Walking Slow

The Measuring Stick

2011-11-23T22:58:00.001-06:00

You often hear that girls marry men like their father and guys marry women like their moms. As a newlywed, I questioned that old wives tale quite a bit. Gary shares many qualities with my dad, but Jackie and I??? I was not so sure. I just did not see it.

The mother-in-law measuring stick seemed to be 50 yards long, and I was only 3 feet tall. Mom was very budget conscious and frugal, budget was almost a foreign term to me. Mom was very direct, straightforward, and efficient. I tend to meander and wander, and take way too long to do and say too many things. Mom would start a task, and not stop until she was done. Me, I start a few projects at one time, flit from one to the other, and take twice as long to complete them. I was not so sure I would ever measure up.

One of the first memories of my newlywed life was the first time Gary's family came to Houston for a visit. We had only been married a few months. I was working full time and going to night school to finish my bachelor's degree. I think the family arrived on a Wednesday night. Gary and I both had to work Thursday, but would take Friday off. It was the start of summer break for them.

We left at the usual time in the morning, giving mom a quick tour around the galley kitchen. Jackie walked Gary and I to the door assuring me that they would all be fine that day. I don't think I will ever forget the mix of emotions I felt upon my return home. Jackie had cleaned and straightened the condo, started dinner, and washed ALL of our laundry for us. Now, I cleaned house before their arrival, and had planned to make dinner but would think about it when I got home and the laundry??? I felt like mom just discovered a dirty little secret, I hate doing laundry! That 50 yard measuring stick seemed to grow longer daily.

My feelings did not change much for the next few years. A psychologist might say it is a part of "first child syndrome" , wanting to please, to be the perfect spouse for her son, but always seeing that yardstick as way too long. We visited Mt Vernon, they visited Houston, and I kept hoping I was measuring up in her eyes, even if I wasn't in my own.

But somewhere along the way, as anyone with experience and hindsight would expect, I realized that there never was a yardstick. The thought I had during that first visit, that I did not do things well enough, could not have been further from the truth if it were on the moon. I learned that one of Jackie's driving forces was just to be of some help, in whatever way she could. Over our 30+ years of marriage, the times that Gary and I turned to her for help, guidance, or just a listening ear are innumerable . And she was always there to help.

She came down to Houston to help out after Craig and Chris were born, she and dad came to Houston to help out when we moved, she set my whole kitchen up, she babysat the kids so Gary and I could take some time for us, she helped me with sewing projects, she sewed a maternity wardrobe for me not once, or twice, but three times, she sewed clothes for the kids. The list goes on, but the reality was that Jackie was never more than a phone call, or later, an Instant Message, away and the answer was always "Yes!"

Looking at my "friends list" online these past few days has been difficult. Someone is missing. I found myself waiting for her name to pop up so I could say hello one more time. But mostly, I wanted it to pop up so I could say something I have wanted to say for a while, but did not realize it until this past week. Mom, I hope I can measure up to the mother-in-law yardstick when I become a mother-in-law myself . If I can, somehow I think you will be smiling!

Time Flies

2011-10-30T09:38:00.002-05:00

Planning for the next unit in my Bio class and I realized that there are only 13 class days left until semester exams. And it's only Halloween! I hope I'm having fun! I'm too busy to think about it much.

The Chief's Homecoming!

2011-10-01T18:13:00.001-05:00

Well, it was in the stands not on the field, but still...there is something about the Chief that is just awesome! Have always loved watching, and I still shed a tear or two when I watch Chief's last dance. So great to see him once again! Welcome home Chief!

My Blog Title

2011-09-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

...says it all.

Walking slow, down the avenue
Through my old neighborhood...

http://www.mtphistory.org/index.htm#Home

https://www.facebook.com/RevitalizeDesPlaines

A Better Life

2011-07-04T10:15:00.005-05:00

"I could point out to you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons now have four wifes of different nations. He is an American,who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds.... The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must thefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions."

Letters from an American Farmer

Borrowed from a friend of mine, the above quote makes me think of my great-grandfather. He boarded a ship, the Waesland, in February 1892 at the age of 18, to come to America, looking for a better life. He brought some family members over, and went back once to visit when he was about 50, as far as I can tell. But each July 4th, I think of Great-grandpa Kellen and what he did. Were it not for the courage of men and women generations before him, there would be no "better life". Were it not for his courage, I would not be here. Leave home at 18 with the idea that you most likely would not ever see your family again, and also you might not even survive the trip across the ocean. It is unthinkable, and maybe even unimaginable, to many.

Happy Independence Day! Thank you, Great-grandpa for having the courage to build a new life, thank you to my father, father-in-law, nephew, and family friends who served or currently serve in the military to preserve those freedoms. Having now traveled internationally a small bit, those freedoms are so beautiful and precious.

Learning to Fly

2011-06-10T09:36:00.007-05:00

Decorah Eagle Cam

Been watching this link above since late spring break from eggs to eaglets. They are now fledging. It is quite humorous to log in and read the chats from time to time. How many people are so attached to these three that they almost feel like their own children! I might also include myself in this group most days! I have shared it from time to time with my students as well. I don't think they have quite the same feeling about these little guys as we adults do! Watching one of the parents out on the branch yesterday while one or another eaglet did some wingercising and hovering. Maybe I need to pay more attention to the parents than the eaglets! Don't respond! I know those of you who will heartily agree with that one! In the meantime, I watch expectantly and sadly for the final flight.

May

2011-05-14T15:48:00.002-05:00

Time flies, yet again. My 18th season as a parent colunteer with Deerfield Dolphins Swim team started today with time trials.

A year ago, at this time I was preparing to close out my career in public education.

Next weekend I will participate in my first high school graduation as a faculty member, not a parent. I had four seniors in my Anat/Physio class this year. One is headed to A&M, one to Baylor, one to Texas Tech, and one to Texas State. Two plan careers in the medical field, the other two in something non-science related. They will all do exceedingly well because they had an awesome A/P teacher this year! ;-) Not really - they will all do exceedingly well because they are awesome young adults with a solid foundation and some pretty amazing people behind them in tremendous supporting roles (aka parents). So Julia, Helcio, Sean, and Allison - goodbye, good luck, and much success in all you do. It has been my pleasure to have you in my class this year. You four and the juniors made my A period on Crimson days a great way to start the week!

Pancakes

2011-03-27T09:39:00.002-05:00

Whenever I want to remember my dad, I make these. (Which is often) Dad loved making these for breakfast on weekend mornings or for Friday night dinners during Lent. This will stay up there with Fish Soup on Christmas Eve as a Kellen tradition! (Although I have extended the Fish Soup to New Year's Day as well - an Osterman tradition!)

2 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Mix together, batter will be very thick. This is OK. Spoon onto heated griddle and cook. You can add blueberries or some bananas (chopped), mixed with chopped pecans and cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mix.

Various and Sundry

2011-03-19T08:45:00.002-05:00

Spring break is almost over. Oak pollen has replaced pine as the current irritant. But that means new leaves very soon. :-) One of the three oaks in the back has little leaves unfolding, while the other two are flowering. The front oak is taking its dear sweet time as always. In about 2-3 weeks, just when we are thinking it is dead, it will drop all its brown leaves, bud out, flower, then leaf out that quickly. It is our "squirrel tree", planted by a squirrel in our back yard a few years back, yielding a nice little sapling that had promise. It continues to surprise us!

Catherine and Megan left for Japan and are now returning for a week or so until things settle down there. While it is a tremendous relief to know they are out of harm's way for now, I do hope they are able to return soon and continue the amazing adventure.

And so it goes.

Bare Trees

2011-02-19T17:10:00.003-06:00

The old Fleetwood Mac songs runs through my head these days. The last blue norther is behind us (I hope!) and the oaks in the back yard have dropped all their leaves. Twenty plus bags later and the back yard looks clean again, but the trees are naked! Driving to work and looking out the windows across from my classroom, all the hardwoods are naked. I love this time though, because in 2-3 weeks, the trees will take on this lovely yellow-green haze as they bud out and soon the lush green of spring here will take hold.

Merry and Happy

2010-12-30T06:47:00.003-06:00

Time for one last post for the year. Time to dismantle Christmas 2010. Time to close this chapter and year. Time to open a new chapter. Here is hoping that 2011 brings you new joys and strength to meet the challenges that arise.

"May God grant you always...A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you."

9 Months Prior???

2010-11-20T17:10:00.003-06:00

When I was in grade school there were 4 of us who shared the same birthday, and one whose birthday was the day before. I remember this because it was customary for you to bring cupcakes for your class on your birthday, so we always had a sugarfest at lunch these two days! In the last few years I have met 6 more people sharing this special day. Weird! Do you know 10 people who share your birthday? Not the famous people you can google, but people you actually know. I'll bet there are a lot more of us too, since 9 months prior to today (or thereabouts) was Valentine's Day! Hmmm - coincidence??? I wish we could gather for a cupcake party! Happy Birthday Trevor, Talena, Peter, Joey, Dan, Jackson, Julie, Marie, Mark, and Beth...and happy wedding day Matt! It's a great day!

Education for a Complex World at Technology In Class#more-3885

2010-10-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

Education for a Complex World at Technology In Class#more-3885
Two in one day? TIC always has some good thoughts and articles. Thought this one was worth sharing.

Nothing New Really

2010-10-17T08:22:00.002-05:00

I really just got tired of looking at my summer theme and the last post from the summer. :-]

The more things change the more they stay the same. Same job (sort of), just a different location for me. Same job, same location (for now), just a different company name for Gary. Things are good, we are still here, still following kids sports, still teaching and still raising dustbunnies.

A Good Walk

2010-07-14T08:11:00.013-05:00

You know the game "Seven Degrees of Seperation"? You sometimes find only one or two degrees of seperation in the most unexpected of places.

Sunday, we went out to hike a trail in Cade's Cove, while here in the Smokies. It was a beautiful (and challenging) hike. It was approximately 2.5 miles in to Abram's Falls and the swimming hole, and then 2.5 miles back out. Up and down a mountainside. As we hiked, many people just passed, without so much as a word. But Gary and I always greeted them with a smile and a "Howdy!" and often I asked where they were from as well. Lots of interesting short little conversations, meeting a couple from the Phillipines, a few from Louisiana and Texas, and other various locales.

On the way back, (I was behind the rest of the group) a family began walking by me, and I greeted them. They all answered back and when I asked where they were from, a woman about 40ish responded Cincinnati, and then the older woman (her mother I was guessing) responded "Fairfield".

me: "Ahh - Ohio?"
"No," the woman answered "Illinois"

And from there the conversation went like this:

me: "Illinois? Really? Fairfield,Illinois???"
woman: "Yes, why?"
me: "My husband's family is from southern Illinois, and his grandparents lived in Fairfield for a long time. Their last name was Osterman."
woman(now with a very funny look on her face): "Did he teach in Cisne?"
me(now with goosebumps on my arms): "Yes, I believe so"
woman: "Sixth grade?"
me: "Umm, yes, I think so."
woman (now with a big grin on her face): "He was my sixth grade teacher! I loved him!"

All I could do at this point was utter a loud shriek of "Are you kidding???"

We chatted for a few more minutes about family that we had in the small towns in the area and then parted ways. She and her husband were both from that area and still lived there, while the daughter moved to Cincinnati. Her last name (before marriage) was Townes and her husband's is Johnson. And those seven degrees were never shorter than at that moment!

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T18:25:00.001-05:00

Remembering all who have worked (and lost lives) to protect or earn liberties for us worldwide.

What I Won't Miss

2010-06-28T08:43:00.002-05:00

This article appeared in the Chronicle earlier in the week. I wanted to link it that day, but got sidetracked. Casey points to issues we teachers have long questioned. Did we really pass or not? How do you want to spin the results? The problem with spinning results is that you get dizzy and forget or get lost. No telling where the SBOE is on this one. I won't miss it!

Magic Statistics

A Little History lesson
TABS (Texas Assessment of Basic Skills), TEAMS (Texas Educational Assessment of Minimal Skills), TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills), TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) and now STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness)

A History of State Tests

Summertime!

