Category Archives: Random Thoughts

>Happy New Year: a year in First Days

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>Let’s work backwards with the retrospective this year. Preparing this annual post is fun; finding out what was on my mind at the beginning of each month is fascinating.

November: Must have been a Tuesday. Another Apple Crisp!
October: Random Dental Thoughts If you’re wondering, I did call the doctor after my dentist appointment. The nurse thought my nitrous story was hilarious.
September: She Needs to Read – if you’re wondering about this student, she’s still around. Stability is no longer a foreign concept.
August: Math, Math, Math. August, and I was already preparing to teach. I’m more skilled at teaching reading and writing than I am math; the Math Institute was time well spent.
June: Rhubarb Dessert Yum. I have rhubarb in the freezer; maybe I should make this!
May: Seed Inventory! Oh, sigh, for a patch of dirt that isn’t frozen!
April: Hershey’s Basket Blog Hop A blog blast and a picture of baby Krumpet!
March: Creativity I’d rather Avoid What will they think of next? No, don’t answer that.
February: On Brahms, Life and Death, and Being There One of my most serious posts. If you read only one from 2010, make it this one.
I noticed that I rarely posted on the first of the month. What’s going on in my life at the turn of each month that makes it so hard to put up a post? The collection includes a few recipes, a couple of product reviews/ blog carnivals, and a lot of teacher posts. I predict 2011 will have a different focus; you’ll see why in a few days.

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>Daisy and Chuck’s ER Adventures

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>It started on a Saturday, of course. Adventures like this never happen on weekdays.

Chuck hurt himself getting the garage ready for winter. You may have heard the news; he dropped the rototiller on his right big toe. Tough guy that he is, he hobbled into the house to elevate it and ice it and decided he was fine and dandy. After supper, I gently set an ice pack on it and he jumped out of his skin (well, off the couch) at the pain, leading me to say, “Okay, dear, I’ll bring you the phone. You’re calling the doctor.” The nurse on call told him to hippity hop into the nearest ER in case of bleeding under the nail.
The nearest hospital is quite close: five minutes by car. The hard part was finding the entrance. The hospital had undergone some major construction projects, and the ER entrance had moved since we were last there in early July. We followed the signs and found the entrance, I dropped off my limping man, and we were in business.
We can dispense with the gory details. He was treated and released — after helping the triage nurse fix her computer’s loose mouse cord and becoming fascinated by the name of the “tool” used to fix his toe. Mr. Techie and Mr. Word Person all rolled into one, that’s my ever-loving husband.
The next night – yes, Sunday after a Packers loss (sob), I started feeling ill. Suddenly ill, in fact, in such a way that I couldn’t deny it; it was obviously my turn to head back to the ER. Chest pains, dizziness, sweating, and more… we climbed back in the minivan for the now familiar ride. This time we knew the quickest way to the entrance, so Chuck dropped me off and parked.
We reintroduced ourselves to the ER weekend team, Chuck saying “It’s her turn tonight!” The nurse remembered Chuck for his help with her computer cart, and the doctor asked him “How’s the toe?” as he checked my first round of tests. This may have been a rarity for the ER doctor – getting to follow-up with a patient.
After being hooked up to all kinds of machines, timing the number of minutes between blood pressure checks, getting medicines by mouth and through an IV, having early evening blood work compared with the late evening blood work, the pain finally eased and I was allowed to go home – with conditions. Follow-up appointments, further testing, I had to agree to all of that before going home to sleep in my own bed. Well, home to call a substitute and then go to school to leave lesson plans.
The whole experience was surreal. Getting hooked up to so many machines, so many wires. The sheer number of tests done (thank goodness for good insurance coverage). The pacing. It was a lengthy stay (four hours!), but there was almost always something going on. Turning the debate from cardiac to gastro-intestinal and back to cardiac again – my head was spinning figuratively with the for and against discussions, almost as much as it spun literally in the beginning.
I never planned to be a familiar face at the local Emergency Room. I’d say “Now what? What’s next?” but I’m a little afraid of the answer. Let’s just keep Chuck away from the rototiller until spring; that’ll help.

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>Pants, Pants, Pants.

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>Shopping for Amigo’s clothing is not fun.

