>Am I repeating myself?

>In the process of writing progress reports and reviving myself with a “smooth and nutty” from Starbucks (thanks, Secret Santa, for the gift card!), I’m finding myself writing some of the same phrases over and over. Yikes! It is the character of the class, though.
So far, here’s the score.
Easily distracted — 6
Impulsive, acts before thinking — 3
Finds transitions difficult — 4
Social interferes with academic or needs to control excess talking — 5
Has a hard time working in groups — 2
Needs reminders to stay on task or follow directions —
5
Inconsistent effort (translation: quits when things get tough) — 5

But on the other hand, I’ve already written “a pleasure to have in class” three times, and it could happen again.
These are just the general comments. I can’t wait to get to the “Social Skills/ Work Habits” section!

(However tempting, I haven’t reached for the mythical checkbox of “shallow gene pool” or “chaotic home life” yet.)

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>Starting the Blogging year with a Retrospective

>I saw this meme in two places, Raspberry Latte and Not Afraid of the “F” Word (not what you think). It sounded like a perfect way to start the new blogging year. The rules are simple: search out the first post of each month and post the first line here. So, in honor of the first post of 2008, here it is: a recap of 2007. I’ve linked to the posts themselves in case you want to read what followed.

January: Reindeer Pig shows off the new chalkboard mug and its greeting

February: I am currently worrying about:

March: I know it’s a day early.

April: You might be a teacher if:

May: Disablism?

June: Tradition!

July: Summer fun includes baseball!

August: My blog had its ten thousandth hit over the weekend!

September: Summer Fridays are special for me and Amigo.

October: The first book in a planned series, The Dark Dreamweaver takes a young boy into a fantasy world where he discovers that while magic isn’t as easy as he thought, he has a talent and ability to learn it and use it well.

November: My school is one of the few that still allows kids to dress for Halloween.

December: Yes.

Searching through my archives made for an interesting journey. The shortest starting sentence was one word (December, May, June). The longest opener was the book review that started October, and somehow, it works without being a run-on. Two posts started with partial sentences followed by bulleted lists (February, April) Looking back on these posts reminds me of the rollercoaster ride that was 2007. Life’s looking up, mostly, so I hope that trend continues.

Here’s hoping 2008 is a good one for you, too.

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>May you live an interesting life.

>I’ve also heard the Chinese saying, both a blessing and a curse, translated as “May you live in interesting times.” We certainly live in interesting times, and it’s not always positive. but am I interesting enough to fulfill this meme? I’ll give it a whirl.

The Good Flea tagged me with the “Seven random things about you” meme. I know I’ve done one similar to this before, so I’ll do my best to think of new and exciting — well, new things, anyway — that readers of Compost Happens may not already know. Here are the basic rules:

Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I blog in three places: Here at Compost Happens, A Mother’s Garden of Verses (poetry), and on the new group blog Mid-Century Modern Moms.
2. I can eat stale popcorn for breakfast, if there’s coffee to go with it.
3. I love to bake. One of my life goals is to learn to bake bread — without the breadmaker machine. Gadgets are great for me, a full-time teacher, because I can feed the family and still get all my schoolwork done. The breadmaker and the crockpot are my saving grace. But there are times when I pour the flour and yeast into the breakmaker, push the button and think, “I’m cheating, really. It would be so satisfying to knead this myself.” But who has the time? Maybe next summer.
4. I enjoy watching the stat counter on Compost Happens. It’s not like watching an odometer click, scheduling maintenance and oil changes, and wondering how long it will last. Watching the stat counter is more like watching a child grow. I might just celebrate when it hits 20,000. I predict that might happen next summer sometime. Party!
5. I’m a morning person. I enjoy getting up before the rest of the family, getting my coffeepot going, feeding the rabbits, and enjoying the quiet. It gives me thinking time and a little computer time without having to fend off the other Internet addict, er, computer users in the household.
6. If I hadn’t been a teacher, I might have been a nurse. In fact, I had applied to a local college of nursing and was meeting with an advisor when I made my decision to instead expand my teaching license to include regular elementary. The rest, as they say, is history. I still satisfy my interests in that area by keeping my first aid and CPR up to date and by training as a public health volunteer.
7. If I ever leave teaching (don’t worry, family, it’s not likely) I would like to write. Even now, I’d like to write more. I published a professional article a few months ago, applied for a grant for the first time (didn’t get it, I’ll try another source later), and realized that I miss the process of forming thoughts and putting words on paper. That said, I offered to help my principal work on a large grant application. We’ll see if she takes me up on it.

So…do I live in interesting times? In a world view, yes. In my own household and blogging world? Only time will tell. Heck, it’s an election year. Anything can happen.
As for tags — so many bloggers, so little time! I’ll leave the tag area open to anyone interested. Let me know if you post this one; I’ll put up a link.

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>Funday Sunday…one! more! time!