2010-06-15T08:35:00.002-05:00

A different feel this summer. Ending a chapter will do that.

Cleaning out my room at Watkins was strangely euphoric. I was anticipating sad. It was good to go through most everything and toss the totally useless, pass on the useless to me but useful to others, and keep everything else. I am really excited about the coming year now.

The summer schedule looks about the same - swim team, baseball, softball, and house stuff. Getting ready to gut the upstairs bathroom and do some other needed repairs and updates, as well as some major cleaning out of closets and kids' rooms. Fun fun fun!

We actually have a vacation planned to Tennessee that involves only a little sports this summer! It actually involved a fair amount of softball to start with, but Catherine got traded and then the Knoxville team moved to Nashville. So as it is we will see the Pride in Nashville for a couple days, then vacation in Knoxville. We will also make the yearly trek to OKC for World Cup. And possibly a trip to Sulphur, Louisana for NPF championships.

And before I know it, August will be here!

Really? Craigslist???

2010-05-10T21:11:00.002-05:00

Well, retirement did not last long, but I knew it wouldn't. Well, I thought it might last a year maybe. I will have a new job beginning August next school year.

It all started about a month ago, just before spring break. My friend, Ellen, sent me a link from Craigslist with the note "You'll love this!" Now she sends me funny stuff, stuff to bring a smile to my day, so that is what I thought this might be. The link was a short posting for a biology teacher for a Catholic high school in the Katy area. Now there is only one Catholic high school in the Katy area, and I questioned if the post was legit or not. I mean Craigslist??? Really??? Ellen assured me that she thought it was legit, and her daughter had found a couple jobs through CL, so what did I have to lose?

The posting asked for no phone calls, so I put a resume together over spring break and sent it into cyberspance on the Monday we got back to school. Three weeks pass and I have heard nothing, so I figure it was bogus or they filled the position. then the last Thursday of TAKS (Apr 29) I get a phone call "We would like to schedule an interview." Wow! Interview scheduled for the following Monday (last week) and Thursday they call and tell me they would like me to join their staff.

So I did not start the year planning to retire, I am. I retire not really planning anything specific, I land a job! Lesson here - plan nothing! It all works out! It has been in my career plan all along to teach high school and to teach in a Catholic school, too. I get to do both.

Here is a link to my new school: Pope John XXIII

Feeling Good Today

2010-04-18T17:21:00.004-05:00

I love when I hear about former students doing well in whatever. It makes me feel like I was a miniscule part of that in some way.

Through the years I have always run into former students working at different establishments around the area, while in high school and even a few after college here in the district and around. Seldom do I get someone else's view of them, though.

Eduardo was one of my 8th graders a couple years ago. He was pretty much a good kid; but like all 13 year olds, was more interested in getting out of work or doing as little as possible as quickly as possible. Not in trouble often, and very obsessive about his hair. :-)

There is a Randall's grocery store near here that is my regular grocery stop. I know the manager, John, well, and often see former students working there. John always has good things to say about them when I point them out as my former students. Today I was in John's line and Eduardo (who was hired about a month ago) was working the express line. Eduardo came by to say hello, and quickly got back to his line. John had nothing but great things to say about Eduardo. One week he was scheduled for only 16 hours and ended up working over 30 - coming in every time John called and asked, as long as he could get a ride. John went on to talk about how quickly he has picked things up and that he has not had to correct him once yet. Eduardo also has plans to go to school to be a registered nurse.

Thanks for making my day all my former students!!! You all rock!

When I'm 64!

2010-03-26T20:28:00.002-05:00

Walking the dogs today, a young girl about 8 years old was on the greenbelt, with her grandmother, picking wildflowers and putting them in a nice basket. Periodically they would stop to look at what was going on around them - a flock of robins migrating, a colony of carpenter ants, two squirrels fighting. That's the kind of grandma I want to be!

Government Agencies -

2010-03-20T18:37:00.005-05:00

Chris needs a duplicate Social Security card. I lost his original one. He finished the classroom part of Drivers Ed in November, but needs his SS card to get his permit and do the driving part. So I sent in his birth certificate and my passport and the application only to get it back. They need another piece of identification for Chris, the letter says.

So we get a VOE (verification of enrollment) from school and send it in with the other papers only to get them back again. This time the VOE is not good enough because it does not have his birthdate on it. The letter also says something about my pasport not being accceptable as well, this time. So I decide to try to go to the office during spring break and clear the mess up.

I get to the new SS office, take a number and sit and wait for just about an hour before my number is called. While there I notice that there are 48 service windows. Only about 12 of them are staffed and there is a good sized crowd, about 40-50 people waiting in my room, another room has about that many as well.

When I get to the window, the guy asks what I need, and I tell him I want to know why our application for a duplicate card keeps getting sent back, taking out all the identifications I had for Chris in his folder at home. He informs me that a birth certificate is not an acceptable form of identification. It says you can use it on the website though. Only for an infant, he responds. Chris' passport is expired and therefore not valid for ID (I expected that, but brought it anyway). His VOE from school is not good because it does not have his birthdate on it. The baptismal certificate is good only if it was issued less than 4 years ago. Like a dummy I answered truthfully when he asked when I got it. And the immunization record from the doctor's office is no good because it is a copy and has not signature on it. So you mean all I have to do is get this signed by the doctor's office and I am good. Yes, he acknowledges.

So off I go to the pediatrician's office. I chill for an hour at the mall because the doctor's office is closed for lunch. I walk in and tell the receptionist what I need. One of the nurses comes over, signs the form, and off I go again. Back to the SS office.

Sit in the SS office once more, this time for 87 minutes. Walk up to the service window when my number is called and present the signed copy of the immunization record, the application and my passport. Clerk looks at it, says "Fine and thank you" handing me my receipt, telling me that Chris' card should be here within 2 weeks.

All I could think of was that I wasted at least 2 hours of time. I should have just walked out, signed the paper myself and walked back in! They would have never known the difference.

Forty Seven Years

2010-03-11T21:03:00.006-06:00

Nine years in elementary school (K-8), four years in high school, 6 years in college for my BS, and 28 years teaching = 47 years in a classroom of one kind or other.

June 3, 2010 - I retire from public education.

I am excited to be able to take some time and figure out the next chapter. I usually have it pretty well planned out, but not this time. The decision to retire only started to simmer a couple weeks ago. The latest round of budget cuts just made the decision easier.

I am sad to leave my absolutely awesome 8th grade team, and my wonderful science department. But everybody has to go sometime, and it is time for me! I leave knowing I did make a difference, and although some things will be left unfinished or not 100% successful, like my athlete children, I leave knowing I did give 110%, sometimes at the expense of others near and dear to me.

But now they get 110% of me, whether they want it or not.

Won't It Be a Great Day...

2010-02-27T17:38:00.004-06:00

...when schools get all the money they need and the Army has to hold a bake sale to build a bomber?

That was a t-shirt I saw years ago in the Public TV/radio catalog. I wish, now, I had bought it. School financing in Texas has reached crisis levels again, especially in our district. We still have a 20% homestead exemption, and even though getting rid of it would mean more money for the district, it would not be a good thing PR wise, obviously. Kind of like Texas instituting a state tax. Won't ever happen.

The state will not allow us more money unless we repeal the homestead, so now we tighten our belts even more than before. The district had an outside company do an audit and come up with suggestions for ways to cut the budget. Reading it made me ill.

This past week, the district admin and principals have been meeting trying to hash out what budget cuts will and won't work. Do more with less, and still do what is best for kids. I am not so sure about that, this time.

Among the cuts - doing away with all co-teach classes, and replacing them with "In Class Support". A co-teach class has 2 teachers in class for the whole period every day. It supports students who are most likely below level in reading (like 3-6 grade levels below) but allows them to be in a regular science or US History class. It is a "least restrictive environment". In Class Support is a paraprofessional or possibly a certified teacher in the class for about 20 minutes 1-5 times per week, depending on what is decided at the child's ARD.

This year, I have one extremely challenging class. It has 16-18 kids out of 28 who are in a reading class of one type or another (meaning they failed the TAKS reading test) and a few are only reading at 1st-3rd grade level. Several are in Math block (meaning they failed the math TAKS), several are ESL (both active and monitor only), almost all of them are econ disadvantaged as well and there are 5 co-teach kids. I have a co-teacher in that class, and the thought of trying to teach that class without someone in there every minute of every day is daunting to say the least. I could not do it! I might as well cut off my right arm.

I don't know where money could come from, but budget cuts are never in the best interest of kids. Among other cuts - going from a 5/7 teaching day to a 6/7 teaching day was expected. Cutting all department chairs and team leader positions was a surprise. So much for instructional leadership. It will take effect this year at the middle schools and next year at the high schools.

We want excellence in education, but we expect teachers/schools to do it with less and less. I want that t-shirt. I want the Army to have to hold a bake sale.

Are We THAT Much Different?

2010-02-16T21:50:00.003-06:00

At inservice this past Monday, we were being inundated with the idea of a 21st century learner and what skill set they need to be successful in the future. The thought floating around in my head since then is "Why and/or how is the 21st century learner any different than the 20th century learner? Is it REALLY that different?" I don't think so. The tools might be different, but the desired skill set is no different today than it was for my great-grandfather at the turn of the 20th century.

We want students today to be problem solvers, information seekers and analyzers, to be literate and able to communicate clearly. My great-grandfather was born in 1873 and came to the US from Europe in 1898 or so. He had to be able to do all those things in order to 1) travel across the ocean and halfway across the continent 2) successfully buy property and set up his farm and 3) sell the farm and set another business when time came. The only difference I see is that he lived in the time of exponential growth of transportation. Today we are seeing exponential growth in information systems. But what do we need to do that is so very different than 100 years ago? I don't think it is anything.

That being said, do we need to change the way we teach kids today? Hell yes. the changes in the delivery of our information makes for a different type of learner than 100 years ago, but they still need the same skills. We do not need to invent another wheel! There - rant over. I feel better already!

Weird

2010-01-30T18:20:00.002-06:00

Our neighbor behind us, a divorced mom of 2, moved out the other night and left every light in the house on, including the backyard lights. There has been one of those huge dumpsters parked in her driveway for several days now, as well. No clue why or what happened though, other than the dumpster seems to be filled with debris from tree pruning and yard work.

This always makes me sad, even though I don't know them well at all. Weird, I know!

Looking Back

2010-01-09T12:38:00.002-06:00

I did not get to send out cards this year, time just flew by. So to all 5 of my followers and everyone I would have sent a card to - here is a recap of the year in the Houston O house.

What stayed the same? I am still at Watkins - and still loving the changes I see happening. Catherine is still at DePaul coaching, still playing with USA when they are in season. Craig is still at McMurry, swimming. Gary is still at XTO, enjoying his work. Michelle is still in Dallas, Neil & Jane in Wimberly, Sue & Dave and Sharon in Wisconsin, and mom still in Antioch.

What has changed? Gary's company was sold to Exxon/Mobil. That could mean changes in the future, we will wait and see. Rockford Thunder was sold and was moved to Knoxville, Tennessee and renamed the Diamonds. Chris started high school, he is a Cy Lakes Spartan now, swimming and playing baseball. My brother moved to Kentucky, officially closing the Chicago location of Chez Kellen. But it means we now get to learn and explore Lexington soon!

We said goodbye to my dad. He is missed daily, but thought of every time I hear or read a bad joke! I see Heineken, Tangueray, or smell cigars and think of him. It was amazing to see all the famiy and friends that turned out to help us say goodbye to him; especially Brian coming in from Afghanistan wearing his dress blues at the funeral. No man is a failure who has friends.

While visiting Chicago, I also got to reconnect with a couple old friends - always nice. Lisa and Monica are never far away in my thoughts even though we don't talk often.

We also said goodbye to Duke, the king of the house. But then we welcomed Rowdy, the prince of mischief.

Travels once more took us to sporting events - swim meets in San Antonio (visiting Mike and Diane) and Dallas (visiting Michelle), baseball tournaments around Houston, and softball once again in Oklahoma City (seems like our second home).

