Today is the wednesday before saint patrick's day, are you ready to wear green? I am! I have a nifty leprechaun shirt I'll wear, hair bows, and leprechaun socks, even though no one will see them through my shoes. Perhaps I'll go to Target and see what goodies are in the dollar section.
I think more people should ride bicycles! It's so enjoyable. Maybe not as enjoyable in hot weather, but it's good for you and surprisingly efficient as a mode of transportation. You don't really realize how far you can go. From work to the house is six miles, although there is a monster bridge in there. I went six miles last week with a cold!
Today I went a different route, the other direction, stopped at the bank, and then Publix to grab a snack, since I left the house without one this morning. I was thinking cheese stick when I walked in, but graham crackers are buy-one-get-one-free. There were no individual cheese sticks, so grahams it is! They were calling my name anyway.
But riding there and back took almost no energy, it feels like. Oh sure, when the wind was blocking against me, I shifted down a gear. Big deal! I got to the bank in only ten minutes at a leisurely pace and stopping at 2 lights (like you're supposed to) like a car.
Seems to me that more and more people might turn to bicycles as a form of transportation if the gas prices keep rising as they have. It may be a symptom of not having my own car to worry about a gas gauge for, but I just realized that prices are up to $3.75 a gallon!! That's almost four whole dollars and I remember people absolutely flipping out about it nearly hitting three dollars a little while ago during a spill I think. Maybe its a good thing my husband and I have been mechanically forced to carpool...
The benefits of biking are many, and I feel like listing them:
-Biking doesn't use gas, deisel, or produce harmful fumes like a car.
-It's quiet! In some places the traffic is so noisy that you can't even hold a conversation, but on a bicycle it's the easiest thing in the world just to wave or say good morning to someone.
- You see more when you aren't going 55mph. Honestly. Think about the last time you went somewhere close to home. Can you list exactly what is between here and there? You can appreciate scenery or notice local tiny shops when you aren't rushing from point A to point B. (Or even if you are on a bicycle, there is time to read the signs :P)
-Exercise! The dreaded word for some, I know. But pedaling a bike is kind of like an elliptical I would think- low impact on legs. It's good for your legs and butt muscles, and even moderate exercise, such as a leisurely bike ride, has been shown in studies to improve mood due to chemicals released in your brain. Like during sex! How about a bike ride, hot shower, and then sex? Three good things in one!
-Bicycles are cheaper than cars! Well, some bikes can get outrageously expensive, but you know what I mean. A bike doesn't need a tag, yearly registration, or even a title! Tires are cheaper for a bicycle. You don't need insurance, only a good lock.
-Yes, you can take things with you on a bike. You can install a rear rack as well as a front basket or panniers. Or, you can go big and get an Xtracycle! This turns your ordinary bike into a longtail bike, capable of hauling small children, an adult, a ton (ok not a real 2000lb ton) of groceries, or other weird stuff. You find out that you don't NEED to carry a whole bunch of stuff with you either.
-Community. A bicyclist is part of a whole community of enthusiasts who share experiences, complain about road-rage jerks in car-cages, and all the other stuff a group of people do with a common interest. You might bike only for pleasure, or be training for a marathon, but you have something in common with other bicyclists that maybe people in cars don't even care to try to think about. Does the average driver of a honda see other Hondas and smile? I know somemost Beetle drivers do! Just saying, you're like a bus driver waving to other drivers, bikers looking out for each other, or beetle owners spreading the goodwill.
So that's me up on a soap box for a minute because honestly, I just rode 4 miles and I'm feeling that awesome feeling I mentioned above. Now, it's really too bad I won't get home for another 3 hours to continue my checklist... :P
Happy Wednesday!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Happy Friday 3/11
So, I haven't written in a while...
My last post talked about me getting sick, and boy, did I catch it. I had the sniffles right after my birthday and slept that weekend, which was the 18th to the 20th. There was no school the 21st so that gave me an extra day to get over my cold and by Tuesday I was back to feeling ok with just the runny/stuffy nose and a little cough. No big deal, I thought. So I go through that week and I go to bed thursday. I was cold and wore my footy pajamas, and I woke up Friday morning burning hot. After I got settled with some alkaselter and I figure out I had a fever, which dropped down fast once I got some cool liquid in me, I felt ok enough to go to work. I may not have been in a totally sane state of mind, hindsight being what it is. But I got the kids to school, and I went home for Jamie and he was very concerned, and he ended up taking me to work so I could drive the high school shuttle to the park, but I told them I wasn't sure it would be me picking them up since I wasn't feeling very well. This was true, I started feeling crappy shortly after I got to work.
