True Confession Tuesday

I listened to the song "Call Me Maybe" twice on my way to school.

Testing stinks. Whether its my pre credential tests or testing for my students. It stinks.


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Shattered and Dyed

Coolest presentation ever! Allison C taught us why you need to know math when dying hair!

Then we got to practice!

Chris was NOT too happy with that smell!

Also last week:

We went to one of our local fire stations on a field trip.

Costco find!!! Hooded ruby red pea coat! Swoon! $49 suckas!

Finally finished my vest! (free pattern called Sexy Vesty on Ravelry) credit to aunt Maggie for the pictures and CA orange tree backdrop.


Also, totally eyeballing this book in my classes scholastic book order. I have almost bought it before but now that my master teacher can get bonus points for my purchase...hmmm....



I took three CSET tests this weekend. My science re-take, along with World and US history. They were hard. Normally I can say how I did after a test. On this one I'm not sure. I CAN say that my essays either saved me or hurt me "real bad."
Also, I dropped my Maui Jim's that are the benefit of having a golf professional husband this morning. The lens shattered between it's safety layers. It's a sad day as they have already been sent in once for free repair.

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Celebration and Sympathy

In one of my classes I help in, the kids get celebrations for doing good or extra work. Mine is a good and extra celebration: I passed one of my two CSET tests. The other I missed by not toooo many points and I'm feeling ok with that because 1.) I woke up and got there and 2.) I thought I bombed them both. Time to study study study!
Now for Sympathy. I have lots of it for kids with ear issues or sinus issues that cause ear issues. I had three sets of tubes before I turned 5. What felt like 20 ear infections a year. The "pink stuff" was always in our fridge. 1 ruptured eardrum. 4 ear nose and throat specialists. 1 useful specialist. Etc. For reasons I now better understand they would always get worse at night. I have vivid memories of mom sitting with me, rubbing my hair and helping me fall asleep before the next morning Dr Appt. Sometimes we'd try heat packs, others a cool washcloth but really, not much helps the bad ones. Even once you have meds you still have to play the waiting game. Oooh and the waiting just stinks. If I talk, it's loud in my head, if people talk to me, or I try to watch something I can't hear. You just can't win. Anyway, though Ive gotten much more preventative I had early sign symptoms today. Regardless of my past, and familiarity with procedures and OTC meds my NP still wanted me to wait for "real meds." (totally get the push to stop over prescribing) but it was like maybe she thought it would blow over and all would be good in a few days. And maybe she's right I thought as I walked away.
I entered my class building.
Wait a minute, my ears are bugging me!! This business can be keeping me in pain and awake come 10 pm when they're closed. And then I wouldn't get drugs til the next afternoon.

I turned right around ( more or less) and marched back to the school clinic and pharmacy. I can't wait. I might heal on my own but that is not a risk I'm willing to take. I want to do EVERYTHING possible to get better and not have hurty ears/throat. I am not a martyr. I am not tough. Give me meds


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Calmer Waters

Literally. No rain today. Whew.

Woke up early, got a LOT of good work done in mom's Jr. High classroom. She starts on Monday! Eeek! Lots to do! I've got her bulletin boards mostly done, pencils sharpened, red pens flower-fied to deter thievery. We were there on Friday where the original teacher was supposed to be for his last day but he skipped out, and left a sub with not enough on her lesson plans.

Me being me and unable to leave students idle and prone to mischief (you know 8th graders give em an inch and they go for the marathon) I stepped in by the second class out of 5. I had students helping to take apart and clean up the classroom so I could start fresh. I also realised that even that wasn't enough to keep them busy for the whole day. So I told em to get out a piece of paper (something to keep em busy while I racked my brain for an assignment.) I told them to write their name, date etc. (still scrambling). Then I decide to give them a random question personal quiz that will allow me to get to know them while assessing writing skills. It was fun! I'm sitting here in an empty house, my music playing, tummy full, body exercised (that's right I went to the gym), sitting on the couch responding. I got some really good responses and am learning that these kids have potential to be really fun this year. Exhausting, but fun. Should you wish to participate here's the quiz:

1.) Using correct punctuation and capitalization, who was the last person to speak to you before school and what did they say?
2.)Answer the following question as if you are an expert from PBS. What three songs do you need to complete your music library.
3.)What has the potential to be your most embarrassing moment?
4.)What is the best thing your teacher could do for you?
5.)What would be the one thing that would ruin a persons reputation?
6.) What, in your opinion, is the best shoe in the world?
7.) What would be the best cafeteria food?
8.) Create a short dialogue between you and me.
9.)If you were working at your dream job, what would be something you would say to your boss?
10.) In a solid paragraph (Introduction, Filling, Closing 5 sentence min.) tell me something. Anything.

Some interesting things:

One student says his golf handicap is 3.2.

90% of another class said "The best shoes are Vans because they are AWESOME." Seriously...to the capital letters in awesome. I liked this answer:

"The best shoes in the world are....(drum-role please) VANS! I lah lah lah love Vans because they come in all colors and all shapes and they're very ADORABLE!"

Huh, they come in all color. Guess I better get me some Vans. I think we might hear more from this one. She also put Eye of the Tiger as one of her top songs. Yesss!

Lastly, I have yet to have one song repeated more than twice. Music is much more diverse than when I was in Jr. High.