We spent the Christmas holiday with Gary's folks and brother Bret and his kids. We rented a house on the beach near Clearwater. Nothing can replace sitting in a raucous house on Christmas Eve, watching the cousins enjoy themselves playing pool and flying helicopters. It was beautiful weather, with a couple warm days and an awesome day spent at Universal. If you want a rec for a beach house, I have a great one!

And so now we look forward to what the next decade has to offer. If it is anything like the last decade, I am in for a great ride! I can't wait!

Where Did It Go?

2009-12-28T10:45:00.012-06:00

I had a recap of Christmas all typed and everything and it disappeared. Ah well. I'll redo it later. Until then - here are a few pics!

OK - it was in the draft folder - so now it is showing below. Enjoy!

Well Here We Are...

2009-12-28T10:16:00.015-06:00

Christmas Day sunset.

The view from the master bedroom.

Here we are in the last week of December. Where did the year go? Seems like I ask that more and more lately.

Returning to reality after a week in Florida for Christmas. We rented a house on the gulf side in Redington Shores, and visited family from there. That was probably the best idea ever! Everyone had their own space, and could sleep in if they wanted without being bothered. We had the beach right outside the front door, so walking the dogs every morning and late in the evening each day became one of my daily rituals.

Visits to mom and dad, watching one of Jennifer's soccer games, shopping, chilling, and spending one whole day at the Universal parks filled the week quickly. Christmas Eve was at Bret's with everyone. Always fun when there are kids around! We brought a small pre-lit tree and our star, tree skirt, and stockings so we could have some Christmas decor in our house. Mom and dad got to try out their new Tom Tom navigation system when they came to our house for a spaghetti dinner on christmas afternoon. Although it seems like they got lost, they really did not! Tom Tom led them to the correct destination, just not the one they intended! ;-) Gary and Chris drove about 5 minutes and brought them to the house for a few hours away from home, dinner, and a short walk to the beach.

And then - just like that - it was over, time to pack up and go home.

But Harry Potter Wizarding World opens this spring at Universal, so I do know we will be back at some point, just not sure when! Now back to reality and the process of unpacking and whatnot.

Where is the Time Going?

2009-11-28T14:56:00.003-06:00

I can not believe it is almost December. I am so in the mood to do Christmas decorations and have about 250 other things to do. Ah well.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving - went to San Antonio for family dinner with Mike, Diane, Joe & Michelle. Made me remember all the years past that we went out there with the kids when they were so young, going to watch the lights on the Riverwalk, etc.

I forgot to bring the dessert cheesecakes, though. :-( At least they still had some awesomely great stuff - german chocolate pie, punkin pie (made by Michelle) and an apple pie we picked up at Buccee's. And we now have pumpkin cheesecake and a cranberry walnut cheescake to eat here. Oh darn! ;-)

So here's to the slide into the 2009 holiday season!

November Already???

2009-11-07T15:51:00.002-06:00

The first weekend of the month and stores along Hwy 6 already have Christmas decorations out on the buildings. Sheesh! I just put our jack-o-lanterns away!

Biggest travesty in automotive history seen on Keith Harrow Rd, pulling out of Glencairn - a nice 4 door Jaguar - with big shiny rims. I mean, c'mon, really?

The Illini won today! Yeah!

Nothing is nicer than getting a nice mani/pedi on a Saturday morning! Although, Michelle's salon would be at the top of the list, since they serve wine and other adult beverages with their services. Mmmm!

Chik-fil-a has Peppermint chocolate chip shakes for the holidays. I could have one every day, but then I would look like the cows they use to advertise! But they are really good. I'm also glad to see Starbucks Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread lattes back for the holidays. Makes grocery shopping a bit more fun! I am easy to please, too! ;-)

Time to take care of house stuff. Sigh.

Saturday Afternoon

2009-10-31T16:36:00.001-05:00

GO ILLINI!!!!! That is all, don't want to create bad karma or anything!

Random Things Bouncing Around

2009-10-26T06:04:00.002-05:00

Put things in a safe place and then forget where that safe plae is! Argh!

The thought of standing in a government office to replace missing items is not nice.

Mark McGuire as Cards hitting coach? Ahhmmm, OK?

I miss fall up north for the color changes. I dislike fall here for the temperature swings. Forty degree temp drops in 2 hours are not nice.

Holding a dog in your lap for a belly rub is good therapy!

I need motivation!

I Knew It Was Coming...

2009-10-12T09:48:00.002-05:00

...just wish it could have held off for a couple more years.

We will be down to three for Thanksgiving this year. :-( I expected it, but still am sad. But now Gary and I are thinking out of the box for us (me, him and Chris). Not sure what we are doing, but if we travel, it won't be anything huge. We are going to Florida for Christmas, renting a beach house for a family vacation that does not center around a sporting event! Ch-ch-ch-changes!

The Week That Was

2009-10-03T12:33:00.002-05:00

Monday I was at an awesome workshop that provided yet another professional spark, Wednesday I was navigating some choppy professional waters, and Friday I was spinning about 10 plates on those long poles. Let's just say, I am glad the week is behind me.

I absolutely love when I attend a workshop or meeting and it feels like the philosophy of the presenter fits me. I hate when people look at a problem and respond with "Well why isn't Person Y doing something about it?" or worse, throw a colleague under the bus. I love helping my colleagues when I can, better I love helping WITH my colleagues. I hate when I hear "Our kids can't do that" without even looking at the plan details. I hate when a teacher stands in the way of someone trying to meet a kids needs, but I hate it worse when I feel I am not meeting those needs. I love it when colleagues are willing to listen to you dump and offer a huge shoulder, a kind ear, and/or sympathetic words or a great suggestion. It is the absolute best when someone helps you carry the load.

I love that I can start over next week, and every week after that if I have to. I may not know what I am going to do, but it is still a chance to start over. I need to keep reminding myself to change what needs changing, not what is easy.

And I love watching Rowdy stare intently at the TV when there is a dog program on and the dogs are barking. The TV is speaking to him!

This Little Piggy or maybe Have You Seen the Little Piggies?

2009-09-12T16:59:00.002-05:00

Pig jokes will be funny for about 20 minutes. Starting now.

A week ago today I was sitting at a baseball tourney, watching Chris' games. Sunday it felt like allergies were kicking in, although an internet search told me nothing was really high in terms of allergens. Monday the Mack and Peterbilt trucks hit me. Tuesday I did not even get out of bed - all day. I turned on TV, got a can of ginger ale, a bottle of water and some pretzels on the nightstand and started a cycle of watch a little TV, sip and crunch, sleep, wash, rinse, repeat. This continued into Wednesday morning. A 102+ fever decided to take up residence in my otherwise normally healthy body Monday. It kept a hold on me till about noon Wednesday afternoon when it teasingly dropped to about 100, then went back up to 101.

Thursday a trip to the doctor's office confirmed what an internet search caused me to suspect, I tested positive for H1N1. Fortunately I was on the downside and the fever was actually stayinig around 100 most of that day. By noon Friday I saw 98.something for the first time in days! And it stayed there. So that meant that I could resume normal daily life again Saturday (today).

We have all been hearing about this virus since last spring, and I am really glad I did not get this last spring. Talk about feeling like the town pariah! When I got to the doctor's office there is a big sign telling you to ask for a face mask if you are coughing or have flu symptoms. Seeing as I had both I did the responsible thing. Everyone who walked into the office after me avoided sitting near me like I was a leper! Technically I was not contagious, but I did not know that. It was a very unsettling feeling to say the least.

So what did I learn about this nasty flu virus? It is nasty. I get a flu shot every year for seasonal flus and if I ever get flu, it is really mild and very managable. This one sucked big time! I ate only pretzels and crackers, drank only ginger ale and water for 2 1/2 days, and after that really could only eat small amounts of really bland things like rice. I lost 6 lbs in 3 days on that diet though! The incubation period for this virus is very short - 2 hours to 48 hours at most. So I was exposed Friday or Saturday. My bet is Saturday since no one at school has reported flu symptoms yet. Gary and Chris both escaped it since neither have shown any syptoms at all.

So get your seasonal flu shots ASAP, and when they get the vaccines for this flu, run to get it if you can. I hear they are doing at risk populations first, but if you can get one, get one! If you are unfortunate enough to be exposed, plan for being down at least 4-5 days, and get a supply of Gatorade and ginger ale!

I missed 4 days of school with this. If it was last spring I would have been banned for at least 2 weeks from campus. Hmmm - maybe that is not such a bad deal after all. ;-)

Shameless Plug

2009-08-29T19:13:00.005-05:00

Sweet Redemption by Leslie Follmar click here!
Two posts in one day? This is a short one. My friend and former co-teacher writes and sings her own music. It is awesome. Take a listen and if you like it, maybe you will think of a purchase. She is also on iTunes. "End of the Road" is my favorite so far.

Thirty Five to Go (More or Less)

2009-08-29T15:48:00.004-05:00

One week down. It was a good week, probably the best start I have had in a while. Even though I could not get into my room when I wanted to so I could start setting up, and even though the construction at school still is not finished, I think we had a great start.

I am loving the paint color in my room. Thanks to Heather, Craig, Chris, and Jackson for helping me get it painted. Mitch (my boa) is happily settled in, and Gary was only too glad to help load the car with his stuff. Goliath (my little lizard) died towards the end of last year, so we are one pet down in my class. I still have a few things left to move in, like my plants and some window coverings. But overall, it looks great. Every once in a while it catches me by surprise how nice it looks. Behr Fresh Pine and Old Vine look quite nice if I say so myself!

I put dark brown burlap on the bulletin boards, and bought some new borders. Earthy stuff. The result is that the room has a very calming effect, in spite of the red cabinets. Add to that, the music I am using thanks to Quantum Learning over the summer, and we are off to a good start. Now if I could just get my music moved to my school computer so I don't have to bring my laptop every day. I burned a couple CD's with the music I chose to use in my classroom and it won't play or transfer. Hmmm. I burned it as an audio file. This weekend I will try a data file.

Gotta give a shout out to a former student teacher of mine, Jim, too for his contribution to the start of the year. Thanks for the awesome rec on software to rip DVD clips to use in PPT presentation for the classroom. I am having way to much fun with it and now need to begin to catalog all the clips I plan to use. Examples: Run Silent, Run Deep the scene when some bolts start to leak or pop because the sub has gone too deep. Red October, the scene where they are looking for the Russian sub and the audio guy reports that he hears singing???, many clips from Apollo 13, clips from Harry Potter with Hermione politely waving her hand in class and Seamus blowing himself up for class procedues and lab safety. The list goes on and on.

I also managed to stay yesterday afternoon and get all the spiral notebooks graded so I did not have to drag them home. They would have just visited here and would have never been productive if I had done that. So I am pleased that I got some grading done in a timely manner for a change. That is probably my biggest downfall. I put grading papers up there with folding laundry and cleaning the house. An evil necessity.

So, I sit here happily blogging away, while the wash machine sits idle. I guess I had better get it going. Maybe we can do something fun tomorrow!

Another First Day

2009-08-23T07:16:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school, my 46th over all! Thirteen for grade K through 12, five in college, and twenty eight in teaching. As always, I am nowhere near ready, but as ready as I can be. Kind of like having a baby. It happens no matter how much more time you think you need. It finally just gets here.

I spent all day yesterday (yes Saturday) in my room, 8AM to 4PM, trying to get things in some order. We had rooms reassigned at the end of last year. The room I was assigned to was left a huge mess, so I had to clean that before I could even move my stuff in. We had renovations over the summer, so we could not unpack stuff until renovations were done. Any guesses when that was??? Yes - Monday of this week! So in the middle of all the inservice week meetings, we have scattered hours here and there to get settled in. Fortunately, the work is still not done, although done in the classrooms, so the building was open. There were way too many teachers there for a Saturday, but it was nice to know I was not the only one behind the 8-ball.

Took Chris and 3 buddies to Comedy Sportz for his birthday last night. They had a blast! Getting ready to get breakfast ready for them this morning.