Anyway, I went home and promptly kept a fever of around 102 for six straight days. I called out the entire next week and sometime thursday my temperature approached normal but didn't stay down more than an hour, and finally Friday afternoon it did break. Of course I had the nose-chest issues I always get, and sometime early on my right ear clogged and stayed that way. It hurt so I was sleeping on my nonusual side and calling that ear infected, but I think it was just clogged. My hearing finally came back to stay I think Tuesday, but all Monday it was really annoying to blow my nose because it would make it pop and that hurt.
My thoughts on that whole week- I had a cold which probably opened the door for the flu? Whatever it was, I just finished this week back at work with people asking me every single day how I was feeling. Apparently I still sound awful, though after Monday they no longer told me I looked that way. And a lady coworker remarked Monday that it looked like I lost weight. Sure enough the scale when I went home shows that a week with a fever and barely eating dropped 5 pounds off me. I had been doing P90, so secretly I hope it stays off even though that is not the method I would choose for any weight loss plan!
The kids on the bus have been fine. Written a few referrals for random things, nothing too serious, and they were only step one write-ups, so just a phone call home. I lost one girl, she moved and no rides the other bus, but her departure has quieted things down. The exciteable girl is much calmer and the general volume up front by my head is usually lower than before, plus there is a distinct lack of whining now :P One girl has brought in so many decorations that she threatens to cover the entire ceiling above her seat and be the first to fill the allowed area completely. Her enthusiasm has rubbed off and prompted a few of the quieter ones to bring in a few things for their own seats, so that makes me happy. Every once in a while I make sure to give myself a few extra minutes just to walk the aisle and look at all the things they have taped up, all the different personalities that are visible. A couple of the substitutes came up to me to make sure I knew that the kids were all very concerned during my absence, and that they did very well and the front girl was a huge help with directions. That made me happy. My only issue coming back is that someone removed my seat belt bracket which keeps the shoulder belt attached to the lap belt further toward the middle than the buckle, so that the shoulder belt doesn't rub my neck and hurt. I can't find it anywhere.
Other than that, I guess life goes on as usual.
Oh! Yesterday was a big day for me, the weather was so nice that I took my new bike out for the first real trip since I got it. Had to air the tires, and I had just planned to cruise up and down the roads behind the school. Well I did that, but by the new theatre I found a sidewalk around a pretty lake, so I followed that. It ended in a strange spot- a traffic circle, and I wasn't sure which direction to go. I had plenty of time and was feeling really good, so I picked a path and took it. Turns out it went under the interstate and ended at a road further than I had planned to go. Anyway, I made my way down that road and then along back to work. The only hard part was the last stretch because it was beside the wide road and the wind was agianst me. I used the easy gears and did just fine, and then spent the next half hour being excited and telling everybody at work about my bike ride, because I mapped it out and I went six whole miles! I was very proud. It's colder today, so I planed to stay inside and write this. I need to adjust the seat a little bit because I sort of slide forward, but its a comfy seat and the bike fits well, it goes so easy that the ride was overall really enjoyable. The most annoying part was that every time I coughed (which was often) it would pull the chin strap on my helmet and get my glasses skewed just lower from where they were supposed to be on my nose enough to be irritating. But that's all! I also found out, its only 5.8 miles straight home from here, although the bridge I bet wwould be murder. I'd probably walk it. So that lent me an even bigger sense of accomplishment. I'm so proud of me!
That's all, happy Friday everybody.
My last post talked about me getting sick, and boy, did I catch it. I had the sniffles right after my birthday and slept that weekend, which was the 18th to the 20th. There was no school the 21st so that gave me an extra day to get over my cold and by Tuesday I was back to feeling ok with just the runny/stuffy nose and a little cough. No big deal, I thought. So I go through that week and I go to bed thursday. I was cold and wore my footy pajamas, and I woke up Friday morning burning hot. After I got settled with some alkaselter and I figure out I had a fever, which dropped down fast once I got some cool liquid in me, I felt ok enough to go to work. I may not have been in a totally sane state of mind, hindsight being what it is. But I got the kids to school, and I went home for Jamie and he was very concerned, and he ended up taking me to work so I could drive the high school shuttle to the park, but I told them I wasn't sure it would be me picking them up since I wasn't feeling very well. This was true, I started feeling crappy shortly after I got to work.