Maybe that’s not a strong enough statement. It is A PAIN IN THE PATOOTIE to shop for Amigo’s clothes, whether he is on the shopping trip or not.
I bought pants for him last summer and brought them home; did him a favor by bringing them home so he didn’t have to go to the store. He swore the entire time he tried them on.
We went to the shoe store. I let the store staff handle him, knowing he’d be more polite to them than he would be for me. While they helped, I found a pair for myself. Amigo made it to the car, then threw a tantrum that I had blown the routine by daring to buy a pair of shoes not on the list.
I quit. I said “No more!” Chuck is now in charge of try-ons and shoe trips. I will order or pick up clothes as needed, but I will not deal with the verbal abuse any more. Asperger’s or no Asperger’s, this is not acceptable. If Amigo can’t handle it with Chuck, we’ll start taking him to the store and shoving him into the dressing room on his own. It’s called a Natural Consequence.
I ordered pants for the young man and got phenomenal bargains (thanks to Kohl’s and Mir @ WantNot). Chuck handed them to Amigo this morning during the Saturday morning Public Radio listening routine, and lo and behold – all four pair fit.
Deep sigh of relief. I cut the tags off and dropped them in the wash. One set of tags was actually fun.
“So you’re interested in (insert brand here)? Nice move. You’re obviously smart, confident, and know what you want in life.” Since I made the purchase, not Amigo, I’ll take the compliment and conveniently set aside the fact that I bought them largely because of the sale price.
“Relaxed fit: the technical explanation — We made this to look relaxed, not fitted.” Yes, that’s Amigo’s preferred fit. Relaxed.

Care advice: “Love your neighbor. Eat more greens. Cheer up; it might never happen. Wash this when dirty.” And on the inside of this tag: “(Insert brand name here) has been in the Helps-You-Look-Good business since 1948. We know what we’re doing. People in magazines wear this stuff. Fashion people, sporty people. People who don’t have to wear a suit everyday. So, we know it works.” I can’t see Amigo – or Chuck, for that matter – ever working a suit & tie job. This philosophy works for both of them.

And the final tag in the series discusses the various uses for these pants. “Suitable for: Training, Napping, Eating, Driving, Sports, Whatever.” Works for me.

Why am I wasting these on my ungrateful offspring? I think I’ll buy a pair for myself.

This is not a paid post. If you’re savvy enough to do a phrase search for some of they key parts of these tags, you might find out which brand I bought for the ungrateful teenager. Go ahead; click on the Swagbucks button in the right sidebar, register, and then search. You’ll make my day.

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>Everyone knows it’s Windy!

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>We’re not used to extremely high winds in Wisconsin. Snow, yes. Changing seasons, yes. Driving on roads slick with ice, yes. But wind? Not the usual situation.

How can a visitor tell that these ongoing high winds are unusual?
The first sound out of anyone who leaves their car is “AAAH!”
There’s a sign on a store door: “Please use side door due to wind.”
No one is bothering with their (obnoxious) leaf blowers; the wind is doing it.
Hoods are blown off heads.
I had to put away the watering can, the extra screen for the rain barrel, and more – because I found them bouncing across the backyard.
The minivan tried to change lanes all by itself.
My classroom windows rattle so badly that they knock down anything sitting on the sill.
One student came in with the story of being hit in the head by a branch on the way to school. P.S.; she exaggerates. Her brother said it was a small stick, not much bigger than a twig.
My students like to stand at the window and watch the flagpole rock back and forth.
People ask, “How high is hurricane force?” The answer, as far as I can find, is 74 mph. We’re getting gusts of that, but the general speeds are staying in the 50-60 mph range.
For Wisconsin, that’s plenty windy. I hate to admit it, but I’d (almost) rather have snow!

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>Staying sane in an insane world

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>Well, attempting to keep my sanity intact, at least.

Seeking out supportive people:
  • I had lunch with a former colleague, saw pictures of her grandson
  • a neighboring teacher brings me Starbucks frequently
  • I continue to take training with a literacy coach I respect, and she is one of my strongest advocates.
  • I truly appreciate a husband who not only fixes the house, but cooks like an Iron Chef.
Actively taking care of health:
  • My Neti Pot and me, we’re friends. Friends don’t let friends get sinus infections.
  • My multi-vitamin + iron, it’s my pal. Anemia, begone!
  • Weekends are for napping, sleeping in, and drinking lots of fluids. Laundry can wait.
Actively seeking out opportunities for relaxation
  • fire in the fireplace on a rainy day: warm and cozy.
  • nibbling on chocolate cake made with the last garden zucchini: delicious.
  • pumpkin pie spice flavor in my Dashboard Joe coffee: sweet.
  • Watching the Wisconsin Badgers with my sporty son: priceless.