So I enjoy the last official day of vacation doing a mountain of laundry and maybe watching a movie. Also messing with a first day PPT and a lab safety PPT. Got some new software to download video clips from DVD's we own. Make things a little more fun for me and my kids. And then it begins again, another year, year forty six. And I am still loving it!

If Things Don't Work Out...

2009-08-10T08:36:00.006-05:00

Last year at this time we were in China. And we had 2 dogs.

We came back from China on a Sunday. Monday Craig left for Abilene, Gary left for work as usual and Chris and I started back to school. I missed all of the inservice week - darn it! Just started the first day with the kids. At least jumping back into school helped the jet lag issue resolve a bit quicker.

I have one week of vacation left - sort of. I have a district DC meeting tomorrow, and a meeting at school Wed for a couple hours. But Monday our inservice starts. I start year twenty eight! I am eligible to retire this year, but won't. I still have lots of work to do.

In the past year we lost Abbey, daddy, and Duke. But we welcomed Rowdy. Life goes on. Different, but it goes on. Put one foot in front of the other and take a step. Then do it again. And again. And again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

A friend of mine shared this video with me, ercently. I have been a recipient of an e-mail with the text of this many times, but had never seen the video. I will make a point to watch it often. I like it! He says what I often think. I like his other stuff too. Check him out.

I have yet to get the whole house cleaned on one day this summer. I guess today is that day. Better get to work. Have a great day all!

Hello Rowdy!

2009-07-29T19:34:00.004-05:00

Meet the newest member of the Osterman family.
Name: Rowdy
Age: about 5 months old
Breed: some Wheaten terrier, lots of "I dunno"
Smile factor: off the scale

World Cup of Softball

2009-07-22T17:36:00.006-05:00

Another year, another trip to beautiful Oklahoma City! We have been going up there since spring of 2002, for Catherine's first Big 12 tourney. Some years we have been there 2 or three times. It seems to have become "our summer vacation destination" except we really have seen very little else there except softball! IS there anything else in OKC to see or do? Ah well - if we did not have softball of some sort in the summer, I don't know if we would know what to do!

Anyway - photos are arranged in albums over to the right. We were not there for the first game, so no pics. :-( Some highlights - fan photos at the end of the Italy album and scattered in a few other albums. It is amusing when kids paint their faces, wear adorned caps, and make great posters! Caitlin Lowe's diving catch is towards the end of the Japan album. With a little lucky shooting, I also managed to get Hansen's grannie swing and Lappin's HR swing. A nice sequence of the Japanese runner, Lappin, and the throw coming in is also in the Japan album. Late games caused a few problems, since I kept having to change the settings. I deleted way more photos than I saved.

Crowds were great during the games, with a full house for Japan as expected. We got there about 20 minutes before game time and ended up having to park/walk about a mile down the road from the Firefighter Museum. Made for an enjoyable hike back when they cleared the stadium! (Yeah right!) But it made it easy to find a better spot when the game resumed. ;-)

I always enjoy moving around the stadium for photo ops, talking with others. I am always in awe of the fans that travel significant distances to see the games and haved no direct tie to the team, many with even no direct tie to softball. They just love watching the game.

Next year, OKC will host the World Championships. This tourney is every 4 years, in between Olympic years, and hosted in different countries each time. Since the tourney will be from July 16 through 26, we are going to look for a house or condo to rent near one of the lakes. The thought of 11-12 days in a hotel sends shivers down my "budget" spine!

Enjoy the photos!

Is It Too Much To Ask?

2009-07-21T23:27:00.002-05:00

When you pay for a decent hotel room, is it too much to ask for sheets that actually fit the bed? How about a shower head that is higher then 5 feet up the wall? Free internet? I mean really, does a hotel need to charge $13 per day (and then not even give you a full 24 hours) for internet access? How about TWO coffee cups?

Ok rant over! I am glad to be home. More later! Tomorrow starts day 1 of the "Canine Idol - the Osterman Version". We shall see.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-07-14T07:20:00.002-05:00

Happy Whatever! Festivus? Anyofus?

2009-07-10T10:14:00.003-05:00

Happy Blogiversay! Happy Blog Anniversary? Happy Blog Birthday? Anyway - happy belated!

I started this as a way for family to keep up with what was going on with us in our travels last summer. Then it was a way for them to keep track of us during the hurricane. Now it is a way to help them get to sleep at night!

Hope you all have had a great year!

Duke, the One Who Ruled the House

2009-07-07T20:56:00.005-05:00

The house was weirdly quiet last night and this morning. For the first time in over 20 years, we do not have a dog in the house. We had to say goodbye to Duke Monday morning. We lost Abby suddenly in October to pneumonia, she was only 8 years old.

Duke was a stray, found at a post office in Austin, by Catherine. She tried to keep him, but after staying here while she was in post-season play, he was not happy back in Austin. So, Duke took up residence here with us and Abby, a little over 4 years ago, and promptly, quietly let us now who the boss in this house was.

The vet estimated that Duke was about 10 when he came to us, already a crusty old man who was missing at least 7 teeth. He was quirky and "bossy", but like most dogs, he loved us unconditionally. Duke loved laundry day, walking through the piles of dirty clothes taking in all the scents. He loved sitting out in the middle of the back yard in the morning, after he was done with morning business. At bedtime, he sat on the floor waiting to be picked up and put on the bed, where he hopped over to Gary to get his nightly petting. His bossy "arf arf" when it was breakfast, dinner, or Pupperoni time was sorely missing today.

Duke had a mass in his chest that was compromising his breathing. Sunday night it became very apparent that he was getting worse. So Monday morning, Chris and I took him to the vet's office. Both of us were with him to say goodbye.

So, today, while everyone else in the world was saying one more goodbye to Michael Jackson, the Osterman family was thinking of Duke, boss of the house! Happy trails Dukie! Hope you are having fun with Abby!

Random Thoughts in a Long Post

2009-06-25T14:41:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago today my dad passed away. The days after have flown by and the days have crawled by. June 10 seems a lifetime ago, it seems like yesterday. Cliche after cliche passes through my mind, some of them now with a ring of truth. The passing of a parent, whether sudden or prolonged, is just a strange feeling. Walking into the house and realizing that dad won't come walking through the door, or that I won't hear his snores as he naps, his window shaking sneezes, or his really bad jokes is an indescribable feeling, a hole that will get smaller with time, but won't go away.

Dad was always about having family fun. While we had the usual obligations to take care of for an occasion like this, we also planned some time to honor dad in ways that spoke of his love of family and fun. We had several meals together and time to just sit around with some beer and wine, when we all shared stories once more - some old and well told, some new - and remembered the bad jokes that were dad's favorites. We had a gathering of about 40 people at the Rockford Thunder game after his funeral and watched the Thunder beat the Pride, with Catherine throwing a great game.

Often I was wishing I had my camera out, but then again, when I am taking pics I am really detached from the event. So the memories and visuals will suffice - the best among them being 1) my nephew in his Marine dress blues walking the casket into and out of church 2) the honor guard folding the flag in the courtyard of church while Brian stood at attention and the bugler stood away from us playing Taps 3) the crowd of family and friends who gathered to pay their respects to my dad both at the wake and the funeral and finally 4) my dad on his final tractor ride. Explanation to follow.

Growing up in a greenhouse, my dad's first and probably favorite vehicle was a tractor. Whether it was dumping loads of dirt, mowing the lawn, clearing snow, or teaching the grandkids how to drive one, I have hundreds of visual images of my dad on a tractor. Since Dad was cremated after the funeral service, we had to take his ashes to the cememtary Monday following his Thursday funeral service. My grandparents and other family members are also there, so we obtained a map to find my grandparents and pay our respects to them. Mom and dad's plot is only 2 rows away and we found it easily.

Shortly after I left his ashes in the cemetary office, while we were at grandparents' graves, a worker came driving towards us on a small tractor, Dad's urn sitting next to him on the seat. All of us had a chuckle about it, commenting on how dad would have laughed at the sight. After making sure we were OK if he proceeded with the burial of the ashes while we were there, he interred them, offering me the opportunity to put the first shovelful of dirt in. As I did so, I told dad one last bad knock knock joke that he told me often. Mom, Aunt Linda, Michelle, Melissa and I all had a little laugh and then found a nice little brew pub where we once more toasted Dad, his life, and his love of family.

The only thing we forgot during all of this were big blue or red hanky/bandanas and stanky cigars.

Goodbye Daddy!

(Link to Memorial Site in the Links list - lots of great photos)

John Joseph Kellen July 14 1930 to June 11 2009

2009-06-13T06:31:00.005-05:00

*Korean War Vet, USMC
*owner of Kellen Country greenhouses and florist
*teller of really bad jokes, war stories and Chicago politics stories
*father to Laura, Sharon, Vince, Neil, Susan, and Michelle
*grandfather to Catherine, Heather, Craig, Brian, Chris, Emily, Beth, Claire, JR, and Melissa
*husband to Barbara
*brother-in-law to Linda
*son of Jacob and Helen Kellen
*brother to Mary (RIP), Jake (RIP), Joe, and Rita
*3rd generation Luxie!
*Harley guy

Daddy - I hope you are kicking back with a Heineken or a Southern Comfort Old-fashioned and a good cigar and that you have found a whole new group to swap stories with. Tell grandma and grandpa hey! We all love you and miss you already.

Still At School

2009-06-08T07:25:00.002-05:00

Well, sort of! Many teachers are changing classrooms for next year, so I am still going up cleaning and packing. The new room I am going to was not cleared out before the teacher left, so I have been working on cleaning it out, while my room still looks like a Cat 5 tornado hit it! :-) I hope to be able to get all of that cleared up this morning and start moving my stuff in.

I really wanted to use the move as an excuse to go through my things and throw stuff away, but having to spend time cleaning out the new room has pretty much forced me into throwing things in boxes in my room. Much of what was left in her room I either threw away without really sorting through it, or just shoving it into one of the cabinets in her new room. But the room was also a mess - rodent droppings and dried pee puddles in the cabinets and on the counters and stuff the kids did. We are getting new countertops in our rooms this summer, so we can not put stuff in the lower cabinets until they are done. So it is boxing day today! I guess I will try to go up early in August and sort through stuff.

After that - getting things at home in shape. Then Michelle and I leave for Chicago at the end of the week. Time to get things rolling!

Another One Gone

2009-06-03T23:10:00.002-05:00

Chapter 27 is now done and closed! Another year, another group of kids.

I got kind of attached to this group, this year, even some of my challenges. Eh, who am I fooling. I get attached to them every year. But I do have a soft spot for the 3 years I taught that held my babies, too. It is fun to teach your kids friends. They don't quite know what to make of you, the teacher, since they know you as the mom. And then there are the ones who discover halfway through the year - ohh, your _____'s mom??? Always makes me laugh a little.

So, tomorrow is an inservice day. I have to clean my room out, and move my stuff. I also have to clean out the room I am moving into, since that teacher is not here and there is quite a mess. Ah well. I am excited to rest up and begin planning for next year. I have not felt like that in quite a while. Nice to feel that again. The only burning question now is should I paint my new classroom the same blue the other one was (dark regatta blue) or an olive or khaki green???

Good night, and to the ones I won't see tomorrow - Good morning starshines! The Earth says "Hello!"

Not Fun!

2009-05-30T20:28:00.002-05:00

Hot flashes and no air conditioning!

Gary was putting in new thermostats and shorted something out, and now the A/C's are not working at all. Call in to a 24 hr electrician. At least TV is working.

If It's Not One Thing...

2009-05-27T17:56:00.002-05:00

Ok - we had the hurricane to start the year off. Swine flu panic and a flood day were up next. Somewhere in there, the pool flooded and ruined the gym floor yet again, so the gym has been torn up for several weeks. And today we had an unscheduled fire drill that was not a drill. Well it was sort of a drill for some of us.

We started final exams today, and we planned to give ours in science. In the middle of second period the fire alarm went off. Ruh roh! My second period is an upper level class, one that I have to tell them it is OK to talk sometimes. So they are diligently working on the exam when the alarm went off. Bright kids that they are, the first thing someone said was "This isn't scheduled is it?" They know that we don't do fire drills during TAKS, on exam days or on rainy days. Plus the puzzled look on my face was probably another clue.