Anyway, I went home and promptly kept a fever of around 102 for six straight days. I called out the entire next week and sometime thursday my temperature approached normal but didn't stay down more than an hour, and finally Friday afternoon it did break. Of course I had the nose-chest issues I always get, and sometime early on my right ear clogged and stayed that way. It hurt so I was sleeping on my nonusual side and calling that ear infected, but I think it was just clogged. My hearing finally came back to stay I think Tuesday, but all Monday it was really annoying to blow my nose because it would make it pop and that hurt.
My thoughts on that whole week- I had a cold which probably opened the door for the flu? Whatever it was, I just finished this week back at work with people asking me every single day how I was feeling. Apparently I still sound awful, though after Monday they no longer told me I looked that way. And a lady coworker remarked Monday that it looked like I lost weight. Sure enough the scale when I went home shows that a week with a fever and barely eating dropped 5 pounds off me. I had been doing P90, so secretly I hope it stays off even though that is not the method I would choose for any weight loss plan!
The kids on the bus have been fine. Written a few referrals for random things, nothing too serious, and they were only step one write-ups, so just a phone call home. I lost one girl, she moved and no rides the other bus, but her departure has quieted things down. The exciteable girl is much calmer and the general volume up front by my head is usually lower than before, plus there is a distinct lack of whining now :P One girl has brought in so many decorations that she threatens to cover the entire ceiling above her seat and be the first to fill the allowed area completely. Her enthusiasm has rubbed off and prompted a few of the quieter ones to bring in a few things for their own seats, so that makes me happy. Every once in a while I make sure to give myself a few extra minutes just to walk the aisle and look at all the things they have taped up, all the different personalities that are visible. A couple of the substitutes came up to me to make sure I knew that the kids were all very concerned during my absence, and that they did very well and the front girl was a huge help with directions. That made me happy. My only issue coming back is that someone removed my seat belt bracket which keeps the shoulder belt attached to the lap belt further toward the middle than the buckle, so that the shoulder belt doesn't rub my neck and hurt. I can't find it anywhere.
Other than that, I guess life goes on as usual.
Oh! Yesterday was a big day for me, the weather was so nice that I took my new bike out for the first real trip since I got it. Had to air the tires, and I had just planned to cruise up and down the roads behind the school. Well I did that, but by the new theatre I found a sidewalk around a pretty lake, so I followed that. It ended in a strange spot- a traffic circle, and I wasn't sure which direction to go. I had plenty of time and was feeling really good, so I picked a path and took it. Turns out it went under the interstate and ended at a road further than I had planned to go. Anyway, I made my way down that road and then along back to work. The only hard part was the last stretch because it was beside the wide road and the wind was agianst me. I used the easy gears and did just fine, and then spent the next half hour being excited and telling everybody at work about my bike ride, because I mapped it out and I went six whole miles! I was very proud. It's colder today, so I planed to stay inside and write this. I need to adjust the seat a little bit because I sort of slide forward, but its a comfy seat and the bike fits well, it goes so easy that the ride was overall really enjoyable. The most annoying part was that every time I coughed (which was often) it would pull the chin strap on my helmet and get my glasses skewed just lower from where they were supposed to be on my nose enough to be irritating. But that's all! I also found out, its only 5.8 miles straight home from here, although the bridge I bet wwould be murder. I'd probably walk it. So that lent me an even bigger sense of accomplishment. I'm so proud of me!
That's all, happy Friday everybody.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sick :(
Well drat. I almost escaped. The schools have a new virus going around and I was congratulating myself on NOT servicing that particular school, when Friday my kids started hacking up lungs and of course, I go home with a hurting throat- the sure sign that my weekend is shot.
Sure enough, I slept I think 13 hours relatively straight, then continued to sleep for about 4 hour increments all day Saturday. I got up Sunday and swapped laundry machines between naps until it was certain at about noon that I wasn't going to fall asleep anymore, even though I really wanted to. Laundry was all finished, though, and then I watched movies until Jamie got home and we went to bed. I'm happy the holiday gives me just one more day to be lazy and just sit, getting closer to over this thing. I hate being sick. I hope that me staying in bed so much also lets the others in the house escape it, but I'm not holding a breath, so to speak, for that one.
I had the idea sometime last week that while I have so much time at work, I could be doing something useful, instead of just poking around online. I should get out my beads and start some projects and use that cute little metal tote for what it was meant. I plan to ride my bike a bit now that the weather is a bit better too. I also thought that writing would be fun. I like writing, but I lack inspiration sometimes. I'm not good at creating anything out of thin air- I do better with english assignments, art class, or drawing with an object in front of me. Then I can go from there, maybe.
