Consider Yourself Challenged

After thinking of what I wanted to do for my challenge page, I decided to go back to my roots--the 80s. I wasn't born in the 80s (I'm not that young), but I do consider myself a "Child of the 80s". This became my theme. I found a picture of me during the 6th grade in 1989 and posted it, along with my current 2006 school picture to show how much I have either changed or not changed. I'm not sure which it is just yet. Along the pictures, I created a list of things I remember about the 80s. In case you can't read it, here it is:

*Tight-rolled jeans.

*I wanted to be on Star Search.

*I can sing "We Are the World".

*I wore Reeboks.

*I rollerskated on Friday nights.

*I thought Hulk Hogan was the best wrestler of all time.

*I watched the Smurfs on Saturday mornings.

*My bangs were perfectly teased 4 inches above the rest.

*I wore a side ponytail and Lee Press-on nails.

*Posters of New Kids on the Block covered my walls.

*I watched Luke and Laura's wedding.

*Banana clips were a godsend.

*I pinned friendship bracelets to my jeans to finish them.

*I thought Debbie Gibson was better than Tiffany.

*I yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters Club.

*I wore 2 pairs of socks, each a different color.

*I thought we'd all be flying cars by the year 2000.

Almost finished with current scrapbooks!!

I am officially one page away from being caught up with all of my current scrapbooks. Over the past week I have scrapped all of Todd's drag racing pictures, our most current family pictures, and even the past school year pictures. The only thing left for me to do is the Scrapbook Generation challenge page. I am a little stumped on that one. I thought about including my "Teacher" page for the challenge, but I want it to be about me as a person, not my professional life. After seeing Kodi's challenge pages, I want to crawl into a hole! She is an awesome scrapper! If you haven't checked out her pages on her blog, click on the link from my page to hers. You won't be dissappointed! (By the way Kodi--how do you take such good, clear pictures of your pages???)

Here are some of the pages I worked on this week:

This is my "Teacher" page. I am so proud of myself (and of Kodi for being the guiding light) for stepping outside of the box and using more creative things on my pages other than just paper and stickers. I have 1000s of stickers probably, and I don't ever even use them anymore. I may use one here and there, but for the most part, I have started using more paper, ribbon, ink, and I would love to add more 3D embellishments such as eyelets, brads, stitching, and whatever else exists out there!

These pages above are from our "Girls Weekend" with Kodi, her sister Jennifer, and me. I actually like the Coyote Ugly pages better, but I didn't want to post them. They may have incriminating evidence on them!!

These last two pages are from the KC Botanical Gardens or the equivalent. Not much was in bloom the weekend Todd and I were up there, so I have only one picture of a flower. I didn't even take the picture for the flower; I took it for the bee on the flower!

I will have to post my Challenge page next, but this will probably be my last big post until Todd and I return from Florida. We will be up at Borders at midnight tomorrow night to pick up the last Harry Potter (say it isn't so!!!), and I am planning on reading it this weekend. No Internet, TV, nothing until I have the book finished. I may even wear my headphones tomorrow night so no one can spoil it for me. Monday will be reserved for cleaning and packing, then Tuesday we are vacation bound! We will be back on August 3rd, after spending 6 days in Florida, then another 4 days with Todd's family in KC. I will have so much scrapbooking to do when I return!

UUGGHHH! Other people piss me off!

I feel so flustered right now that I am not sure I should be blogging because I might just ramble, but oh well! I feel like I have been defending myself as a good teacher to someone who apparently thinks I am horrible! On one of the message boards I frequent, we got into a discussion about school supplies. I responded to questions about the topic from a teacher's perspective. I told them what supplies I requested in my syllabus every year, and one woman (I assume it was a woman) jumped down my throat because I ask my kids to have a 1" binder for the class. This is her response:

"If the binder is so important why don't you buy them then sell them to the students, for your cost, of course? That way you will get exactly what you want. Diid you even consider that you might be compelling some students/parents to run all over town at inconvenient times just to get the exact binder teacher wants, assuming they can find it?Also, I thought things like crayons, scissors, glue, etc was for elementary grades. What are you teaching thme in HS that they need crayons for? No wonder kids get fed up/discouraged with school. I mean, can't the schools give them something more age appropriate than cutting up paper and making little projects all day/"

First of all, WHAT???? I responded back to her more nicely than I wanted to, but I didn't want to tick off other people as well. The last part of her response is what irritates me more than anything. I had mentioned in an earlier post that I kept markers, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. for students to use, so it's not a part of the school supply list. Am I an idiot to think that HS students wouldn't enjoy a more fun activity every now and then? She must think we just do paper/pencil work all day long. I'd hate to be in her class!