We all head outside, but not after I have to give the "ultra nasty teacher look" to a 7th grader who thought it would be a great joke to push her friend while we were all crowded on the staircase going down. As we are standing outside I notice a flaming trash can on the sidewalk by the portable buildings and one of the AP's with a fire extinguisher on it. I tell the kids to have a seat on the ground that we will likely be there a while. After about 20 minutes we get the all clear to go back in. The bell for the next period has rung, so 2nd period kids just grab their stuff, turn in unfinished tests and go. We will finish tests tomorrow.

During the next period it was fun watching one of the 7th grade math classes outside with the AP, all students emptying their backpacks and pockets. Later I find out that 3-4 students in that class conspired to start the fire. One of them had a lighter, started some papers on fire and dropped them in the trash can. We were so lucky. Can't wait to see what happens to them.

We have five days left! Five! That is 2100 minutes of instructional time. We are having an egg drop or egg toss competition in our classes the last 4-5 days. That gives us 4 days to get all our grades done. I have started cleaning out my room and getting things ready to move. I still have a boatload to grade, but I am making headway. Where did May go???

Tiredness

2009-05-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

Exactly eight days left. And the last two weeks have lasted four! Seriously, it seems like yesterday should have been Friday, and last week was no different.

We got our science TAKS scores back, not as good as I had hoped, but not too bad considering all the crazyness this year. The hurrication, a flood day, and swine flu all managed to derail us for a bit each time. We scored a 79% passing rate last year, and managed a 77% passing rate this year. We made some nice gains in 2 of our sub pops, so that helps a bit. But I now have a better vision of where we need to start next year. It will take all 3 grade levels pulling, even though they do not test.

I started taking things down in my classroom and the sad thing is that the kids have not even noticed it yet. It seems really bare to me though. They are more interested in our now dead lizard, Goliath. I had a little leopard gecko that had a pretty bad incomplete shed about 10 days ago. I set up a little humidity chamber for him, but it did not seem to help. It looked like he got an infection in his leg and he stopped eating. Monday when I came in, he was under his log, cold. :-( Ah well.

I move rooms next year, so I will spend some time painting my room again. We get new coutertops in the science rooms this summer. And all the rooms are getting ceiling mounted projectors! Yeah! I saw the first one, and except for being a little bit too low, it is really nice. Looking forward to not needing a cart with a projector.

Well - back to grading papers. I am so behind, maybe if I just ignore it long enough it will just go away. :-P

Twelve Days

2009-05-15T17:43:00.003-05:00

Five days next week, four the following week, and three the week after that. That is all that is left of this school year. Twelve days - but who is counting? Me! This was a week that seemed to have eight days in it rather than five.

Last night was 8th grade recognition night. I had to be on stage to shake hands (one of the jobs of the dept chair) but I also got a chance to give a certain 8th grader a huge hug as he received his accolades! ;-) It was quite funny today at school, the teachers and the girls in my classes all thought it was sweet that I gave Chris a hug. The boys all stated that they would be embarassed if their moms did that. Yeah, I know guys! But Chris was OK with it, and that is all that matters. So we close one more educational chapter as a parent - no more middle school. And as Chris pointed out on the way home - he gets to move out to college in 4 years! Geesh! Who's counting now??? And he asked how soon he can apply for his permit too. Help!

The end of the year is always sad and sweet. I started to take stuff down in my room tonight. The room starts to look a little more barren every few days as I take a few more things down. :-( But, it means summer vacation is around the corner. Sleep a little later, go to Chicago and see parents and friends, get some things done around the house. :-) The kids start to get really squirrely and annoying, but then during the last day or so will act like you are the best thing since sliced bread and be all sad to leave you! Many of them give us their phone numbers and implore us to call them. Yeah - I'll call you and we can discuss Mendel's experiments in genetics, OK?

I also like ending the year planning for next year. The nice thing about teaching school is that you have 3 new years, so you get to "start over" three times! I always strive to make the next year better, no matter which new year it is!

So here is to the next twelve days - go fast when kids are in my class but slow down on Saturdays and Sundays please. Summer vacation - here we come!

The BEST Mother's Day Gift EVER!

2009-05-10T15:47:00.002-05:00

Chris made this for me for Mother's Day!

Fun, useful, and it uses the Mario music!

Thanks Chris!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-10T08:12:00.003-05:00

Some quotes from one of my fave moms - Erma Bombeck:

*Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop offs at tedium and counter productivity.

*Kids have little computer bodies with disks that store information. They remember who had to do the dishes the last time you had spaghetti, who lost the knob off the Tv set six years ago, who got punished for teasing the dog when he wasn't teasing the dog and who had to wear girls boots the last time it snowed.

*Who, in their infinite wisdom, decreed that Little League uniforms be white? Certainly not a mother.

*Mother's words of wisdom: "Answer me! Don't talk with food in your mouth!"

*Have you any idea how many children it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, "What light?" and two more to say, "I didn't turn it on."

*When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.

As I sit here in a quiet, albeit somewhat (uh, Laura, look around again! "somewhat" is an understatement!) disorderly home, I am thinking how incredibly lucky I am as a mom. I can point out the flaws in each of the three offspring of mine in two seconds flat, and tell you what they need to dop to improve their lot in life (see the last EB quote above!) But honestly, Gary and I have managed to produce three awesome kids. Yeah, I will throw Gary a bone here and give him some credit, especially for their athletic abilities. Lord knows THAT did not come from me. But, I do have to brag just a bit on the the fact that all three kids are good, kind, decent, and thoughtful human beings. They don't do drugs, get blind drunk, or have been arrested (that we know of). I wanted them to follow their hearts and not dollar signs, they are doing that. I wanted them to go out and make the world a better place each day by doing something, even if it is to just smile when you don't feel like smiling. They are doing that. I want them to look back and feel like they made a difference somehow, some way. I hope they feel that, because they have.

So - Catherine, Craig, and Chris - thanks for making me the best mom I could be. Not sure I hold the title of best mom in the world since there are myriad things I never let you do, but you survived! I love you all very much! Now I have to go find the copy of one of Erma's books I have floating around the house and visit with my old friend!

Anyone Got Toothpicks?

2009-04-30T17:17:00.002-05:00

Slowly drying out from Tuesday's dousing. Highway 6 is closed between Clay and I-10. As long as we have lived here (27+ years) that has only happened one other time. And that was when we had an extremely wet January (or was it February?) Anyway - it caused a huge traffic SNAFU, but it should resolve itself by Monday.

The day off just pushed the TAKS tests back one day. So yesterday we had our science blitz for the 8th graders while the 6th and 7th graders did their math TAKS. Today the 8th graders had the social studies blitz, while 6th and 7th graders did reading TAKS.

Lucky me today (said very sarcastically) I got to moderate a test. The kids complain about having to sit quietly after a test, sometimes for 2-3 hours while we wait for everyone to finish. When they do finish their test they can read a book, stare out the window, or put their heads down and sleep. I, on the other hand, have to sit there and watch them take a test. Nothing else, just watch them take the test. Can't read a book, can't grade papers, can't sit at the computer or anything else. Yeah time today just seemed to fly - NOT! I feel like a mental vegetable now.

Got Ark Plans Anyone?

2009-04-28T07:22:00.002-05:00

Rain from 2:30 AM on this morning - straight. Up at the usual 4:45AM, finally at 5:50, the district announced that classes were cancelled. Everything on this side of town is flooding. We have had a bunch of rain lately, too, so the ground is already wet. The clay soil can not hold much more so it all runs off.

Sixth and seventh graders were supposed to take TAKS today and tomorrow, while the 8th graders have TAKS Thursday and Friday. I guess it just gets pushed back a day, but it does create a big headache.

Ah well, off to take a nap!

Who Hasn't Seen This Yet?

2009-04-19T07:25:00.008-05:00

Wanted to post this yesterday, but I fell asleep. Hope it makes your day brighter! It does mine.

Click on the text above - YouTube disabled embedding. Almost 30 million hits just on this version alone.

And here is the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say. (Click on "the rest of the story")

Have a great day!

I Dreamed A Dream
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

Testing Is Upon Us

2009-04-18T19:07:00.002-05:00

Many years ago, Texas, in its infinite wisdom, voted to have state mandated testing. It was TABS first, Texas Assessment of Basic Skills. Then TEAMS came along, Texas Assessment of Minimal Skills. Not good enough, so they came up with TAKS, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. And still they change it, changing the grade levels that are tested, changing what is tested, changing how and how often things are tested.

March third was the official "start" of testing season, beginning with 8th grade reading and 7th grade writing. Testing continues for various grade levels on different days through the month of April. Not sure if the change is a good thing or not for the kids. In the past we just had the tests on consecutive days. For 8th graders that meant 4 consectuive days of tests, 2 all day and 2 half days. By the end they were ready to burst at the seams, but we got them all out of the way. Now the tests are spread out, less stress all at once, instead it is spread out over 2 months.

I had my summative conference this week, also. Overall my principal is very happy with the way the 8th grade science team is coming together and we both have high expectations for the science department as a whole. He asked me if I thought we were going to improve on our 8th grade science scores from last year. I hate those kind of questions! There is so much out of my control, I feel like it is a crap shoot right now. We (8th grade teachers) set a goal of 75% of the econ disadvantaged kids passing. I am not sure we will get there. The kids are tired of hearing about the test, and the fact that it covers 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science is stressing the teachers out! We can't teach all 3 years in one, and once again I feel like the concepts I taught were developed a mile wide and an inch deep instead of the other way around.

So I control what I can control - what I do in my classroom - and hope that the kids come through. Have I done enough? I don't ever think I have. I always find one more thing I could have done, or should have done differently. But I can say that, once again, I did give it 110% and if my students give just 100% on the test I think we can do it. We shall see. Test day is April 30, t minus 8 school days and counting.

I am looking forward though, and want to work more on making the whole science team a model PLC (professional learning community). We can't get the 8th grade students proficient at anything unless they have a solid foundation to start with. Right now they do not have that. I want the teams to be vertically aligned yesterday. We are still working on aligning just within our own teams (6th and 7th), so vertical alignment is a long term goal. Sigh. Well, it makes Jose happy - I am there for a few years more, since I now feel my work is not done there yet.

Oh and there are only six and a half weeks of school left. Where has the year gone! It seems like only last month we were recovering from Ike. Here we are looking at May!

My Favorite Commercial Right Now

2009-04-05T19:36:00.002-05:00

This has to be one of the best ones out right now! I love the happy dance about 20 seconds in.

The Story Continues - Ruh Roh part 3 & Some Good News!

2009-04-01T21:18:00.005-05:00

Seems one of our neighbors was walking their dog when he saw a young, black man run from the end of our cul-da-sac onto the greenbelt and into the drainage ditch that runs down the center of the greenbelt. The young man apparently ran back up, saw Sam, and then ran back down into the ditch again. Coming back to our street Sam then noticed the red car at the end of the cul-de-sac, door open, car still running. That certainly is suspicious around here. Said red car was also stolen. No huge surprise there.

The police officer at our school is also a trove of information! The family of the suspect that was hit by the car showed up at the scene of the accident within an hour of the accident. The police had not yet notified the family. The family said that "Little Ray" called them and told them their family member had been in a bad accident and gave them the address. He told them to come quickly. So I guess "Little Ray" is Suspect #1.

Also, the shooting at Mc Donald's - a kid named Brandon was the one who shot at the other kids. Brandon is a drop out, apparently, and went to Watkins early in his academic career.

Sigh!

The good news today, though, is tickets to the Astros Opening Day game vs the Cubbies! I can't wait!

Ruh Roh Part 2

2009-03-30T20:02:00.006-05:00

Here is an update on the red car in our cul-de-sac Saturday night.

From today's Houston Chronicle

From Harris County Sheriff, homicide blotter

And then Harris County Sheriff's traffic blotter

Seems the other suspect ditched the car on our street, and hoofed it away from here. It was apparently spotted by one of our constables while on patrol. Our best guess is that they are local, since they ditched the car and walked away.