So what would you like me to write about? What do you like to read about? I'll take any ideas, silly or serious, short or long. Anything. I could do poems, short stories, long stories, just throw some ideas at me. What kinds of things are you interested in? I'll even do some research if I'm in the right mindset at the time. I have time remember? So whenever I feel like writing (and perhaps sometimes even when I don't) I can go look at my list of suggestions and just pick one. I wrote a few good stories based on a Warcraft character of mine in response to a writing challenge where you had to let your music player choose 30 random songs from your library, and then write something based on the song, the title- whatever struck your fancy. So let's hear some ideas! You never know where one good idea might lead to...
Sure enough, I slept I think 13 hours relatively straight, then continued to sleep for about 4 hour increments all day Saturday. I got up Sunday and swapped laundry machines between naps until it was certain at about noon that I wasn't going to fall asleep anymore, even though I really wanted to. Laundry was all finished, though, and then I watched movies until Jamie got home and we went to bed. I'm happy the holiday gives me just one more day to be lazy and just sit, getting closer to over this thing. I hate being sick. I hope that me staying in bed so much also lets the others in the house escape it, but I'm not holding a breath, so to speak, for that one.
I had the idea sometime last week that while I have so much time at work, I could be doing something useful, instead of just poking around online. I should get out my beads and start some projects and use that cute little metal tote for what it was meant. I plan to ride my bike a bit now that the weather is a bit better too. I also thought that writing would be fun. I like writing, but I lack inspiration sometimes. I'm not good at creating anything out of thin air- I do better with english assignments, art class, or drawing with an object in front of me. Then I can go from there, maybe.
So what would you like me to write about? What do you like to read about? I'll take any ideas, silly or serious, short or long. Anything. I could do poems, short stories, long stories, just throw some ideas at me. What kinds of things are you interested in? I'll even do some research if I'm in the right mindset at the time. I have time remember? So whenever I feel like writing (and perhaps sometimes even when I don't) I can go look at my list of suggestions and just pick one. I wrote a few good stories based on a Warcraft character of mine in response to a writing challenge where you had to let your music player choose 30 random songs from your library, and then write something based on the song, the title- whatever struck your fancy. So let's hear some ideas! You never know where one good idea might lead to...
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Happy Birthday to me!
So... today is my birthday, and Jessie's. We're 26 today. I woke up early after my aunt sent a happy birthday text. It was good timing, because I didn't want to sleep in too much or I'd regret it going back to the bus schedule tomorrow at 5am.
I got up and sewed a bit- I've been meaning to finish the couch slipcover and today the machine was finally calling me- sounded like a fun thing to do. I sewed most of the morning- it's a bit of a pain because I'm making sure to overcast all the edges so they won't fray later and ruin the whole thing. It needs to survive many washings in the future with puppies cuddling on the couch as much as they do.
Jamie got up and then we went to lunch at a local restaurant. It was funny, we got in the car, he drove one block and pulled in to the place- we could have walked. We'd never been there, and I doubt we'll go back, but my portabello (apparently any spelling version is acceptable) sandwich was good. It had the mushroom, cheese, I forget which kind, bean sprouts (I took some off, didn't need a mountain of them, jeez!), artichoke hearts, and then a mayonaise with something mixed in. It leaked juice out the bottom as I ate it but I thought it tasted great, and that's probably because I love mushrooms. The fact that it gets so big you can cook it like a burger or steak is absolutely awesome to me. That troll in Zangarmarsh has no idea how much I'd like to live there!
After lunch we went to the store to look for some new jeans. All my better-looking jeans have now developed holes in the left knee and I can't get away with wearing them to work forever. Eventually the hole won't be small enough to overlook :P But that store sucked. All the jeans were ugly! Who is buying these ugly mud-colored things? It's bad enough that you can barely find a pair or denim pants that aren't pre-ripped-up, but then you do and it looks like you've gone traipsing through the sewers instead. Ugh! So went to another store and the pants were better there, we actually found a few that I liked, but I suppose my size- a 16 in girls (depending on the brand) or a 5-7 women's (what a range, sewing is easier!) is pretty common. We couldn't find anything that fit right. So we'll continue exercising- since I felt guilty that I've been sort of slack and it shows- and we'll go to the other big store this weekend.
I have a bicycle coming in the mail, I'm so excited, its just the one I want- we had to order it online because they took it out of the stores! I'm glad I got it now or they might have stopped selling them all together. It has all the things I want- skinny tires, fenders, a chain guard, a rack. And it's pretty. The male version with the nearly horizontal top tube is a gorgeous sort of sparkly brown, but the step-through female version is still a pretty sort of cream color. We'll have to assemble it and that is planned for the weekend too, and Dad said he'd love to help me, so that sounds like a great weekend to me so far!
