>The garden center calls these “Lemon Zest Petunias” in a green basket.
I call them Green Bay Packer flowers. I like to display my loyalties year round.>Memes, or suggested questions, permeate the blogosphere. I got “tagged” by Believer in Balance, and I thought Post #300 would be the perfect place to complete it.
When did you start blogging?
I started almost a year ago, in June 2006. Just a few months earlier, I had mentioned to someone that I make time to read, but I don’t make time to write. Now, with a blog that wants refreshing regularly, I make time to think like a writer and post my thoughts.
What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
It started as an attempt at self-therapy. To that end, it’s been successful. Posting my experiences, hearing from others, and reading blogs from people in similar situations, contribute to a general feeling that hey, I’m not alone after all! The act of thinking something through and rephrasing and summarizing it for a concise, clear blog post can help me clarify it in my mind as well.
What makes your blog unique?
Unique? Well, where else can you read about a Cheesehead mom who teaches, gardens, composts, reads, and occasionally writes poetry, among other adventures? Come back often enough, and you’ll find something you enjoy.
What’s your best quality?
It’s a cross between creativity and patience. My friends might add intelligence, but I think by itself intelligence is overrated. It needs to be applied and injected into life. Jeopardy would be fun.
What is your worst quality?
I give in too easily. I don’t like conflict, so I become a mediator and peacemaker. That, while it sounds like a positive, causes stress which in turn affects my health and well-being.
I really can’t think of enough bloggers who haven’t already been tagged for this one, so I’ll leave it wide open. Just leave the link in the comments so we can find you if you decide to do it!! Consider it part of my “tri-centennial” celebration. Let the fireworks begin!
>It was said jokingly, at least the first time. Husband looked at me, trying to balance three or four hours of errands and chores and quality time within about 60 minutes on the clock, and announced, “Supermom just met her Kryptonite: time.”
It’s true. I buy extra underwear for the entire family just in case the laundry doesn’t get done. While not rigid, we do have a routine to make sure homework gets done and rabbits get fed, not to mention the people in the house. If I blogged an entire day during the workweek, some would be amazed, and some parent-type bloggers would say, “Me, too!” because their days are as chock full as mine.
A typical timeline starts at 5:30 with my alarm. To make a long story short, because who has the time to read every detail, I usually fall into bed between nine and ten at night, earlier if the day has been difficult and tiring. The hours in between play host to everything from watching for Amigo’s school bus to figuring out a simple supper that doesn’t take much energy to cook or clean up. Oh, yes, I teach full time, too. I spend a very intense day with those pre-adolescents we call 6th graders. They can be delightful, but they can also be a drain on my energy. Whether I’m planning, teaching, refereeing, scoring papers, recording scores in my gradebook, or cleaning my desk, it’s a busy and high-energy day at school.
Where does the time go? I’m not sure. I just know it usually goes too fast. After all, time is money and money is time and, well, I can’t spare much of either.
But as long as everyone has drawers in their drawers, life is good.
Now if only I could teach the pet rabbits to do the laundry….
This blog blast topic suggested by Light Iris: the best of Google for moms and the Parent Bloggers Network
>I woke up Tuesday morning feeling tired, looking forward to the end of the week and sleeping in. What a concept! As I staggered through the routine of feeding bunnies, showering, and getting breakfast ready for Amigo, I realized that I had a lot to accomplish before I could get to the end of the week, the end of the school year, the end of my tenure at this particular elementary school. Robert Frost’s words started to echo ominously through my head: “…miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep.”
My friends at work wouldn’t let me panic. They offered a Babe Ruth bar, a Snoopy doll, and a giant Hershey’s Kiss, all in addition to more packing boxes and strapping tape and a plan for Thursday that leaves me time to finish packing and preparing for the move.
This left me with time to spare on Wednesday. I posted a new cartoon in the staff lounge. I snuck into the classroom next door and changed the “Good morning” on her white board to “G’Day, mate.” I finished emptying my desk and found a classic picture of our building engineer wearing an elf hat and holding a big bag of something (chocolate covered raisings = deer droppings, if you must know). I borrowed (no, I won’t return it) coffee from the office when we ran out in the lounge, and recycled pile upon pile of old papers.
Today, Thursday, is moving day. I will allow (trust me, they’ll love it) my students with ADHD and my highly kinesthetic learners to carry boxes galore to my minivan. When it’s full, we’ll pack the rest in Mrs. Sip’s minivan. Then they’ll hang out and have an end-of-year movie, pizza for lunch, and an overwhelmingly relaxing day. I hope the relaxing summer-is-here feeling extends to me, their teacher, as well.
>I grew up in a district that was an anomaly; we had no hot lunch program. We packed a lunch or went home to eat.
My students eat lunch at school, and very few go home. Since my sixth graders are the oldest students in the elementary building, they have the privilege of ‘working’ lunch as well. They beg to do this! I like to think it’s altruistic on their parts, but I think a large part of the attraction is the thirty minutes of class that they miss when their crew is on duty.
It’s definitely a point toward their social status to be able to “work lunch”. When the crew needs subs, the kids often take care of it themselves. They’ll notice, “Hey, Mrs. Teacher, Mike’s absent. Can I work for him?” I have very little to do with the whole picture other than picking the next group off my list of volunteers. These eager kids are learning about work ethic and self-motivation outside of the classroom. It’s real learning, and all around lunch.
And here’s to the parents who are looking for good child-friendly web sites, too. Schoolmenu.com and Familyeveryday.com are two that may satisfy your taste for safety while fulfilling your kids’ appetite for fun. Games, nutrition and fitness suggestions, and fun cartoon art are just a few of the links. There’s an email newsletter and a contest or two, and several other information and enjoyable links. I took the quiz to see which TV Mom I most resemble. Carol Brady? Me? Where’s my Alice?
Check out School Menu and its parental counterpart Family Everyday, two sites that work together with School Food Services Directors to provide and promote healthy eating and physical fitness for kids and their parents. Enjoy!
>La Petite wanted to make a jello mold for her boyfriend’s birthday. It’s a long story, but she watches the show “The Office”. Never mind.
She’s handy in the kitchen. I can trust her with the boiling water needed to make this fine cuisine. The only problem is: we own no jello mold. Not one. None.
I owned two such molds at one time in my life. In our first year of marriage, we used to go Rummage Sailing, and I picked up the cutest little jello mold for a dime. A dime! It was just the right size for one box of jello with a little canned fruit. How cute is that? Later on, my mother-in-law (or was it my mom?) gave me a nicer quality mold, complete with pretty flowers or stars or some other shapes. I don’t recall, exactly.
After years (I tell you, years) of non-use, I finally gave in and either donated both or sold them myself for a few quarters. I no longer own a jello mold.
La Petite went to WalMart. She went to the grocery store. She checked the Dollar Store on the same commercial strip. The only jello mold she found wore a $10 price tag, too high for an underemployed college student.
She called Goodwill. Success! She looked over the three molds, bought the cheapest, and came home.
I can’t wait to see what she puts in it.
>Tradition! Tradition is the new topic for Scribbit’s Write-Away Contest. The June prize is the cutest darn moose you’ve ever seen. I won’t mention its Moosie talents; you’ll have to go here to read about those.
I entered this post from last summer. It seemed to fit.
So get out your violin, head up to the roof, and let’s go!