Another item of note not related to the other incident, but scary none the less: Shooting at Local McDonald's

I would bet dimes to dollars that a couple or three of my former students are involved in one or both of these incidents. :-(

Ruh Roh!!!

2009-03-29T12:24:00.002-05:00

No resolution to this yet, but an interesting thing happened last night.

Chris and I went out to a comedy club, and came home about 10:15. Turning down our normally quiet little cul-de-sac we were greeted by several squad cars parked down our street in various spots AND crime scene tape going across the street before our house. Talk about an unsettled feeling!!! An officer stops me and asks what I need here. I reply that I need to get home, indicating our house about 3 houses down. He tells me I can not go past the crime scene tape with the car. I can leave my car in front of the neighbor's and walk to the house. I ask what happened, he said they were recovering evidence from a car and that everything in our house was OK. Gary was home, so I was rather relieved. Sort of.

We walk in the front door, which is very unlocked, and Gary is upstairs totally involved in Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, entirely unaware of the drama in our little cul-de-sac. In fact he did not even hear us come in the house!

Anyway - there is a red 4 door car at the end of the cul-de-sac, boxed in by 3 squad cars, doors open and lights from the squad cars illuminating the red car, police/sheriffs poking around in the car. There are at least 4 other squad cars parked in various locations on our street, and the crime scene tape. I walked back out to ask when I might be able to pull my car in the driveway, and the sheriff tells me they will knock on my door when they are done, if we have not gone to sleep already. I look quizzically at him, he states they will be a while.

I watch periodically from an upstairs window, and a few other cars come and go, not neighbors, but police, sheriff or some sort of law enforcement people. Later, about 11:30 a crime scene lab type of truck is there, and they are obviously testing stuff and now they are taking pictures of the car and in the car. Still no permission to move my car.

A little after midnight, I decide to leave my car where it is, and go to bed. There are now at least a dozen people out there around this red car, and something on the ground by the driver's side of the car, looks like black trash bags with something in them. This morning, except that my car is parked in front of the neighbor's two doors down, nothing else looks odd this morning. Like nothing happened. But (nosy me) I want to know!!! No clue - right now. But I am sure the grapevine will bear fruit soon, it always does! Stay tuned.

But until then, I will say that I do not want to experience that feeling again, ever - of pulling down your street and seeing squad cars and crime scene tape. Not a good feeling at all. And Gary has promised to keep doors locked when he is home!!! ;-)

What I Would Not Give To Be Here!

2009-03-19T14:44:00.003-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This must look spectacular!

Midway Through Spring Break

2009-03-18T10:43:00.002-05:00

Have not done a whole lot, but have had fun with Chris and caught up on sleep. Always a good thing. Looked at a retirement community yesterday and looking at another one today. They are nice - nothing like I remember from eons ago when we visited retirement homes when I was in Girl Scouts. This is like a cross between the best of dorm living, apartment living and hotel living! Sign me up!

Housecleaning is getting done slowly. Whatever does not get done can wait. My philosophy. I want to get the den cleaned and rearranged though. It is becoming a parking lot and it annoys me.

Will probably watch more Harry Potter today too.

I Don't Even Want to Know

2009-03-14T19:13:00.002-05:00

Friday, I was picking up stuff in my room, and a kid waved a card at me telling me it was in one of the science books. I took the card. It had a cartoon drawing of a rather buxom blond wearing a black & white striped tube top and very short black & white striped shorts. She was bending half over in a very suductive pose, with a smile on her face. In large pink letters above her it said "Misbehavin'?" and underneath it said "Call me!"

It was a business card for Flo's Bail Bonds in Paige, Texas.

I don't even want to know how, or why one of my 8th graders had that! I am glad spring break is here. Even if it is 44 degrees and raining.

Finally!!!

2009-03-13T06:02:00.002-05:00

Last day before spring break! The natives have been restless, and the chiefs are tired! Not going anywhere for the break, but maybe a couple little trips like to San Anonio for the day or maybe the museum's Ghengis Khan exhibit. Then there is always the "to do" list - which this time includes checking out a couple retirement communities and cleaning out either the den or the garage. Sigh. I also plan to watch all five Harry Potter movies again!

Sad, but...

2009-03-01T13:53:00.002-06:00

...nothing I could have done. But I keep thinking "What if I could have said just one more thing to encourage a better choice?"

Several of our students will be assigned to a couple alternative campuses because of one really bad choice, taking or supplying a prescription drug. It started with one of my 5th period students who came to class 1) late and 2) "altered". She was acting more strangely than usual, enough to make me hang by her table and do a sniff test. Not smelling anything tell-tale, I called the AP to come up and talk to her, see what was up. The student left with her and did not return.

As we go through the rest of the day, other teachers are commenting about kids acting weird, and having to get someone to take them out. Then two other students are escorted out of class by our constable, but they were not acting "weird". Uh oh. In all it was 11 or 12 students. Plus one busted for pot again. A few of them are my students, not bad kids really, not the ones who give me problems in class. I just can not fathom taking a substance that you have NOT ONE CLUE what it will do to you. At least alcohol and pot are knowns. (Not that I condone it, but the effects are known).

Another student, not mine (don't even know who he is) was caught with my keys, Friday. I had been missing them since Wednesday afternoon, but figured I set them somewhere different in my room and that they would eventually turn up - it's happened before. Said student must have come into my room and taken them after school Wednesday afternoon when I ran down to the bathroom or copy room. He was caught trying to steal drinks from the locker room in the gym.

So now I keep a more vigilant eye out for kids acting weirder than usual, and I must remember to take my keys and lock my room EVERY time I leave. I hate that! It takes negative energy to not trust, and I do now!

One nice little plus though. At dinner with a couple friends of mine (one is an elem principal) he was talking about 2 of our elementaries who blew the cover off the 5th grade science TAKS test last year. I mentioned it to my principal, and he is setting up a meeting with theose principals (him, our director of instruction, and me and my co-dept chair!) to see what exactly they did. It is nice to finally see that we might have a definite direction to head next school year!

TAKS reading is Tuesday for our 8th graders. That means walking around watching kids take a test A L L D A Y L O N G . The kids complain that they are bored - at least they can put their heads down and nap. We have to walk around and monitor! At least I will get lots of miles in walking that day!

Another Week Closer to Spring Break

2009-02-20T18:40:00.002-06:00

Thanks to our "hurrication" back in September, we don't have any more 3-4 days weekends. This is the long haul, right now - Jan to March. Spring fever starts to hit the kids, and the teachers as well. Although the effect it takes on each is opposite. Students are giddy and teachers are grumpy. I try to keep myself out of negative situations, and keep busy (which is not too hard for me!) What is frustrating me more than anything though, is trying to deal with people who refuse to act on things that are within their control. Instead they choose to complain about things outside that realm - dragging those of us who are not there down with them. Sigh.

Craig is in Atlanta this weekend, trying to qualify for Nationals. His relay team was DQ'd from the entire meet last weekend. It was their conference championship meet, and his relay team missed their preliminary heat. It really does not seem to be a fair consequence, but it is what it is, and he (and the other 3 guys) had to sit and watch everyone else swim. His coach found a meet in Atlanta that they could attend and try to qualify. So they are there. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Chris had a pulpectomy this week. Thanks to Kellen family genes, he has two baby teeth with no permanent teeth underneath them. One of them had a cavity that was filled a while ago. The tooth became infected. A pulpectomy is sort of the equivalent of a root canal, but on a baby tooth. They also do not destroy the nerve, so it is not as painful. Later on (many years later) he will need an implant for that tooth. For right now they are trying to save it, so we don't have to mess with the braces.

And Gary is getting ready for his big weekend next weekend! He leaves Thursday evening for a weekend of golf in California. The foursome will be playing Pebble Beach, Spyglass, and Spanish Bay. They are trying to get on at Cypress Point as well. Needless to say - I don't have to wonder where he is when it is daylight this week!

And so closes another week. Now to figure out how many weeks till the end of school!

Sugar Intoxication

2009-02-13T13:17:00.003-06:00

Fighting it is a futile effort. But yet we try, and then we end up with a lumpy head from the brick wall we kept hitting it on! Trying to teach 13-14 year olds that have had a steady diet of candy, cookies, and cupcakes all day is Sisyphean. But yet I try! I am glad today is almost over.

Thoughts for the Day!

2009-02-10T14:23:00.002-06:00

When you find a lemon...it probably fell off the truck and the truck is fixing to lose its whole load!

The saying that patience is a virtue just means you get more dumped on you "because you can handle it!"

Carry on!

A Crack in the Facade

2009-02-05T19:21:00.002-06:00

These are the days that make 27 years of teaching worth it!!! Sorry for the long post - but it just made my day!!!

I got a new student in class several weeks ago. I chatted with him as he came in, from New Orleans, knew where English Turn was, told him my brother used to live near there before Katrina, but that was about all I got out of him. Gave him a seat, and he pulled his hood over his head and proceeded to attempt sleep. Wrong thing to do in my room!!! I gently tap his shoulder and pull back the hood. He sits up and just takes up space the first day.

I see him in the cafeteria the next few days. He sits all the way in the back, by himself. Nice looking kid, neat cornrows; clean, pressed clothes; but very quiet. He does not eat lunch. Girls sit at his table and try to talk to him - fresh meat! He really does not engage and they leave him alone after a few days. Don't see him even try to talk with the boys either. Hmmm.

Since he came about a week before the end of the semester, I tell him I want him to take the semester exam to see what he remembers from his other school. He nods, still not saying much. I tell him, if he can come to tutorials, we will try to get him caught up on one or two of the topics we covered the last two weeks at least. He does not show up. He fails miserably.

New semester started the day after MLK day. I pass out the homework for the week. Remind the kids that they get 5 bonus points for turning it in early. Also reminding the kids in basketball and soccer they can do their HW in tutorials that day and get their bonus points. None of the b-ball kids or soccer kids show up. But at 2:40 he shows up at my door asking if he can stay for tutorials and would I show him how to do the homework! "Well, hell yes" I yell in my head! I show him what to do and sort of hover while he works, noticing also that he puts the book about 6 inches from his face. Note to tell the nurse to check his vision and see about glasses from Lions Club maybe.

He finishes his worksheet, and I check over it. Of course it is 100% because I made sure it would be. I get my purple marker out and put the 105 on it and the slightest smile glimmers across his face for about 2 seconds. I also ask if he has internet at home. He does. I show him our science website and the vocabulary game he can pull up to practice the science vocab. I see him the next day in the counselor's office. Pausing as I pass by, she is talking to him about what he needs to do to pass his classes for the year since he came with mostly D's and F's from NOLA. I stop and mention to her that he is off to a great start for me at least, telling her of tutorials the day before. He grins a little bigger today! He also is starting to be the first one to show up for class. His period is right after lunch and most kids don't get there until 30 seconds before the tardy bell. He is in my room 30 seconds after the release bell. He is eating lunch now too, but still by himself.

Fast forward to this week. We are finishing our unit on plate tectonics. We play vocab bing, and he knows some of the words. I pass out the review sheet, he chooses to work alone, but then comes to tutorials as well. We work a bit more on the review in tutorials, and before he leaves I also give him a review sheet with all the answers (thanks to my wonderful co-teacher Lee!!!) On the test today, he calls me over and whispers that most of this stuff was on the review sheet I gave him! "Yes, you're right" I reply. He gets to work.

After class today he actually comes by to see if I have graded the papers yet. I have (God bless scantrons!) He made a 47. He hangs his head. I point out it is better than what he did on the first test, and that if he is willing to come to tutorials we will get him passing! He leaves saying he will be there "Cuz I wanna pass!" I close the door behind him feeling a bit verklempt.

File this away with my memory of Alan (an ESL student) who tells me he will invite me to his medical school graduation because he now likes science. I guess I have done an OK job! ;-)

First It's Christmas!

2009-01-29T18:12:00.003-06:00

And then I vent!

My principal asked me to put together a list last May, of science equipment that I thought we needed, repairs that were needed and inservice or training (out of district, which means $$$) that would be good. The school is over 25 years old, and we have not bought any science equipment of substance pretty much as long as I have been there (10 years). I got a partial list of equipment that they are putting in the new middle schools and started from there, warning him it I did not think it would not be pretty.