We had spaghetti for dinner, and my cake today was white, with cream cheese frosting (that has to be my favorite kind- not too sweet but so delicious) and it was split in half with a layer of sliced bananas and whipped cream in the middle. I love bananas. It was so tasty. The avacado icing yesterday was super good, but bananas will top that everyday for me, in any form. I'm pretty sure they are my favorite food. We had a visit from Jamie's uncle too, and that was really cool and unexpected.
After dinner I went back to sewing. I was doing the first cushion, and all of a sudden, I thought I had smashed my thumb under the sewing arm. I do that sometimes when I'm guiding the fabric, usually it's my right hand because the twisty thing that secures the needle sticks out. No. This was my left thumb. I guess I yelled when I thougth it smashed me. I will yell ouch periodically when I stab myself with a pin, no big deal, but then I looked and saw the black thread sticking out of my thumb, and went "UMMM..." and Jamie came running. He said he didn't know if could have done this: but I guess I very calmly snipped the thread, and pulled it out one side, then looked at it to see what exactly I did. It didn't bleed for a while, enough for me to see where it cracked the nail, and the hole on the other side. It ached a bit, but not bad at all, like I might have smashed it in a drawer or door. I'm sure it did get mashed pretty well, the needle goes down pretty far.
It started bleeding out of the nail when I was in the bathroom getting the first aid kit, and Jamie wanted me to call my aunt, who is an ER nurse. It's been a very long time since I hurt myself, come to think of it. I was pretty sure neosporin and a bandaid, but we called. I had it in ice water, thinking it would stop the bleeding as well as the ache. She said warm soapy water so it got clean, so we switched. But yes, clean it and bandage, that's all there is to it. I'm pretty sure tomorow will be a ton worse than today, so I've put a good sturdy set-up onto my thumb. I don't want to have to do anything to it if I don't need to. One over the wound, one to wrap around and keep the first secure, and then for good measure, one wrapped around to close the gaps and make sure no dirt can get in there.
I can't believe I sewed my thumb. At least now I know how it can happen. I always sort of wondered how you end up doing it. Now I know- you don't realize you were in the way until its already done. And no, it doesn't hurt that bad. So when in doubt- don't fight with a sewing machine- it will win.
But still, I'm sitting here and this has been a good day- my thumb doesn't even really hurt right now, and at least it's on my left hand even.
Oh! And I got a candle. It smells nice. I think it said egyptian cotton on it, but it's just nice.
Happy birthday to me!
I got up and sewed a bit- I've been meaning to finish the couch slipcover and today the machine was finally calling me- sounded like a fun thing to do. I sewed most of the morning- it's a bit of a pain because I'm making sure to overcast all the edges so they won't fray later and ruin the whole thing. It needs to survive many washings in the future with puppies cuddling on the couch as much as they do.
Jamie got up and then we went to lunch at a local restaurant. It was funny, we got in the car, he drove one block and pulled in to the place- we could have walked. We'd never been there, and I doubt we'll go back, but my portabello (apparently any spelling version is acceptable) sandwich was good. It had the mushroom, cheese, I forget which kind, bean sprouts (I took some off, didn't need a mountain of them, jeez!), artichoke hearts, and then a mayonaise with something mixed in. It leaked juice out the bottom as I ate it but I thought it tasted great, and that's probably because I love mushrooms. The fact that it gets so big you can cook it like a burger or steak is absolutely awesome to me. That troll in Zangarmarsh has no idea how much I'd like to live there!
After lunch we went to the store to look for some new jeans. All my better-looking jeans have now developed holes in the left knee and I can't get away with wearing them to work forever. Eventually the hole won't be small enough to overlook :P But that store sucked. All the jeans were ugly! Who is buying these ugly mud-colored things? It's bad enough that you can barely find a pair or denim pants that aren't pre-ripped-up, but then you do and it looks like you've gone traipsing through the sewers instead. Ugh! So went to another store and the pants were better there, we actually found a few that I liked, but I suppose my size- a 16 in girls (depending on the brand) or a 5-7 women's (what a range, sewing is easier!) is pretty common. We couldn't find anything that fit right. So we'll continue exercising- since I felt guilty that I've been sort of slack and it shows- and we'll go to the other big store this weekend.
I have a bicycle coming in the mail, I'm so excited, its just the one I want- we had to order it online because they took it out of the stores! I'm glad I got it now or they might have stopped selling them all together. It has all the things I want- skinny tires, fenders, a chain guard, a rack. And it's pretty. The male version with the nearly horizontal top tube is a gorgeous sort of sparkly brown, but the step-through female version is still a pretty sort of cream color. We'll have to assemble it and that is planned for the weekend too, and Dad said he'd love to help me, so that sounds like a great weekend to me so far!
