Miscellaneous Missives

Ikea has decided to start charging five cents for every bag at checkout. The hope is that people won't want to spend the money, so they won't get the bag. It's Ikea's way of being environmentally conscience. They will also take five cents off if the customer brings a bag from home. This idea was tried in Great Britain and worked!

I have the unique ability to say what I'm thinking even when I shouldn't say anything. This morning was no different. As J was throwing mini candy bars in the air, I blurted out, "Now all of you have gotten on my last nerve." Of course I modified it by saying all but L. This caused the final team member to go on the defensive. Since she was shocked, I gave a list of my annoyances. Yes, I know; I shouldn't have said anything. If you can't say anything nice... My list caused my fellow staff member to suggest that she changes places with another teacher. Of course I could've said that I didn't want that to happen, but this was the time I chose to keep my mouth shut and continued with school business. Besides, inside I was thinking, "Don't get my hopes up!" Earlier in the day, my principal also got my hopes up. I was asking about the chances of conferences being canceled tomorrow evening because of the impending snow storm. He hin...

Tonight was student led conferences. I love student led conferences because I want the students to be accountable in front of the parents. Most of the students I saw at conferences tonight were there because they were doing well. The students that should have stopped by my room basically didn't show. At one point I had a room full of parents belonging to three 'A' students. Among this group was a student who was writing down missing assignments from the grades posted on the door. The grades are posted by ID number from highest to lowest. As his finger followed one of the bottom three lines, I explained the way the grades were posted pointing out that he was at the very bottom. When the student came back to where his mom and I were sitting, I asked him when the last time he had paper and a pencil in my class. The mom barely responded when he said it had been a month. Need I say more? I will work with those students who are failing and care, but I will not spend ex...

The preview to the news today said there were over 1,000 towed. It looks to me like they could've towed a couple more!! I turned into my parking lot then backed up to take this picture... hee hee... funny stuff. From the looks of it, they had been there for some time. My gratitude list for today: 1) late Valentine (address mishap) from H & her piggy 2) supportive principal and a short staff meeting 3) a friend with a great idea about take-out

My devotional for last night said, "Go outside, whatever the weather. Bundle up if it's cold... Look around you and take specific note of five things of beauty created by God for you to enjoy..." Since I read my Bible and devotions before bed, I didn't jump out of bed to go outside and witness God's beauty. This morning on my walk I remembered the words and started taking a closer look (listen and touch) of my surroundings. "Five Things of Beauty Created by God" 1) evergreens still green against the white backround with intermittent patches of white snow 2) blanket of clean white snow covering the lake and sidewalks 3) the crunch of the snow mixture under my feet 4) bare branches of trees wearing a coating of snow 5) snow pinging against my face then melting snow clinging to my hair and clothing My gratitude list for today: 1) the beauty of the snow 2) fellowship with a small group in church 3) bounding through the snow to get to the lake

Even though I wasn't tired this morning, I had a difficult time getting out of my comfy covers. When I did my apartment seemed cold as it always does leaving my warm bed. After my walk and trip to the grocery store, my apartment still seemed quite cold. Getting into the shower was freezing. Stepping out of the shower was frost bite. I decided to grab the air conditioner remote, not because I needed to use it, because a thermometer is part of the remote. It read 64º. This is not OK. Getting assistance was more complicated than I had imagined. At first it looked easy; the building manager was entering his apartment as I went to get my mail contemplating whom to call. He came over and turned the zone valve to manual. Easy? Of course not! We spent the next 45 minutes conversing about everything from the apartment to sports. Plus I still need to call to get maintenance to fix the problem next week. My apartment is now at 67º. This is not OK, but it is better. My gratit...

A winter storm is coming. All week the weather forecasters have been warning of snow, ice, rain, or a mix of all three. This weekend we will supposedly get six to ten inches of snow. Obviously more people believe this than me since the lines at the grocery store this afternoon were crazy. I went to the grocery store next to the bank for one item. The lines were long especially the express line. Taking a chance I stood in one of the smaller lines holding my single item. Typically I don't like to talk to people in line at the grocery store, but the lady behind me was nice enough to let me go in front of her. Assuring her I had my cash ready, I made some comment about the long lines. "People are getting groceries before the storm," she started. "I hope we get snow instead of ice," I followed. Conversation started. She retired in January and was going to bake oatmeal raison cookies for a family from church. Her hope was for the light fluffy snow. We talk...