First up was cleaning, calibrating, and repairing all the triple beam balances and microscopes we have. That would be around $1500. Next I started looking at what I thought every science teacher should have in his/her classroom all the time - a class set of calculators, a class set of meter sticks and a class set of timers. Add to that the class sets of graphing marker boards that we bought every teacher last year.

There are two trainings I want to go to or send teachers to - 3 science ones at the Dana Center in Austin and a science one by Margaret Kilgo, also in Austin.

Then my list turned to other equipment that we need/could use for various labs - density cubes, probeware, torsos for 7th grade life science, replacing glassware (beakers, graduates etc) etc.

Today, as I presented my principal with the invoice for the balances and scopes work he says that he approved the calculators, meter sticks, timers, and inservices. AND to give him the rest of the "wish list" and we will start looking at what else we can get.

Oh, and we had to turn in a request for capital outlay items last week. These are equipment requests and come from a district catalog, so the choices are limited. I asked for 60 electronic scales (with a note attached that I would be happy with 20, since they were expensive). He approved purchase of 40!!!

I am so tired of hearing teachers complain that they can't do certain labs because we don't have enough equipment, blah blah blah. A few of us make do with what we have and we manage to do some decent labs. Anyway - now there is no excuse. Now to find a way to get them to quit crabbing about their kids in the classroom and actually do something about it!!!

Two of my sweet girls are suspended for three days. One made some wrong choices and was with a group that stole a couple bicycles. She did not steal them, but was with them and did nothing to stop them or turn them in later. She will most likely go to Alternative Learning Center for 6 weeks. Another got in a fight yesterday with the same girl she fought with 5-6 weeks ago. In the fight she got one of her earrings near the top of her ear ripped out. She has a court date for the citation from the first fight this week. She will go to court for the second fight in a few weeks. By that time the judge will have paperwork from two fights and she will likely also go to the ALC. Why do they do these things???

To end on a good note, one of my students was telling Chris today that he loves my class. Asked why, he replied "She gave me a B! My other teacher never gave me a B." Now this was a kid that the other teacher insisted the counselor get out of her class because she could not handle him, she never had a kind word about him in team meetings. (I have inherited 4 of her darlings) Chris said he was going to answer him with the standard reply that he has heard from me a thousand times when kids complain about low grades "She didn't give you a B, you earned it." But instead he said "Yeah that's cool!" because he wanted the kid to go on thinking his mom was cool! Gotta love it! Thanks Chris! You're cool too!

Mmmm

2009-01-22T19:03:00.000-06:00

Chocolate shakes can take the bad off a bad day!

New Years Again - Sort Of

2009-01-17T17:27:00.004-06:00

Sort of.

The nice thing about teaching is that you get "New Year's three times a year - the start of a new school year, Dec 31, and the start of the second semester. You get another chance to start over and do better.

Watkins got a new principal last year (2007-2008 school year) after our previous one retired. Jose did not make many changes at all last year, opting instead to just see where things stood with everyone, and also to see who would abandon ship after the first year. This year he is implementing quite a few changes and many have been needed for quite a while. One of the biggest programs he has implemented is PLC's or professional learning communities. It is a huge challenge for the whole faculty.

The science team has also been kind of rudderless for a while, not really having a department chair for the last 5 years. After quite a bit of discussion and soul searching, it is a challenge I took on (really as a co-chair) somewhat apprehensively. But as the new semester starts next week, I am making some resolutions to continue this journey that started back in 1981 and step a bit out of my classroom box and into the leadership box just a bit. I have some ideas, and a principal that is supportive of them, now I just have to get the rest of the department on this train. So here is to a new year, once more, and moving from the travel car of the train to the engine room.

Back to Normal

2009-01-11T20:36:00.002-06:00

Catherine left last week, Craig left Monday, and Tucker went back today. Our house is back to the three of us once more. It is kind of a good, empty type feeling. Tucker was nice to have around, cute, lovable, and sweet. He was always so happy to see you when we came home from work or whatever. He pepped Dukie up quite a bit, too. But he was still a pup, and pups take a lot of attention. We miss Abby still (or at least I do), but I think our next dog will more likely be a rescue than a puppy.

Midterm exams are this week at school. Then a new semester starts the 20th. In the past, our class rosters usually have quite a bit of moving around at the semesters. The computers do the kids schedules and I am never quite sure of the logic of the computer that does the scheduling. Kids that do not have any class changes at the semester (b/c they are taking all year long courses) end up getting put in all new periods of the same class. The counselors have promised us that there will be hardly any moving around this year. We will believe it when we see it!

Went to Dallas this weekend to watch a swim meet at Austin College in Sherman. Chris went along. Craig swam OK - not the best, but I have definitely seen him do worse. Think he pulled an ab or groin muscle towards the end of the meet. We did not stay for dinner with the team this time, either. They have a meet in San Antonio and one in Austin in a few weeks. Plenty of time to go to dinner then.

Avoiding laundry etc, by doing this. Had best get back to work!

Back to Routine

2009-01-05T21:05:00.002-06:00

Back at work today, glad to be back in a routine, even if it means getting up at 5AM. Quite a few kids absent today. It was supposed to be a workday for teachers today, not a class day, but thanks to Hurricane Ike, we lost that day. That meant I had to come up last week to make sure my room was ready before the kids got there. Custodians wash and wax the rooms with tile floors over the break. Lost a couple kids, moving, but so far have not gotten any new move-ins. The semester end was also pushed back to next week Friday thanks to the hurricane. Ah well.

The year will be over before I can blink twice I am sure! Time to walk the dog.

Deconstructing Christmas

2009-01-01T07:42:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year all! Here's hoping that 2009 is as good or better to you than 2008.

Quiet night, once again, last night. Spent the night watching a movie and playing Wii with the boys.

The tree and decorations come down today. :-( It is the first time in a few years that I am really not yet ready to take them down. But the house needs to be back before I go back to school Monday. So the procecss begins again.

Oh and football and fish soup later today! Yeah for more family traditions!

A New Tradition is Born

2008-12-24T20:46:00.004-06:00

We laugh about the scene in "A Christmas Story" at the end when they go to eat Peking Duck on Christmas Day because the Bumpus' dogs ruined their dinner. Tonight we were Ralphie's family, minus the Bumpus' dogs.

My brother was supposed to come out from Wimberley, but earlier this afternoon let me know that he and his wife were not going to make it. We were going to do fajitas for dinner. Called Los Cucos only to find that they closed at 3PM, so no fajitas. Grrr. I still have a couple errands to run - pick up Craig's prescriptions, get a few last minutes stuff for breakfast and dinner tomorrow, and run to the Post Office to mail stuff once more. (God bless the automated mailing center!) Catherine and Craig explore dinner possibilities while I am gone. I suggest that it would be nice if I did not have to cook or clean dinner! (hint hint!)

Upon my return, we review the options and decide to go to Sakura, a Japanese steak and sushi place nearby. Gary really does not want to go, but we remind him that he said we could decide what to do, so he grumbles but gets changed. ;-P At the restaurant he is somewhat frustrated by the menu, not being familiar with this type of food, so Catherine and I suggest things to try. He ends up ordering hibachi chicken and shrimp, and even trying a little of Catherine's sushi.

In all it was great fun, watching the guy prepare our food, but even more fun watching the faces of the little kids at the table next to us. There were 4 of them, none older than maybe four years old. One of the girls had Shirley Temple curly blond hair, a bee sting mouth and huge brown eyes. She was the most fun to watch as the chef prepared our food. Her eyes almost popped out of her head!

So we have Chinese food the day before Thanksgiving and now Japanese steak and sushi on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow we will do our Christmas day ritual and go see a movie - probably Marley and Me. Back to straightening and wrapping. Oh another tradition in our family http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html (Tracking Santa) I remember listening for this on the radio long ago and far away. Sigh!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Let the Holidays Begin

2008-12-20T09:36:00.002-06:00

The last week of school before vacation is always challenging. Kids are hyper and teachers are worn out. After 26 years, not much has changed there. ;-) But all in all, not a bad week. We managed to keep the kids relatively occupied with a review, a test and then a 2 day computer activity. They were researching the stages in the life cycle of a star and creating a PowerPoint. They may not have finished their PPT's, but they sure spent quite a bit of time reading about all the pictures they were finding. And in the end, that is what mattered really.

They finally understood my fascination with these sites, too. During the unit, I would pull up photos or video clips that were pertinent to the topic of the day. One kid remarked that I must spend hours looking this stuff up. I agreed that I did, but I thought it was really cool stuff. Cue the eyeroll from students. Their teacher is trying to get us to do something "educational". Warning, danger Will Robinson! Danger! For two days, however, I was happy to hear "Hey Miss, look at this! This is cool!" and "Hey Miss, did you know...?"

So now I can concentrate on finishing the holiday preps. Finish decorating the tree, finish the outside decorations, finish the shopping, send out the cards, and most importantly CLEAN THE HOUSE!!! We have not had our housekeeper for several months now, and it shows. Even though she only came every 2 weeks, knowing she was coming helped us keep things picked up for the most part. We have gotten so lazy, there are piles of junk everywhere.

We are staying put for the holidays this year. I miss visiting with family either in Illinois or Florida, but honestly, I would rather go when it is not holiday time. It is just less stressful for everyone and we are not driven by a set schedule. And the weather is nicer everywhere later in the year. It is always so unpredictable, maybe snow and cold in Chicago, rain in Florida...even here in Houston. But at least we are at home. I can deal with that. But I still miss the family!

Holiday Spirit

2008-11-27T11:56:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:15:00.002-06:00

Trying to think of something clever to say, and it just is not there. But as I sit here this morning watching the news, the dogs, and the kids start to wake up and come down, I am reminded once again of all that we do have to be thankful for. My list is pretty mundane and common, and includes many people who make differences in my life. It really makes me much more thankful, because they are there always, most times in the background, but coming to the foreground sometimes when least expected.

Everyone is here for the day, and we are going out for the traditional dinner. I figured I could do the official cooking at Christmas when everyone is home for more than 48 hours. I will miss the smell of turkey and pumpkin pie baking, but only for about 15 minutes! :-)

Happy turkey day, happy football day!

It Is Official!

2008-11-08T21:07:00.003-06:00

Summer has left Houston! Last night at Chris' baseball game I wore jeans, a short sleeved t-shirt, and a long sleeve light weight jacket. It is always colder at the Bear Creek fields than home. I had to go back to the car to get two blankets I had in the back, and I still could not get warm!

It was down to the upper 40's - officially cold!!!

Nothing New

2008-11-02T21:30:00.003-06:00

I just have to post something because seeing Abby's picture at the top still makes me kinda sad. I just wish we had more time with her, for the money we spent trying to get her well. Sigh.

Duke is now the king of the household. He seems to be OK now. He had his space intruded upon this weekend when Tucker came to visit. Old dogs and puppies do not really get along well at all. Old dogs just tolerate! He enjoyed being up on the bed, where Tucker could not bother him, most of all.

Chris and I have Tuesday off of school, because of the election. Lots of our schools are polling places, so the district decided to make it an inservice day. I have enough hours to get time equivalency, so I get the day off too! Don't know what we will do. Probably be lazy! Maybe watch Harry Potter 5 again and finish reading HP 6, the Half Blood Prince.

And thanks to Sharon, I did not forget to change my clocks. I would have, had I not read her blog this morning! Thanks Sharon!!! I will enjoy daylight in the morning once again, but darker earlier at night I dislike. Ah well, days will start to lengthen soon enough!

Till next time - failure is not an option!
(I was watching Apollo 13 tonight!)

Happy Trails Abby

2008-10-22T20:32:00.012-05:00

We will miss you!

We had to let Abby go this afternoon. Sad day.

Saturday this past weekend, she threw up a couple times and was coughing a bit, but I did not attach a lot of concern to it. She was still acting OK. Thinking maybe she swallowed something and its caught in her throat. Give it a bit of time to work itself out.