We had spaghetti for dinner, and my cake today was white, with cream cheese frosting (that has to be my favorite kind- not too sweet but so delicious) and it was split in half with a layer of sliced bananas and whipped cream in the middle. I love bananas. It was so tasty. The avacado icing yesterday was super good, but bananas will top that everyday for me, in any form. I'm pretty sure they are my favorite food. We had a visit from Jamie's uncle too, and that was really cool and unexpected.
After dinner I went back to sewing. I was doing the first cushion, and all of a sudden, I thought I had smashed my thumb under the sewing arm. I do that sometimes when I'm guiding the fabric, usually it's my right hand because the twisty thing that secures the needle sticks out. No. This was my left thumb. I guess I yelled when I thougth it smashed me. I will yell ouch periodically when I stab myself with a pin, no big deal, but then I looked and saw the black thread sticking out of my thumb, and went "UMMM..." and Jamie came running. He said he didn't know if could have done this: but I guess I very calmly snipped the thread, and pulled it out one side, then looked at it to see what exactly I did. It didn't bleed for a while, enough for me to see where it cracked the nail, and the hole on the other side. It ached a bit, but not bad at all, like I might have smashed it in a drawer or door. I'm sure it did get mashed pretty well, the needle goes down pretty far.
It started bleeding out of the nail when I was in the bathroom getting the first aid kit, and Jamie wanted me to call my aunt, who is an ER nurse. It's been a very long time since I hurt myself, come to think of it. I was pretty sure neosporin and a bandaid, but we called. I had it in ice water, thinking it would stop the bleeding as well as the ache. She said warm soapy water so it got clean, so we switched. But yes, clean it and bandage, that's all there is to it. I'm pretty sure tomorow will be a ton worse than today, so I've put a good sturdy set-up onto my thumb. I don't want to have to do anything to it if I don't need to. One over the wound, one to wrap around and keep the first secure, and then for good measure, one wrapped around to close the gaps and make sure no dirt can get in there.
I can't believe I sewed my thumb. At least now I know how it can happen. I always sort of wondered how you end up doing it. Now I know- you don't realize you were in the way until its already done. And no, it doesn't hurt that bad. So when in doubt- don't fight with a sewing machine- it will win.
But still, I'm sitting here and this has been a good day- my thumb doesn't even really hurt right now, and at least it's on my left hand even.
Oh! And I got a candle. It smells nice. I think it said egyptian cotton on it, but it's just nice.
Happy birthday to me!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
this was a happy saturday
I am sitting right now in my footy pajamas. I must say, they are one of the most comfortable articles of clothing I own. If it's not too hot to wear them, they are simple, cozy, soft, keep out the drafts like pants and socks will let in... I love them. Jamie did so awesome to spot them that night in the store.
Anyway, I haven't felt much like writing lately, which was weird. This week felt like it crawled by, Friday took so long to get here, and today wasn't long enough, even though I got sleepy at 9 like usual. I slept in til 11 so I'm surprised a little that I'd just like to curl up around my dog with my hubby curled around me. That's such a fun word. Hubby. Like cubby. Bubbly. Grubby. Tubby! The grubby Aimee had to get in the bubbly tubby. Heehee. Yeah...
I had to get mean for the bus kids this week. They have slowly been getting more and more... rambunctious? out of control? They get too loud and get in the aisle, and even when I remind them to keep it down and sit up straight and such, they might fix it for a second and then go right back to the way they were. So I threatened and I warned, and they didn't believe me I guess. I made no secret of the referral I wrote on a girl, though of course I didn't tell them who got it.
She was being nitpicky towards a boy, but really when I watched the tape, he was doing nothing wrong towards her. She was nonseriously doing things like trying to get his hand off the back of the seat by stabbing at them with a pencil. That sounds bad, but really she wasn't trying to hit him with it. Still, it could turn into a bad situation if I had to slam on the brakes (my most common method of something theoretially causing a bad situation) and then she first would slam into the seat since she's backwards, and second rebound and injure either him who she was aiming at, or maybe herself if she landed on the pencil.... plus that's a mean thing to do anyway. So she was antagonizing the little boy and he wasn't retaliating at all, which impressed me a lot. And then when he went to get off the bus, she was annoyed at him again I guess, and the reason I had the tape pulled in the first place, was because he tripped. I asked him how he fell (he obviously was not injured, it was a slow kind of fall) he said he thought she tripped him. Darned if she didn't stick that bright white sneaker right in the crook of his foot to catch him! And she lied to me about it, of course. That irks me more than the incident, I hate that so much.
