Happy Halloween

I was invited to a Halloween Party hosted by my friend Jessica. I was all happy to go until she said I HAD to dress up. The last time I dressed up for Halloween was when I was in 7th grade. The Halloween spirit is always lost on me. Anyway, I refused to pay a whole bunch of money for a silly costume and I can't sew to save my life, so I had no idea what to be...UNTIL my replacement copy of one of my favorite movies arrived in the mail.



I decided to be an Indian girl! I had a few scarves that I bought in China and that Rob had brought home from Afghanistan that would be perfect for my home made sari. I accessorized with some jewelry and a self adhesive bindi ($2) and voila!



We had a great time!



Maybe Halloween isn't just for kids. Maybe (hopefully) I'll be forced to dress up again next year!

I love my job. I love my job. I love my job.

If I keep saying it will it become true? Don't get me wrong - I like my job. And I think I used to love it, but it is slowly wearing me out. Keep in mind - I am a certified social studies teacher, who is instead working as a para in a self-contained classroom of students with Behavior and Emotional disorders. Days like today I am reminded that it takes a special person to pursue a career in special ed - and I am NOT that person.

Today one of my students stabbed me with a pencil. It bled and I still have lead stuck in there. By the end of the day he had injured all three adults in the classroom. It wasn't intentional, it was an accident, sort of. He had been trying to attack another student either by hitting him or at this moment by throwing books, pens, pencils, anything he could get his hands on. In my attempt to restrain him (one of many times today) he stabbed me. It was actually comical. He felt super bad, he immediately changed his crazy behavior, got me a tissue to wipe up the blood, and after it stopped bleeding, he went crazy again and continued to pursue the other student. Though it might sound like I teach pre-schoolers, it is actually middle school and he is 12.

Can I just say that I am so grateful for the educational opportunities that I am taking advantage of. I can't wait to graduate and have more doors opened up to me (the thoughts of teaching community college sound so appealing right now). I am also so happy to be a part of the military where I know for sure that NOTHING IS PERMANENT!!

Favorite Shows

Challenge 3: Name a show you're currently addicted to




I am not addicted to any show. And to tell you the truth I've never been much of a TV watcher, especially when I was a kid. I'd much rather have been given some crayons and a blank piece of paper. I can never just sit on the couch and channel surf. There MUST be something specific on that I am intending to watch. But there are a few shows I do enjoy watching, though I DVR them and usually watch them all on Sundays, my no homework day when I can simply relax. I enjoy GLEE for the music and for the way they make fun everything. Rob introduced me to THE MENTALIST, which has become one of my favorites now. New this season are MODERN FAMILY which is hilarious and laugh all you want at me for watching MELISSA & JOEY - which is cheesy, light-hearted comedy. That seems like a lot of TV, but when looking at the average of TV most Americans watch per DAY, I think I am ok with just 3 hours per WEEK. And I really don't feel guilty when I consider that a football game on TV is about 3 hours and some men (not to be named) watch 3 games on Sunday and then Monday night FB on top of that. So 3 hours/week is nothing.

Pet Peeves

Challenge 2: Write 5 pet peeves




Whenever anyone asks me my pet peeves I have a hard time answering. It is one of those things where you never remember it bothers you UNTIL it happens. So this one took a lot of thinking. Here are a few things that bother me.

1. Leaving the toilet seat up/peeing on the toilet seat. This is ALWAYS the first thing that comes to mind as a pet peeve. It is #1 on my list for a reason. Though I am happy to say that Rob is a perfect husband and isn't guilty of either. And for all you men who argue they should stay UP and us females need to get in the habit of putting them down and then back up, my question for you is, When you go to LOWES or Home Depot and you are in the toilet section, how are they displayed? Exactly, the seat is ALWAYS down!



2. WhEn PeOpLe WrItE iN bOtH cApS aNd LoWeRcAsE. It definitely bothers me on the computer, but is even MORE annoying when handwritten. Either write correctly (by my definition) or keep it all CAPS.

3. When you are already seated at the uncrowded movie theater, with your feet up on the seat in front of you, and someone STILL sits there. Yes, I know it is not polite to put your feet up on furniture, but I do it at my house and when I pay $10 for a ticket I feel entitled to put my feet up. And yes, I know it bothers me when others do it to me, so I will be the first to admit I am a HYPOCRITE, because I do it to others. But I HAVE to sit in the EXACT middle of the theater.

4. When people pronounce Illinois with an 's' at the end. The 's' is silent folks!

5. I don't have a category for this. But it annoys me when people use the words 'islamic' and 'muslim' interchangeably when talking about a country. They mean VERY different things. Or when people assume ALL Arabs are Muslims or ALL Muslims are Arabs.

6. Creating a familiar enemy in Hollywood. Have you ever noticed that in movies (especially James Bond type movies), more often than not, the 'bad guys' are often from countries that America has fought against or been opposed to at one time or another. The 'bad guys' are often Russians or Germans or North Koreans or Arabs (which is a newer trend since 9/11). For example, the bad guy in Ironman 2, Backlash, is Russian. Why? Is it that important to have a familiar and common 'enemy'? Why can't the bad guys be British? Or Israeli? Or Canadian? Oh wait, because we've always liked those countries.



7. I can only seem to pay my tuition online during business hours. How on earth is paying online anymore convenient when I have to do it between 8-4:30? Hello K-STATE! I leave for work at 7:00 am and don't get back till 4:30? And I can't do it at work. Am I really going to have to take time off AGAIN to pay tuition?

Ok, I know it said on 5 pet peeves, but I was on a role. I kept thinking of them.

What are your pet peeves?

four short term goals

Challenge 1: write 4 simple short term goals for this month and why you chose them

1. Don't get behind in school. This has been quite the challenge. I've already had to take 2 days off work just to stay caught up with school work. Working full-time and going to school full-time was one of my worst ideas ever. I knew it would be tough, and decided I wouldn't do ANY homework on Sundays, so that only gives me Saturday to focus on HW. Now that Rob is working nights, our schedules don't line up well at all, so we'll only be able to skype on the weekends, which sucks, but it gives me more time each night to get school work done.


2. Get up each morning by 5:00. This will allow me to do HW in the morning and/or work out, enjoy a breakfast (other than a fiber one bar in the car), and not start my day off feeling rushed.

3. Fully commit myself to Weight Watchers. This will ensure I'm eating healthy and drinking plenty of fluids which will help keep me healthy and hopefully more alert during the day. Even more important, I want to look HOT when Rob comes home for R&R in December.


4. Submit my insurance claim from the flood. I know, I know. It has been 4 months and I still haven't done it. I'm hating on myself for it too.

30 Day Blog Challenge

My life right now is totally consumed by work and school and so outside of this I have no life. Which means I have nothing to blog about, unless you want to learn about Ancient Rome, assessments or multicultural issues in education. Working with students with behavior and emotional disorders do provide some VERY interesting and entertaining stories that I'd love to blog about, but that would violate confidentiality laws, so can't do that either.

Which is why I'm embarking on the 30-day blog challenge (stolen from Ashley's blog). Since I'm impatient this will probably only last 2 weeks or less since I'm going to want to respond to more than one prompt per day. Enjoy!