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>Top Ten Reasons to worry about the upcoming election

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  • The opponent in our Senate race thinks global warming doesn’t exist.
  • The opponent in our Congressional race plans to get rid of Social Security as we know it.
  • One candidate for governor plans to scrap our public pension plan, effectively cutting my income by 30%.
  • The opposing candidate for Senate is out of touch with the middle class, which means me.
  • The opposing candidate for Congress has moved in and out of the district several times; whom does he really represent?
  • Many candidates talk about cutting taxes by reducing education budgets – budgets that have already been cut to the bone.
  • Candidates are talking about judging teachers by their students’ test scores. If that’s the case, people, give me a chance. Bring these kids into my class reading and achieving at grade level.
  • I can’t afford to donate enough to my candidates, but I can’t afford not to; if the wrong side wins, my working conditions will worsen severely.
  • Misleading advertising might just tip voting in the wrong direction.
  • Negative advertising might encourage people to stay home, and low voter turnout is never good.

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>Top Ten Reasons to Leave Teaching

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  • Politicians blame teachers for anything possible – and a lot that’s not possible.
  • Taxpayers blame teachers for rising taxes.
  • Parents blame teachers for not doing enough – despite oft-impossible situations.
  • Politicians, parents, and taxpayers do not understand the challenges teachers face every day.
  • Movie-makers put teachers into scapegoat roles.
  • Salaries are dependent on current political climate.
  • Benefits are dependent on current political climate.
  • Budgets keep dropping, but expectations keep rising.
  • Teachers are expected to make up the difference in budgets out of their own pockets.
  • No matter how hard teachers work, it’s never enough.

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>Top Ten Reasons to Love Teaching

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  • The children are fantastic.
  • Teaching requires continual learning – in so many subject areas.
  • If I’m ever on Jeopardy, my broad knowledge base might pay off.
  • The challenge is never-ending; if I wanted an easy job, teaching wouldn’t be it.
  • The variety never ends.
  • I can dress in my team colors on casual Friday.
  • I have a good excuse to buy and read young adult literature.
  • I work with some amazing, caring, intelligent professionals.
  • Teaching is a great creative outlet.
  • A classroom sure beats a cubicle.
Please notice – the ubiquitous “summer off” didn’t even make the list. It is not a valid reason to become a teacher.

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>Random thoughts on – spelling tests?

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>Actual thoughts running through my head while I corrected the first spelling tests of the year…

This developmental work study is good for my struggling students. Seven, eight, nine out of ten – these guys rocked their first test!
This girl in the higher level group didn’t study at all. Typical. She’s capable, but doesn’t work hard. That’s my goal for her this year; teach her all about effort and how hard work can pay.
Oh, dear, only one out of ten. Should I reassign this kid to an easier group? No, not yet. He needs to first learn to study.
Prefixes group handled the prefixes well, but the roots stymied them. Disbelief? First, learn to spell belief.
Here’s another high level reader and writer. She’s one who expects to know everything from the get-go. My goal for her this year: study skills. Take her from her high level and move her higher. Note to self; she may resist, as she’s accustomed to school being easy.

All that from a list of ten words. Wow. And I didn’t even mention the girl who spelled the word favor F-A-V-R-E.

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>The rationale behind the banana bread and bread pudding

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>In order to carry out a successful pantry raid, the pantry must supply decent ingredients. For today’s raid it was baking supplies.

We had too many bananas. Chuck 9the main banana-eater) was ill earlier in the week and not eating much. I added a banana half to my cereal yesterday and my oatmeal today, but we still had four and a half ripe bananas. Banana bread, right? Right. Sort of. Almost.
I also had several bread crusts and a few slices of homemade white bread with flaxseed from earlier in the week. I had enough bread crumbs in the freezer that I didn’t want to grind up any more. I could have composted these, but I thought I’d try using them up first.
AND — if that weren’t enough, I had two rogue zucchini that had managed to ripen during the recent warm weeks.
Hence the afternoon baking results:
Hybrid quick-bread: banana/zucchini with chocolate chips.
Bread pudding with bananas
While the oven was working its magic, I worked on updating my gradebook for upcoming parent-teacher conferences. Whether conferences go well or not, I’ll know I fed my family some good food and did it with a minimum of waste.
Oh, yes. The recipes? Banana bread is here. I doubled the recipe, cut down on the eggs, added a little extra flour and wheat germ to counteract the moist zucchini, mixed in several Tablespoons of cocoa, and finally used 3 bananas and 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini. As for the bread pudding, I’ll post it Tuesday.

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