So she gets written up with a verbal warning about the inappropriate actions towards others and sitting improperly, and her mom gets a phone call. Not very serious, but I hope her mom reams her one. This is a girl with a princess notion that thinks she's better than everyone else. I hate that every time I remind her to do something like sit up straight like everyone else, her first reaction is to deny, with a very loud annoying whine, that she wasn't doing anything, as if how dare I imply that she is like every other kid in the aisle, she would never do that. She also has claimed in the past to be of a religious type, and that ticks me off so darned much that she could say that and then be one of the most malicious people on the bus, for a child. What a hypocrite. So anyway, first referral since the few at the beginning of school.
I'm sleepy.
I wonder how it will be to drive in the snow. I'm a cautious driver anyway, but still you can't watch out for everything, there will always be surprises. I'm usually good at things like watching traffic and knowing that this particular jerk is going to cut in front of me and such. One time I knew it would happen but it was still too fast though. I was empty luckily, and when I slammed on the brakes, because I had no other option, I could feel some part of the bus start sliding. I was very proud of myself for recognizing the change in feel as a slide, and I eased off the brakes just enough to get it rolling again to catch traction while still not hitting the creep in front of me, and not freaking out. It angled toward the side of the road where there was a curb, but I kept the wheel straight on the lane and it caught and put me right back forward again. Not sure if that is a good thing to do during a serious slide, but it worked for that. I'd really like to take a bus to a kind of extreme driving class where you could learn how to recover from bad driving situations. I'm sure they have that kind of thing for stunt drivers or something. Anyway, I kept from hitting the jerk and the curb, and then laid on the horn because my next reaction was akin to how dare he make me so freaking scared? What if I had kids on this bus, was he retarded and did he want a however-much ton school bus rammed up his arse? Because loaded buses and semis can't stop on dimes, you know! Even if I could see a dime from so high up :) I'm glad I didn't hit the curb. One of the videos on youtube you can find easily is a front camera inside view of a bus that apparently swerved for some reason, and either jumped or nicked a curb. You can see the students sort of wave as their weight gets shifted to the sides, and then it looks like gravity suddenly shifts to the right, because everyone suddenly falls to the windows- the bus flipped onto its side. And I've seen the ugly accident photos and bus versus train news stories. That kind of thing scares me to death, because I know those could happen so easily to anyone. They drilled it so hard into us at college that safety was so important- you heard about it everywhere. How a fatigued pilot could get tunnel vision. You fixate. That's the famous word. You forget about all the other stuff you should be paying attention to- gauges or airspeed or whatever, because you focus on one thing that seems more important than the rest. A driver fixates on the road ahead maybe, and forgets to check speed, or mirrors. Anyway, the results of making mistakes like that are so vivid, they stick with you, or they did with me. I get nervous around large dump trucks because of the phots they showed us- the bus or maybe the truck was too close to the yellow line, and they met- the back half of one side of the bus was ripped off and there was a huge fire. I'm so careful to check where my students go when they leave that last step out the door, because of the story about the little girl that crawled under the bus after a paper she dropped. The driver ran her over, and crushed her pelvis and everything... its horrible. I don't ever want to do something so bad. I think if I did I would feel awful the rest of my life and quit on the spot.
Anyway, that's depressing to think about now but I'm very careful because of things like that which could happen.
Hard to change topics now.
My birthday is soon, I'm happy for that of course. I have 2 days off and that will nice. I made sure my substitute has good directions, I think. Hope the kids behave.
K I give up. I'm out of gas, ready to stop typing now. :) Hope everyone has a good weekend and Happy Valentine's Day.
Anyway, I haven't felt much like writing lately, which was weird. This week felt like it crawled by, Friday took so long to get here, and today wasn't long enough, even though I got sleepy at 9 like usual. I slept in til 11 so I'm surprised a little that I'd just like to curl up around my dog with my hubby curled around me. That's such a fun word. Hubby. Like cubby. Bubbly. Grubby. Tubby! The grubby Aimee had to get in the bubbly tubby. Heehee. Yeah...
I had to get mean for the bus kids this week. They have slowly been getting more and more... rambunctious? out of control? They get too loud and get in the aisle, and even when I remind them to keep it down and sit up straight and such, they might fix it for a second and then go right back to the way they were. So I threatened and I warned, and they didn't believe me I guess. I made no secret of the referral I wrote on a girl, though of course I didn't tell them who got it.