ETA: The discussion went on during the evening. Here is another response from the same person: "What grade is this? You said HS--High School? In my opinion, that's too childish for a HS project. My dd did something similar for 4th grade, she found it somewhat boring, the assignment was to make a poster of an historical character, using crayons, markers, glue sticks, etc. When I was in HS we were doing actual term papers, complete with bibliographies, footnotes, etc., had to follow MLA style sheet, served me well for college. I know the teacher doesn't create the assignments, its the school that decides what is done in what grade, you as a teacher really have little control over that. But I feel the project you described to be way beneath what should be expected from high school."

The project she is referring to is the one I described where the kids get to use markers, crayons, glue, etc. When we are reading Of Mice and Men, each group creates a character poster with the following: picture of character, what character says, acts, feels, and how other characters respond, all complete with quotes from the book. I guess that is too childish in her opinion.

Here is another response by this same woman: "I want to gag reading this! That's busy work plain and simple. Its at the elementary school level. Just what do they do in college--more of the same? Can't schools think of something for a student to do besides cut up paper and color all day? No wonder there's so many incompentents in the work force and employers are falling over themselves to hire foreign workers, they're the only ones who can do the job, unless its coloring and drawing."

This thread was making me want to scream. I even did a little and scared Soze half to death! This is an example of a parent who does not understand what it is like to work with kids everyday.

Scrapbook Central

I hadn't posted in a while (except for the tagged post), and I wanted to get some feedback on my new scrapbook pages. I haven't scrapbooked in a really long time. It has taken me a while, but I was motivated to kick it in gear. I have caught up to May of this year, and I want to be current before Todd and I leave for Disney. I know when we come back I will be heading back to school and will want to scrapbook that trip this fall. (Kodi we are getting together this fall, right? Ava Coon Club? I am there!)

These are some of the pages I have done so far:

These 2 pages of my HS 10-year reunion. I was going to do a small album of this event, but so many of the pictures were of "random" classmates that I found myself only selecting a few pictures of those people whom I was really close to during HS.

These 2 pages are of the ice storm. I know the pages themselves are VERY simple, but this was first experiment with ribbon. I am proud of myself for branching out--ribbon, stamps, 3D embellishments, etc. I still haven't used paper the "proper" way just yet, but I am getting there.

These pages are from the Cardinals game that Mom and I went to during our "Mother-Daughter Weekend" back in April. I also scrapbooked the "Chicago" musical, but since I couldn't take any pictures inside of my own, I didn't think it would be wise to post those pictures I "stole" from Google.


I am also in the middle of reading My Sister's Keeper. So far, it is a great read! I read until almost 3 am this morning. I want to have it finished before the last Harry Potter comes out, and at this rate, that shouldn't be a problem. Todd and I are going to see the latest Harry Potter movie tomorrow, and to psyche ourselves up for it, we watched the first 4 movies yesterday. ALL of them! We started about 3 pm and finished around 1:15 am. Not bad...God I love summers!

Tagged Blog

I just found out from Kodi's blog that I have been "tagged." Since I am new to this blog thing, I am stealing her directions from her blog. "I'm supposed to list 10 random things about myself that all of you may not know....The rules in this game of tag are simple -- once you have been tagged, you must write a blog with ten weird, random things, little known facts or habits about yourself. At the end choose at least 10 people to be tagged, list their names and why you chose them. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you've been tagged' and tell them to read your latest blog." I don't have a problem coming up with the information, but I don't know 10 other people who blog! Can I tag without follow-through? I will have to try it and see what happens.

10 random things about myself:

1. I could sleep all day long.

2. I hate to eat anything that has a texture. For example, I don't eat tapioca pudding because it is too...grainy? I don't eat cooked spinach because it is too slimy. I like to stick to regular food that doesn't cause me to gag.

3. Although I teach English, I do not like to write. I force myself to do it because my kids have to do it, but I would much rather read than write. I guess that's a good thing--I am teaching Reading classes next year!

