The Craziest Week Ever, by Marie

This week was insane. Two days sick, two midterms, one bad musical, one boring conference on the VGLA, and one visit from my dad. I'm so glad its the weekend! Unfortunately, the visit with Dad is too short, but I'm happy the rest are over.

I said that I saw a bad musical. It would've been fine for adults, but I was suprised no one questioned it's appropriateness for fourth and fifth graders. It was "Big River" about Huck Finn. One surprising line of a song was about a fictional character called The Nonesuch. It was half male and half female- "One big breast in the middle of her chest." That got a lot of giggles. Oh well. They'll hear it somewhere, right?

Happy Saturday to all!

Snow? by Marie

I went back to work today, and I was hit with quite a bit of drama. I really should've gone in yesterday, but I was just too good about following the doctor's orders. I have been told recently by several people that they admire me for my love and devotion to my students. I just like my job so much. I truly feel lucky to do something everyday that I enjoy so much.

On that note- it may snow tomorrow, and I'm thrilled. I think a one- or two-day work week would be great! One more midterm and I can relax again. If I hadn't pulled off last semester, I would seriously doubt my sanity for taking three courses in a single semester. Just a year and a few months more, and I'll be "highly qualified" for the job I already do. Is anyone else alarmed by that statement?!? No Child Left Behind is a crock.

Troy got his results from his physical yesterday. Bad news- high cholesterol and blood sugar. I'm married to a walking heart attack. Can't say I'm surprised- I knew the genetics when I married him. Love him anyway!!!

Beautiful Day, by Marie

What gorgeous weather! Sixty degrees and sunny. This winter hasn't felt at all like winter. I was off today again (less of a sore throat and no fever), so I slept in, studied, had lunch at Quizno's with Troy, and took Henry for some fresh air. Tomorrow's going to be a really long day.

I also did laundry. I hate doing laundry. You just get it finished and it starts to pile up again. I think I'd be a fan of eco-destroying disposible clothes. Toss 'em when you're done. Of course, you'd always have to be shopping for more, so maybe that would be just as annoying as washing them. That's an interesting thought, though.

Midterm for today: literacy in the classroom. Format: definitions, short answer, essay. Marie's mood: terrified. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Post Script: The test was exactly what was on the study guide. I'll have to wait to see my grade, but I feel like I did great!

Strep Throat by Marie

I learned in college how to tell if I had strep. After the year that I had it four times in about six months, I should be a doctor myself. However, I can't prescribe my own antibiotics, so I'm stuck with the advice of a real doctor. It did get me out of two days of school! (We'll skip the detail on me calling my sub at home to check up on things... I'm a little too controlling) My antibiotics aren't helping the sore throat, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Troy and I are having a conversation right now about indenting paragraphs. I would like to hit the tab key and get a nice indentation in my paragraph. I had to manually enter spaces. It will probably mess everything up. (Note: after publication, I discovered that even with spaces, it doesn't indent. So much for being into correct grammar and composition.)

Midterms this week. Ugh. I have my testing accommodations set up, so hopefully they'll go well. I showed my 504 form to Alex, the student I tutor. He's a bit embarrassed about having to go out of the room to take his tests, and I hope he'll be inspired by my own efforts to increase my abilities. We'll see!