She was being nitpicky towards a boy, but really when I watched the tape, he was doing nothing wrong towards her. She was nonseriously doing things like trying to get his hand off the back of the seat by stabbing at them with a pencil. That sounds bad, but really she wasn't trying to hit him with it. Still, it could turn into a bad situation if I had to slam on the brakes (my most common method of something theoretially causing a bad situation) and then she first would slam into the seat since she's backwards, and second rebound and injure either him who she was aiming at, or maybe herself if she landed on the pencil.... plus that's a mean thing to do anyway. So she was antagonizing the little boy and he wasn't retaliating at all, which impressed me a lot. And then when he went to get off the bus, she was annoyed at him again I guess, and the reason I had the tape pulled in the first place, was because he tripped. I asked him how he fell (he obviously was not injured, it was a slow kind of fall) he said he thought she tripped him. Darned if she didn't stick that bright white sneaker right in the crook of his foot to catch him! And she lied to me about it, of course. That irks me more than the incident, I hate that so much.
So she gets written up with a verbal warning about the inappropriate actions towards others and sitting improperly, and her mom gets a phone call. Not very serious, but I hope her mom reams her one. This is a girl with a princess notion that thinks she's better than everyone else. I hate that every time I remind her to do something like sit up straight like everyone else, her first reaction is to deny, with a very loud annoying whine, that she wasn't doing anything, as if how dare I imply that she is like every other kid in the aisle, she would never do that. She also has claimed in the past to be of a religious type, and that ticks me off so darned much that she could say that and then be one of the most malicious people on the bus, for a child. What a hypocrite. So anyway, first referral since the few at the beginning of school.
I'm sleepy.
I wonder how it will be to drive in the snow. I'm a cautious driver anyway, but still you can't watch out for everything, there will always be surprises. I'm usually good at things like watching traffic and knowing that this particular jerk is going to cut in front of me and such. One time I knew it would happen but it was still too fast though. I was empty luckily, and when I slammed on the brakes, because I had no other option, I could feel some part of the bus start sliding. I was very proud of myself for recognizing the change in feel as a slide, and I eased off the brakes just enough to get it rolling again to catch traction while still not hitting the creep in front of me, and not freaking out. It angled toward the side of the road where there was a curb, but I kept the wheel straight on the lane and it caught and put me right back forward again. Not sure if that is a good thing to do during a serious slide, but it worked for that. I'd really like to take a bus to a kind of extreme driving class where you could learn how to recover from bad driving situations. I'm sure they have that kind of thing for stunt drivers or something. Anyway, I kept from hitting the jerk and the curb, and then laid on the horn because my next reaction was akin to how dare he make me so freaking scared? What if I had kids on this bus, was he retarded and did he want a however-much ton school bus rammed up his arse? Because loaded buses and semis can't stop on dimes, you know! Even if I could see a dime from so high up :) I'm glad I didn't hit the curb. One of the videos on youtube you can find easily is a front camera inside view of a bus that apparently swerved for some reason, and either jumped or nicked a curb. You can see the students sort of wave as their weight gets shifted to the sides, and then it looks like gravity suddenly shifts to the right, because everyone suddenly falls to the windows- the bus flipped onto its side. And I've seen the ugly accident photos and bus versus train news stories. That kind of thing scares me to death, because I know those could happen so easily to anyone. They drilled it so hard into us at college that safety was so important- you heard about it everywhere. How a fatigued pilot could get tunnel vision. You fixate. That's the famous word. You forget about all the other stuff you should be paying attention to- gauges or airspeed or whatever, because you focus on one thing that seems more important than the rest. A driver fixates on the road ahead maybe, and forgets to check speed, or mirrors. Anyway, the results of making mistakes like that are so vivid, they stick with you, or they did with me. I get nervous around large dump trucks because of the phots they showed us- the bus or maybe the truck was too close to the yellow line, and they met- the back half of one side of the bus was ripped off and there was a huge fire. I'm so careful to check where my students go when they leave that last step out the door, because of the story about the little girl that crawled under the bus after a paper she dropped. The driver ran her over, and crushed her pelvis and everything... its horrible. I don't ever want to do something so bad. I think if I did I would feel awful the rest of my life and quit on the spot.
Anyway, that's depressing to think about now but I'm very careful because of things like that which could happen.
Hard to change topics now.
My birthday is soon, I'm happy for that of course. I have 2 days off and that will nice. I made sure my substitute has good directions, I think. Hope the kids behave.
K I give up. I'm out of gas, ready to stop typing now. :) Hope everyone has a good weekend and Happy Valentine's Day.
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