>Poor Husband. He doesn’t have to work at Lambeau Field today for the Packer game, and he doesn’t know what to do with himself.
Most Sundays, if there’s a home game, he is either working his day job for a local television station or he’s moonlighting for the visiting network that’s airing the game. This week, somehow, he’s not.
So last night we told him wow! He gets to watch the game with his family! Together! In the den!
He’s not sure it’s good.
It might have something to do with the idea that we want the Packers to keep winning. He is, at best, neutral. It relates, again, to his job. You can read the details here, but suffice it to say that the more they win, the longer the season, and the longer and more complicated his workload will be.
It might be that we are, well, vocal fans. Okay, we’re loud. Loud! We shout. We moan. We jump up and down. We have our very own touchdown dance! Sometimes the rabbit even joins in! Okay, most of the time she cowers in a corner when we get up and start bouncing. Husband cowers in a corner with her.
Maybe it feels like a wasted day. After all, he normally works a lot of Sundays. He’ll still work on the coach’s show and the other local follow-up productions later this week. If he’s just parked in front of the TV, it isn’t a good use of his time. Daughter and I, on the other hand, find watching Brett Favre a very good use of our time. We call it bonding.
Well, if he insists on staying busy, maybe we can talk him into working on taking down the tree. I’ll take down my Packer ornaments, like my mini-blimp, my crystal snowmen, and my jingle bell guy, and pack them with care. Then I’ll re-do the fireplace mantle in Title Towels and cheeseheads.
After all, ’tis the season.

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>On watching too much television

>Random thoughts, in no particular order, while sipping strong coffee and watching the snow fall

On watching The Weather Channel: Looks like we’ll get steady snow, as expected, and those east of the lake will get more. Okay with me; I enjoy winter, but I have family on the road today. I want them to reach their destinations safely.

On watching CNN: I remember reading about Benazir Bhutto many, many years ago in my first subscription to Ms. Magazine. She was an incredibly strong woman. I was impressed by her then, and I’m saddened by her assassination now.

On more Weather Channel: The Southeastern U.S. is finally getting a little rain. I hope they get a significant amount, but not so much that they get floods. Dry/ drought-ridden land doesn’t absorb sudden deluges very well.

On watching CNN: Pakistan elected a female prime minister decades ago. Granted, she had corruption within her administration, eventually ended up in exile, and more, but really…. How is it that our own progressive country still thinks gender is an issue for a presidential candidate?

On catching a bit of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Hey, this is refreshing. Snore…get me more coffee…maybe I should go outside and shovel….

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>Winter Break, and the livin’ is (not) easy

>To do list for today:

  • Clean bunny litter boxes
  • Return overdue book on tape to the library
  • Pay fine on overdue book on tape (cringe)
  • Buy bunny food and bread
  • Sign and mail adjudicator contracts for 2008 music festivals
  • Update family prescriptions
  • Take Amigo to doctor to look at potential ear infection
  • Pick up prescription for ear infection (When Amigo says his ear hurts, he’s usually infected)
  • Fill car with gas for La Petite’s trip to job interview at her university
  • Prepare car for possible winter emergency in case back roads are bad on the way to university
  • Remind La Petite to pack food, since her apartment cupboards are bare
  • Make sure all errands are done before La Petite leaves us temporarily without wheels
  • Laundry, including La Petite’s extra baskets
  • Pack boxes for thrift store pick-up tomorrow
  • Clean kitchen (again)
  • Fill refrigerator with fruit from music dept. fundraiser
  • Write thank you notes for student gifts (smile; fourth graders are still cute)
  • Grind coffee beans (oh, such a sacrifice: two Christmas gifts inlcuded whole bean coffee)
  • Nibble on Christmas cookies
  • Read A Wrinkle in Time with Amigo (he got the Braille edition for Christmas)
  • Snuggle up on the couch and watch CNN or the Weather Channel
  • Catch up on Time Magazines and sip coffee or hot cocoa

Come to think of it, maybe the livin’ isn’t so hard after all. Any to-do list that includes reading, nibbling on cookies and sipping coffee can’t be all bad.

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>Some Nylons in my Stocking

>Amigo, the great TV watcher and radio listener, heard that The Nylons were coming to our local Performing Arts Center, and suggested we get tickets. No, he insisted we get tickets! The only question was how many tickets we would need. Timing was right; La Petite came home from college that afternoon, so we went to the concert as a family. My family enjoys live music of just about any kind — bluegrass to blues to classical — so it was a real treat to attend this Christmas show together. A capella music is my favorite, so I held the Nylons to a high standard of performance.

The first Nylons’ first Christmas CD was an instant classic. I play it at school, we play it in the car, and it has the best version of “Carol of the Bells” that I’ve heard. (The Blenders’ version comes a close second.) I knew they had a new one out, so we bought a copy in the lobby on the way in to the show.
This is a group with real talent. No lip-synching allowed or needed; the singing was excellent. Their arrangements varied from the traditional (The Huron Carol) to the jazzy (God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen) and included everything in between. Their performance was enthusiastic and energetic. La Petite whispered to me early on, “The old guy is more nimble than I am!” “The old guy” was Claude Morrison, the founder of the Nylons. He is an amazing singer and dancer. Whether he was showcasing his stunning falsetto or rich middle range, he led the group and blended harmonies seamlessly with the others.

I heard the Nylons’ Christmas Show a few years ago in another nearby town. Both shows were very well sung. This year’s show was more fun because the crowd was larger and very appreciative, and the Nylons responded to the energy. If they come through town again, I’ll be there. Merry Christmas to Claude and company. The Nylons have always been part of our holiday season; this year, they were even more.

This is a totally spontaneous review. I spent my own (family) money on the tickets and the CD, and believe me, it was worth every penny.

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