Miscellaneous Missives

I quit making New Year's resolutions years ago. It seems making a resolution is the perfect way for me to do nothing about whatever it is I want to change. Although I am not making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, I am resolving to make a change in my eating and work out habits. I've made a good start this week by walking into the YWCA (3-4 miles round trip) and attending Body Pump classes. Walking around with sore muscles feels kind of nice. Exercising and walking during vacation is easy. Next week when I'm back at school will prove more difficult.

I decided to combine lunch and dinner and enjoy the shrimp in my freezer. When I opened the box, a) I was majorly disappointed. b) I wished I had planned something else. c) I was a bit perturbed and irritated. d) All of the above. Maybe I don't give tests because I don't do well with test questions. I believe the answer to this question is obvious. The good news is that I had my fountain Diet Pepsi.

Yesterday my latest edition of The Sun appeared in my mailbox. I somehow forgot about it until this morning. Realizing I didn't have time to read the entire publication, I read the "Correspondence" and "Sy Safransky's Notebook." As I was reading, Kitty Klaus jumped up on my chest/stomach making me rearrange the periodical. This happened almost simultaneously as I read, "The cat in my lap doesn't care what I ate last night, or what I weigh this morning. She doesn't care what words I'm writing, or whether they're good enough." Ahh, it looks like someone wrote my blog entry for me this morning.

Vacation always helps me realize how much I try to force into a weekend. This morning I was worried about all I had to do. Looking at my "to do list" brought unneeded stress. Of course I took time to read Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation , but I made sure to accomplish some task after every thirty pages. Then I realized the Christmas decorations don't need to be put away. The place doesn't need to be cleaned. The thank you notes don't need to be written to day, etc. I have all week! In reality, even with a week, it may or may not get done, but at least I don't need to stress about doing it all today. This allowed me to finish my book without taking breaks to be productive.

Today, the Sunday after Christmas, is typically celebrated as Peace Sunday in the church service I attend. We are given quite a bit of time for contemplation during this service. It was difficult at time for me to concentrate. For some reason the last week seems to have gone quickly and was filled with activities. Around noon I drove Dad to his ride in New Brighton and came home to silence. Instead of worrying about all of the things I needed to accomplish, I lit the remaining Christmas candles and read. As I was reading, I remembered a quip I made as I was talking to my reading advisory the last day of school. One student wanted to know what would happen if they read five hours in one day. With lack of thought, I told them that they should get a life and find something else to do. Of course I recanted this comment and explained they should also get outside and play, but reading a lot over break would be wonderful. It seems today I should have gotten a life and gone outside m...

Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley Last night my dad and I went to the movie Invictus . As usual with such a movie, I wish I knew more about history and will now need to read Nelson Mandela's book. At least three times during the movie, I checked the internet for information. When I returned home, I looked up the poem and some information about the movie. Maybe Matt Damon said it best, "The film is telling a story which I think is a wonderful thing to ...

I have the best dad! Today, on Christmas, he tackled my tub repair while cooking a turkey and preparing Christmas dinner. As he worked his magic, I did very little. Oh, did I mention he also cooked omelets for breakfast? Maybe I should clean up and pay for the movie tonight. Merry Christmas to everyone.

I have been awaiting this snow for days. If it does not reach over 12 inches, I am going to be sad. This morning has already been fun. After I made my snow angel, I took a brief walk. I was amazed that the Greenway was plowed better than the roads, so I took the path "less traveled by." "It made all the difference" since I was able to get more exercise going through the snow that was over my boots. Maybe I'll need to get my higher boots out for later in the day. More snow and pictures to come...

Winter break began this afternoon. I carted home bags, plates, and tins of goodies with no school work. This will be the first winter break that I do not bring home papers to correct. Tomorrow at nine o'clock I am also scheduled for a massage. Plus a snow storm could be on its way. Since my goal this break is to work out, the large snow fall will be wondrous for my morning walks. A fabulous break is beginning!

Today is the darkest day of the year (in the Western Hemisphere) since tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. Part of our church service this morning was told in the dark. The story (sermon, message, ?) was told in the dark since stories told in the dark often stay with us. We lit the fourth, Christ, candle today in preparation for Christmas as four candles of hope shone. It is through the darkness that we come to the light. Yeah, yeah, a bit cliche, but today's service (readings, story, music, presentation) was delightful. As communion neared I was thinking it would be perfect if we were blessed with the chocolate bread sometimes offered for communion in this service. At that point the lady next to me stated, "Either pumpernickel or chocolate." "Really?" I asked stating, "I was thinking it would be perfect if it was chocolate." Alas, it was pumpernickel, but the service was still beautiful. Besides, a piece of fudge was sitting on my chair awaitin...

