behind the times as I am, the drape is just a black cloth they wrap around the girls to look like they are wearing an off-the-shoulder formal dress. Who knew?

Well, things went smoothly if slowly for all but the last outfit. This was the white dress we drove to the Big City to buy just for this photo session. We were planning on having the photographer take a picture outside in the same pose as she had for her 4 year old picture. There was only one outdoor photographer and we waited an hour to get our turn. After sitting in the car with the air on for 30 minutes--this is summer in the South, remember?-- I decided to leave without the white dress picture. I didn't throw a tantrum, I simply left. It's up to the kids how many pictures and poses they have, so I'm sure the photographer isn't upset we left. But I am very pissed off. I can't believe the inefficiency at that place. Plus, it isn't like an actual photo studio. The indoor pictures were taken in a garage, with tools and crap lying around everywhere. Maybe by the time the pictures come in I'll have calmed down enough to actually buy some.

In the meantime, I snapped a shot of S next to the daisy patch out back when we got home. Gorgeous girl!

Grandpa

For my birthday last year my grandpa sent me a card and some money. I used the money to buy some impatiens and planted them under a big tree out back. Three days after my birthday, Grandpa died. All last summer the impatiens grew huge and everytime I looked out the window I thought about Grandpa. It was nice.

Last fall when the flowers died off it was sad. Fall is already my least favorite time of year--I hate the bare trees and the colder weather--but last fall I hated to see the daily reminder of Grandpa fade.

Tonight I was out working in the yard and saw two bright pink flowers under the tree. The impatiens are back. They are supposed to be annuals, but for some reason they are back. It is probably not some grand miracle, but rather a side effect of global warming or climate change. Whatever it is, it's nice to see the cheerful spot of color in the backyard and think about Grandpa.

Unemployment

Today is my first day of being unemployed as a first grade teacher. I won't truly feel unemployed until August when the kids go back to school and I'm stuck at home. I have been told that the school system will be hiring back teachers over the summer, so my fingers are crossed. At least my end-of -year evaluation was satisfactory, so it's just a matter of budgets and funding. I took a letter of reference and updated resume to the Central Office this morning.

In the meantime I will spend the summer getting into better shape. My goal is to be able to climb Kilimanjaro by next year. I also need to do a lot more research into actually traveling to Africa. I haven't done any serious climbing, but if I keep putting it off it'll never happen. Our family does hike and Hubby and I have climbed a couple of pretty big mountains in Yosemite. Now I've put it in writing I have to take myself seriously.