4. When I scrapbook, I have to have something on in the background. Usually it's "Friends" on DVD. I think I have watched every season 3 or 4 times now. I can almost quote it!

5. I love my dog like she is my child. We talk to her as if she is our child too. We also think my mom loves the dog more than she loves us!

6. Disneyworld is my home away from home. I wish I could live there, but it is too hot too much!

7. My first "little kid" kiss was in the 4th grade by a boy named Brett. We were in the back of the choir van driving to/from a church choir performance.

8. My first "real" kiss was in the 8th grade by Josh Jen, my first true love. He was a year younger than me, but man was he fine!

9. I am on a mission to lose 30 more pounds. I have lost 20, but I can't really tell at all. My clothes fit looser, but they aren't hanging off of me. I thought I would have most of it gone before school started, but that was just a dream. Now I am thinking by Christmas.

10. I haven't talked to so many people I was closest to in a really long time. I haven't talked to my best friend growing up, Robin, since Christmas. I haven't talked to my old college roommate since our high school reunion in September. She could be married, pregnant, etc.! I am bad about making the first step.

People who have now been tagged by me:

Haley F.--she is a dear friend from school who is an awesome teacher and writer. I would love to see what random things she comes up with!

Mom--she doesn't have a blog, but she can email me her list.

Jennifer M.--she doesn't have a blog either, but I know she needs to start one so she can share pictures of her beautiful new daughter!

Anyone else??

Gamma Knife Part 2

Todd and I have been back from his Gamma Knife radiation treatment since Tuesday night, but I haven't been able to blog about it until now. We left Monday to travel up to St. Louis to Barnes Jewish Hospital/Washington University where they do the Gamma Knife procedure. We knew it was coming up, but we still were both nervous about the actual procedure, probably because we remembered what was involved last time. Todd's parents met us up in St. Louis on Monday night, and we all tried to relax as much as possible. I didn't sleep well at all that night--I think I woke up around 4:30 and never went back to sleep. After we ate breakfast (minus Todd--he couldn't eat/drink anything), we drove over to the hospital to check in. Once Todd was checked in, the nurse came up to get us all and take us to the Gamma Knife Radiation waiting room. In the room across the hall Todd was fitted for his helmet/frame. The radiology staff actually screw the frame into Todd's head--2 places in front, 2 places in back. Todd experienced more pain this time around (due to them not waiting at all for the numbing shots to kick in!) and if you are at all squeamish, you might not look at this picture:

Once the frame was on, we just had to wait until Todd took an MRI and CT scan. The doctors looked at these pictures, then decided where the best location for the Gamma Knife would be. Once they had their game plan, the doctors took Todd back for the actual treatment.

After Todd came back from the treatment, he had a splitting headache! This headache pretty much lasted (on and off) for 2 days, much longer than last time. He also swelled at the injection sites, something else that didn't happen last time. We hope this will be the end of the treatments for him! Todd has to go back up to St. Louis in 6 months, but he will continue to see his doctor down here in the meantime.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers during this time! We appreciate them more than you know!

My own Mother beat me at bowling!!!!

I still can't believe it! My own mother, whom I did learn used to bowl weekly either before I was born or when I was very little, beat me at bowling! Todd and I went over yesterday to her house to visit with my brother and his family. They were in town for Firefall, but we ended up not going due to the day's storms, mud, fear of getting in stuck in the mud, etc. We did drive out to Firefall, but after watching a van being pulled out of the mud by a truck, we turned around and went bowling instead. I think we all had a great time! I wish now that I had taken pictures because some of the bowling moments were just too classic to miss! Adam, my 20-year-old nephew, landed flat on his butt in the lane when he threw his ball on the first try. We all got a big laugh out of that one! Then, of all people, my mom started kicking everyone's butts! I only scored a 100 and 102 during my games, but mom ended up with a 105 on her second game. You would have thought she had won the lottery when she rolled a strike. I think she actually rolled 2 or 3 strikes last night! Todd beat me in the second game 141-102, but I beat him 100-70 in our first game. We will definitely have go bowling more often!

Todd and I leave for St. Louis tomorrow because he has his Gamma Knife radiation treatment on Tuesday morning. Hopefully, this will be the treatment to end all treatments, and we can get on with our lives without Cushing's disease. I hope all of you have a wonderful 4th of July!