As I'm sitting home today periodically checking the news for information on the health care struggle, I'm viewing pictures from the East Coast. I will admit that it makes me a bit jealous. It would be fun to have 12" of snow. After all we haven't had a good snow fall or blizzard for some time. Snow day or not, I would love a blizzard (if I had a chance to go shopping prior to the snow fall, of course).

In order to understand why I posted this video, start at 49 seconds. The cat is me. It is difficult to admit, but as they say, "Numbers don't lie." Lately I have gained at least five pounds. I didn't weigh in last week because I was frightened. Today, as we prepared for our field trip, the students asked what I had packed in my lunch. Embarrassed I admitted that I had a crispy bar and Izzi soda. One boy informed me that his lunch was healthier. This seemed more than obvious to me. How could it not be healthier than mine? I explained that my eating habits had become unacceptable, and I planned on changing it starting December 26th. This is really not acceptable either, but I want to be realistic.

I would like to thank Senator Al Franken for not allowing Liebermann to finish... well done.

Ahhh... After several attempts to sit with Kitty Klaus and the grass, plus multiple tries with catnip in the grass, the little feline seems to be partaking in the grass. My Christmas wish is that he leaves the other plants alone and eats the cat grass.

Yesterday the students started reading various stories from Guys Write for Guys Read . It is the perfect way to cruise into winter break. These are short (very short) stories the students enjoy reading. I've even had some of my lower readers ask to check the books out! Today as the were reading, a young lady came up and ask me about a word. "What is this word?" she questioned. I looked at the page to see her pointing to the word "bloke." "Bloke. It's a slang term. It's an old word. We don't really use it. I think it means a guy who is kind of... well not maybe the smartest." At this point oaf came to mind. I knew this wouldn't help, so I continued, "It's a term that wasn't even used when I was young." At this point I knew I lost the battle as I saw the look of disbelief in her eyes that said," "How old can this word be?" What does it mean anyway? Is their a definition for this English slang ...

My colleague and I have been planning our year together. It works out well because we actually think alike. For instance last week I went to ask for a book to look up something about paragraphs, and she had the pages I needed already tabbed. Last night we started planning for the first week after break. We literally opened to the same page in the book we planned on using. I joked and said I was going to be a bit freaked out if we started finishing sentences of one another. Today we worked together and actually were able to plan out until January 25th. Working with someone with similar ideas eases the stress. My holiday will not be spent planning what I will teach after break. Great minds think alike.

My cat eats my plants and then periodically pukes on my rugs. When I complain to friends, they suggest getting the cat grass. I typically reply that I think he does it to be naughty and get attention. Lately I decided that perhaps he does need greens, so I bought the cat grass. This morning I took pictures to tell the story of how it's going. I don't feel as though it went well. Notice the cat grass directly in front of one of the plants he's chewing? Any suggestions?

On Sundays, such as today when I have a long list of tasks to accomplish, I often think of skipping church. As soon as I enter the art gallery (home of our service), I am happy that I did not skip. This hour on Sunday is the best of the day and sometimes even the week. During advent, we have sung a song to the tune of O Come Emmanuel. The lyrics show the spirit of our service. I absolutely love it, tune and lyrics. O Come O Come Emmanuel And in this sacred circle dwell. Your works of mercy bring to bear Your healing and your wholeness share. Give voice, give voice, Emmanuel. Speak truth and promise With your people her.

"Come, see the north-wind's masonry, Out of an unseen quarry evermore Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer Curves his white bastions with projected roof Round every windward stake, or tree, or door. Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work So fanciful, so savage, naught cares he For number or proportion. " by Ralph Waldo Emerson First, I would like to admit that I did not find this quote by searching my books or the internet. A blog I read daily had posted it this morning. As I drove to Okoboji this evening, I thought about the wind and its ability to shape the snow into swirls and other wonders. As I drove farther south, the amount of snow intensified. Many times I thought about stopping the car and taking a picture of its design and majesty, but since I was meeting a friend for drinks, I decided to keep driving.

I always go to the middle school musical with J and her young daughter. It typically works out well, because both the young daughter and I are ready to leave at intermission. Tonight things did not work out as well. Although I had sat long enough and was ready to go and antsy at intermission, little miss six and a half year old wanted to stay until the end. Oh, I wish I was joking. My choice was to leave and be upstaged by a six and a half year old or stay. Since I didn't want to look like I was the reason we typically left at intermission, I stayed for the entire performance (over 1 1/2 hours). Although she's not my daughter, it saddens me that she is growing up.