Newsworthy

I have somehthing newsworthy! Well, I'm pretty excited about it. Some of you may remember my story of finnaly making it to the CSET(for a refresher see here) and some of you may also remember that I struggled to stay awake long enough to finnish the test (mostly because I was bored and sitting still too long, and getting hungry.) But ANYWAY, I finally checked my email, saw "Test Results" from the CSET admin, and thought "hmmm I wonder how many I have to retake?" The answer? NONE! Yahoo! I passed em all in round 1! Well...I guess its round two...I kind of slept through round 1.

Dying Almost Killed Me

What do you get when you mix 40 kids, 40 plain white undershirts, too many rubber bands, bottles of dye, and two over ambitious after school program workers? Tie Dye!!!! Yayeeewwwhhatwerewethinking?!

Two Fridays ago Friday the 13th to be exact (ominous? I think so.) My co-worker Miss Sarah rounded up materials very generously donated by Target and discounted by JoAnne's so that the students at our work could tie dye shirts with green in them to wear to the Shamrock Shindig we would be hosting the next Wednesday (yep, we know that Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day, but more kids come to our program on Wednesday so we held off!) Since I had all my previous Camp Keola and Pinedale Spirit Shirt tie-dying experience, I stayed inside to help the kids twist their shirts into different patterns and rubber band them all up. Then I sent them out to Miss Sarah who put the dye on where they pointed, (no...were not so crazy that we let the kids hold the dye) and then they came back in with their shirts dyed and bagged and ready to sit for 24 hours before being washed. When the kids tried to take their shirts I said "no, no, no, leave them here I think Miss Sarah is going to wash them all at once." Sooo the kids looked at me with their confused faces as their parents looked relieved and quickly encourage their children to indeed leave their shirts with us! Turned out Miss Sarah was house sitting and wasn't exactly able to take all those bags of dye loaded shirts home...soooo....Miss Jessica got the job! Yayeee! Oh, did I mention I was supposed to be heading out the door to pick up Luke in LA?

Yep! Luke was on his way to see me for his spring break! No time to argue I stuck those suckers into my trunk (luckily I was able to layer my Kids Day paper (still un-read) and some dirty towels still in my trunk from drying off my car after a car wash to protect the upholstery from any stray dye. Then I scooted off to LAX.

We interrupt this story for explanation:

Why am I carting all the way off to LA to pick up Luke? Even Sacramento has a main airport that's closer right? Well when Luke was purchasing his plane ticket, I was galavanting around San Francisco (on our Wicked Weekend) without my camera, and I had the clever idea that if he flew into LAX we could spend the weekend with my family in the LA area and then come home in time for school. How wrong was I, as soon as I got home I open my computer to put Luke's flight times into my calendar and realise that I have the CSET (a group of 3 very important test I have to take to get my teaching credential, and have already slept through once) the very next Saturday morning at 7am! EEEEEEEK!

And now back to our feature presentation:

So I pick Luke up from LAX, he crams his suitcase into my VW Beetles back seat, because my trunk is full of tie dye shirts, and we get right back on "the 5" for Fresno. We get home, I crash on the couch (Luke offered to take the couch since I had the test,but I was afraid that if I did I would fall into too deep of a sleep and wouldn't wake up in the morning.) And my mom AND Luke come out to make sure I wake up in time for my test. They take such good care of me. I take my test, manage to complete it and not fall asleep at my desk, and escape back home where Luke helps me rinse, wash, label with names, and fold ALL the tie dye shirts. What a man.

This is how my favorite ones turned out. At least the reward was some good color therapy? That and a reminder of how great Luke is! :D

Then we went for a nice bike ride and enjoyed the weather.

Wow. That was way longer than I meant it to be. The end.

Ps. When I finally took the towel and newspaper out of my car the special edition Kids Day Newspaper fell right open to the coupon page and I found the best buy one sandwich get one sandwich free at GREAT HARVEST (Fresno)! Good deal people! If you still have your paper go snag that coupon!

I pass...

my Upper Division Writing Exam, that is. Many of you may have known that I was enrolled in 23 units for this Spring 2009 semester. Ack! For of those units were an upper division writing course that I would have had to take if I had not passed the exam. I had heard from one of my co-workers, who had decided to just take the class, that her professor had graded essays over the weekend and out of 75 essays read he had only passed 2! EEK! We're in the second week of class now, and I was getting antsy! One of the very kind women in the Testing Center told me I could come in today and get my results early AND...

I PASSED! YAY!

I am sooo excited, and relieved! It feels very hard to go on with my appointments, work and night class today knowing such great news!

Whee Halloween!

Halloween weekend was fun! Here I am with some of my girlfriends at a party some of our friends were hosting! L-R is Amanda, Me, Destinie, Beth, Katie, and Kassy! Yay!

I was a more contemporary Marian the Librarian.

So I called it a night relatively early, and went home to sleep before my CSET test the next morning at 7:30. I set my alarm, got my stuff all ready, and then woke up the next morning at 7:32! Two minutes after the test started! Augh... I missed it. When I woke up in shock my mom told me she heard me talking in the next room and heard stuff going on. I didnt talk to anyone, so it all must have been sleep talking/incorporated into my dream. The worst part is something similar happened two years ago when I was supposed to take the CBEST test. I'm scheduled to take the CBEST in December. You'll all have to call and make sure I'm actually awake! Ugh. I can't believe it.

On Sunday when the college group was meeting at Starbucks for Sunday School a man walked in. I wasn't the only one to do a double take thinking that he was my dad!

Here is my dad maybe 5 years ago with slightly darker hair.(He often wears his boots, and also has a hat, I couldn't find the picture with the boots.)

And here is the man we saw at Starbucks!

Worthy of a double take?