Today I read a post about Tiger Woods. "Do you know the difference between Santa and Tiger Woods? Santa stops after three hos." Although I do find this funny, I am amazed at the amount of air time (screen time) Tiger Woods has received the last week while the health care reform is being squelched. It bothers me, but I don't really know what to do about it.

At the beginning of the year, warm, big chocolate chip cookies were served in our school cafeteria for one dollar. Not long after I found out about this scrumptious treat, they were pulled from the menu. It seems they had trans fats and could not be served. Today I went to the cafeteria to supplement my apple with some white cheddar popcorn. As I entered the line area, my name was spoken multiple times. The caller announced, "We have big cookies." It was not difficult to make the choice, popcorn or a warm, chocolate chip cookie. A cookie wins every time. My path leaving the cafeteria to my room took me through the office. From the conversation as I walked by with my cookie, at least two more cookies were sold to staff. Later as I was thinking of the wonder of a big cookie, I wondered if I should have been distraught that the cooks knew I would want and buy a cookie. It also made me think of high school and driving ten miles to get a big cookie at Hardees. It's...

One thing I love about the holidays is peppermint ice cream (vanilla with candy cane chunks). Today I went looking for some on the way home from church. First I stopped at Kowalski's with no luck. My next stop was Lunds. They had an Party Mint from Minnesota Creamery. Although I knew little about it, I bought it because it was local and peppermint. When I arrived home, and put it in the refrigerator and tried to do a Google search. I find it bizarre that I can't find any information on the company except for the fact that they are a Lunds/Byerly's holding. How do I know where it's made? Are the ingredients local or merely the packaging? Do they use bovine growth hormones? Of course I'm still eating the ice cream because it's the only peppermint (holiday green and red speckles) ice cream I could find.

I became lulled by the mild November. In fact since I drive to work and merely need to cross the parking lot, I didn't start wearing a coat to work until Wednesday. Today as I walked into a building, a student was standing in outside with his arms open. "Hey, I love this weather," he exclaimed as he saw me. My instant reply, "Really? I'm not a fan." "The snow, isn't wonderful," he tried to engage me. "No, I'm sorry, but I'm really not a fan," I said a bit morose that I couldn't feel his excitement. I know I should be excited because the snow is beautiful, but I was getting used to the mild weather. Actually, I felt guilty because I really did want to feel his joy and enthusiasm, especially since this isn't the typical attitude for this young man.

As my students are working on paragraphs today, I told them they could write about anything they chose. After this I added, "within reason." When one young man asked if he could fill in his paragraph planning map about penguins, I asked if he knew enough about penguins to write an entire paragraph with support and details. He said he did. For some reason, my mouth moved and words came out, "I bet you $10 you don't have enough information." I know. I know. Of course I added that it was a joke, but that if he had enough information I would give him candy. When he brought the planning map to me, I was humored, "Played with penguins? Have you ever played with penguins?" One of his main supports was "Penguins are fun to play with." His first example expressed, "It is fun to go down slides with penguins." Ahh, middle school... Later a student actually wrote his entire paragraph about bagels as toys. He actually was able to co...

I love my church book club because we read a variety of books and because we actually discuss the books. It is refreshing to attend a book club that actually spends 90% of the time having a wonderful discussion about the book. The other 10% of the time is spent grounding our group and sharing prayers. These prayers often show an insight to each of the phenomenal women as does the book discussion. Discussing a book is often difficult to do without bringing in personal experiences. Tonight is our yearly Christmas gathering. We all bring some reading and food to share. Of course I waited until the last minute to get these two things together, but I am looking forward to spending time with these women. I know that they will bring wonderful readings leaving my head filled with grand ideas. Maybe my reading will do the same; I think it's fitting. A Reading for Christmas read this very slowly. It is reverent, hushed, almost whispered, and said in love. ONE: Before we had anything...

Maybe I'm easily won over, but as I listen to President Obama, I believe that he has given a tremendous amount of thought to sending more troops into Afghanistan. Before I started listening to him this evening, I had nothing but contempt for his idea to send 30,000 more troops. For some reason as he speaks, I believe that he is doing what is best for our country. Perhaps if he knew that I thought the Secretary of Education was completely misguided, he would win me over with some speech explaining his education policy. Currently I think his education policy SUCKS. Maybe someone should let him know that I am disappointed and would like him to discuss his education ideas, so I would feel more comfortable with him. If he is having another party soon, maybe I could crash it and have this discussion. I hope that my thoughts are rational and that I am merely not won over by his smooth talk and the knowledge that he was still the best candidate in 2008. Besides, I love the fact tha...