Sunday she threw up a few more times and her breathing was starting to sound noisy. Monday morning it seemed a little worse, so I made a vet appointment for after school. Get to the vet's and they do a couple chest x-rays and tell us we have to go to a vet specialist. Ruh roh, that means either they don't know what to do next or can not deal with whatever is wrong.

At the Vet Specialists, they confirm that Abby has pneumonia, and that she also possibly has megaesophagus. This could have led to the pneumonia. They give me some antibiotics and a medicine for her stomach and schedule me to come back Tuesday to recheck Abby. I get a round of antibiotics down her Monday night, she manages to keep the food down, and I get a round of antibiotics down her Tuesday morning, but she is not very hungry, eating only two teaspoonfuls of food.

Back at the vet specialist office Tuesday afternoon, Abby's temperature is up, her breathing is more labored than yesterday, and her nose is now sticky yellow instead of sticky clear mucus. The vet tells me Abby has to be admitted to the "doggie hospital" so she can get 'round the clock care. They will e-mail me updates and we can also come visit Abby if we want.

This morning I had not gotten an e-mail, so I call the vets. They pass along that her temperature is down, and she appears to be a little more stable than last night. She is still throwing up saliva and mucus, though. About an hour or so later a student brings a message to my room telling me to call the vets NOW. I have a class and we are getting ready to use the laptops. If I can get them working I can steal a minute or two and use my cell phone to call Gary.

Gary is at the vets already. He was going to check on Abby at lunch. He reports that they were trying to call me as he got there. Abby took a turn for the worse in the last hour and she is deteriorating rapidly. Gary says she does not look good, and does not think she even recognizes him. After a short conversation we decide it is time. He stays while they administer the injection. Says at one point Abby maybe did recognize him and tried to get up and move closer to him. And shortly thereafter she is gone.

My class was working quitely so I found Chris, in the classroom down the hall, and let him know. He has a few teary moments then, and a few more when I see him in the hall between classes. By the end of the day he is focusing on the positives in the situation, but still feeling very sad because he did not get to say goodbye to Abby. None of us were ready for this, we all were thinking that she would pull through the pneumonia and would be back home in a few days. We will go pick up her ashes from the vets in 5 days and we will let Chris decide what to do with them to say goodbye.

I am glad she had some very good care through this. I am glad it all progressed quickly. I can not stand to watch pets suffer. She had a good life, although not as long as she should have.

Happy Trails, Abby. I know you are now running around in a field chasing those squirrels that you loved to terrorize in our yard! We love you.

Update: Gary picked up her ashes, collar, and leash Friday afternoon. The Vet Specialist clinic also made us a cast of her pawprint. We received cards from our own vet and the vet specialist clinic. Chris has arranged her collar, leash, pawprint cast, cards and box of ashes in a little memorial on the mantle. We will leave it there for a few days. Made me cry all over again to look at it.

Mindless Thoughts

2008-10-13T13:07:00.003-05:00

Yeah - some of you are laughing - I know!

Why does laundry, cleaning toilets, and even sorting socks suddenly look more appealing? Will the Cubbies be able to climb the mountain next year? Why do some idiots not pull over on the shoulder when it is obvious you want to pass them on a 2 lane state highway with a wide shoulder?

Answer - grades are due tomorrow and I have a ton of stuff to grade!

Can I Have My Cell Phone Back?

2008-10-08T18:14:00.005-05:00

Well, the district made a recommendation to make up the days we missed for our "hurrication". We will make up 3 of the 7 instructional days the students missed. We lose three long weekends - Jan 19, Feb 16 and April 13. The Feb and April days will be instructional days with the kids. The January day was a holiday and they are now making it an inservice day. If you have 7 hours of professional development then you can earn the day off though.

January 5 was to be an inservice day also, but now it is the third instructional day the kids will make up. That is the day we come back from the Christmas (err Winter) Break. That means we don't have a day before the kids to make sure the room is set up etc. Over break the custodians usually clean the floors in the science rooms, so they move out all of our tables, chairs and anything on the floor. Needless to say, it is not always put back the same way we left it and all of our AV equipment in the room is also put up for the floor cleaning. So we use that day to get the room back in order and also to plan the first week. Can't do that now. They did the same when we missed days for Hurricane Rita (3 years ago). Grrr! :-#

Not much else is going on right now, though. We have someone lined up to replace the fence and hopefully that will be done soon. The last of the Ike debris finally got picked up! The stack of fence sections had been sitting on the front walk for 2 weeks. They got picked up today, so now we look like we never went through a hurricane, except that some of our driveway fence is missing.

The students are finally settling back into a routine after the hurrication, too. After 26 years of teaching, I still shake my head at "the things my students do/say"! Here is the latest one to give you a little chuckle!

Students are supposed to have their cell phones turned OFF during the school day. Not on vibrate or silent - OFF. If it is taken up, teachers turn it in to the office and parents have to come get it and pay a fine of $15. They will not give the phone back to a student. The other day a student walked up to me during class with his cell phone in his hand. It was lit/blinking indicating it had most likely just gone off. He asks to go to the bathroom. I say no and ask him to give me his cell phone. He hands it to me and then pulls some money out of his pocket. Offering me the money he says "Here's the $15, can I have my phone back now?" Resisting the urge to laugh out loud and tell him that I might consider it for $30, I tell him no, his parents need to pay the fine and get it from the AP. He then shrugs, turns to go back to his seat, telling me that his teacher last year took the money. Oh geesh! I don't want to know!!!

Chris played in his first football game this season. I will get photos edited and posted soon.

Not much else new, as I said. Life resumes its normal rhythm!

Adios!

Fun at School!

2008-09-26T19:21:00.002-05:00

http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html

My kids love listening to this! I am singing it in my sleep now!

Dum diddy dum dum!

This Is the End My Friend!

2008-09-20T11:53:00.002-05:00

Enough of being lazy! We (the teachers that is) go back to school Monday and the kids go Tuesday. Yeah! I think most of the kids are actually looking forward to it as well. They are pretty bored, not much is open. Gas stations are getting gas now, so there are little to no lines. Fast food places up and down Hwy 6, though, remain closed, mostly because they have not been able to restock food. Slowly we creep back towards life B.I. If someone will just come and pick up the bags of debris we all have neatly lined up next to our driveways.

Fred, the fence guy, started working on the Bertoli side of the fence Thursday, and is working on the Clinton's fence yesterday and Monday. As soon as we hear from our other neighbors with their OK, we will get the other sides of the yard done and then the dogs can run the yard again. Yeah!

As of Friday, my school (Watkins) still did not have power (one of 5 in the district without), but it did come on early in the afternoon only to go out once more. Hopefully it is on again and we will be able to forge ahead Monday. If not, the district has a plan in place to deal with the kids to minimize interruption to their learning. So nice of them! Probably bus them to Berry Center and use their meeting rooms.

I have not been up to check on Mitch and Goliath (the animals). I fed Goliath 10 fat mealworms Thursday before we left and Mitch had a nice fat rat earlier in the week, so they should be OK, just maybe out of water, but OK. Whoever cleans out the freezer in the lounge is in for a nice little suprise however! I did have one more large frozen rat in there. I am sure it is well thawed and probably more fit for a turkey vulture than a snake by now! I know I will have to get more mealworms too. With the power off, my supply in my little fridge probably pupated and hatched into nice little brown beetles. Petco did not have any yesterday, so I may have to put up with crickets for a while. (No Buddy Holly though)

I decided to put together a "Stormy" playlist on my iPod for the next storm. I am open to suggestions. I am going through our CDs and my playlists looking for appropriate music. I figure I have some time before I need it again!

And so it goes.

This Just Keeps Going and Going and Going...

2008-09-16T14:50:00.004-05:00

School is out for the rest of the week. Power still out in many places in the district, damage to some of the facilities, the inability to get gas for the buses and for employees, the inability to restock the cafeterias in the schools just yet since they do not all have power, not to mention damage to any students or employees own homes...It looks like we will go to school until July! There will be another announcement Friday to tell us IF we will be able to start next Monday.

Seriously, I wonder how we will make these days up. We missed 4 days with Rita in '05. We had 2 weather days, used those up, and then took two inservice days and made them into classroom days for the kids and the teachers had to get time equivalency to make them up. This year we have 2 weather days, but we don't have any extra inservice days to use like last time.

I wonder if I can find really cheap airfare to Chicago. Maybe Chris and I will just take in a Cubs game! It's only 3:00 PM but I think I need a beer!

Tastes Great, Less Filling!

2008-09-15T20:57:00.005-05:00

I never thought a cold beer would taste so good! And power has been on for more than 24 hours!

Worked on the front and back yards all day today. Got almost everything cut, sawn, raked, bagged and bundled! Just a few more piles in the back yard to finish bagging and then I will almost officially close the book on Ike.

One of the oaks in the back yard has been slowly dying. It lost a big limb about 2-3 months ago in a storm. A few other large limbs have since lost all their leaves, and appeared threatening to fall at any minute. We knew we would have to cut the tree down eventually. Ike brought down a couple more limbs from the oak, so today I pulled them all out and started trimming and lopping them. When I got all the side stuff off, I started to saw them into 4 foot pieces with a hack saw. Anyone want some good oak firewood? Next I look for someone to take the whole tree down.

Raked all the little branch bits and the leaves and pine needles and all the junk into piles around the yard. Got a total of 15 bags of stuff, including the little stuff I clipped off the limbs to start with. Chris went around helping neighbors finish their yard work earning a total of $30, as well.

While I was working in the yard, our neighbor appears at the fence with someone and they are measuring the fence discussing if they can save the pickets and replace the posts. (That part of the fence was replaced about a year ago.) Turns out he is a friend of theirs and has done other work for them, so after asking if he has a bit of time, he comes by and measures our yard for fence replacement and that is one more thing I can check off my list! Yeah me! We want to get it replaced quickly because Abbey has figured out that she has openings that lead to places she has yet explored! Dukie tends to stay close by now that his eyesight and hearing are going.

Grilled some T-bones for dinner tonight, with a nice green salad, some sauteed mushrooms and onions, and some seasoned fries. Mmmmmm! Sitting here now with a nice cold beer, in my air-conditioned living room, blogging away. (Smelly, but you can't tell that!) Actually today it was really nice for doing yard work. I don't think the temperature got over 85 and the humidity is uncharacteristically low because of the cold front that came through.

Drove around a bit last night to see what other damage might have occurred. Over at the Green Meadows Apts, one wall of brick from one of the front apt buildings fell away from the building. The Loch Katrine Apartments, behind the old K-Mart on Hwy 6 look like they sustained quite a bit of damage as well. Many houses in the new subdivisions along West Little York had extensive roof damage - seeing a lot of blue tarps over rooves there. One of the storage facilities nearby was extensively damaged as well. But it looks like it was pretty poorly constructed, corrugated tin sheets and some 2x4's. I did not have my camera with last night, so I did not get pics. Sorry about that.

Have not heard any more about school. I know some of the buildings in the district sustained damage, and not all areas in our district have power yet. So we shall see if we do indeed go back Wednesday or not. I will use that time to find someone to take the tree down and make an appt to get my car looked at. (Chris plugged something in on the way to Luling and blew fuses. I have no radio or data screens now.) Also need to get papers graded and the house cleaned inside.

I think I need another beer! Oh and BTW, additional pic loaded to the Ike file with todays trash heap and better pics ofour fence damage. Going for that beer now and a nice hot shower! Oh, and Marie - thanks for the loan of the clippers! ;-)

After the Deluge, the Dishwasher is Good for Something

2008-09-14T14:10:00.004-05:00

2:10 PM Sunday
Power has been on here for a little over an hour now. I think it is safe to disconnect and the generator and put the cords away. We had three false starts with the power - once last night around midnight, on and off within a minute, and again twice this morning. It came once more about 12:40 and has stayed on. So we are ready to start getting back to normal.

A cold front came through about 5AM this morning and dumped a ton more rain on us. In fact the streets flooded worse today than yesterday. Water was about half way up our yard today. Yesterday it was only over the curb. I took some early morning pics, not too great, as I did not pay attention to the settings. But you can see some trash bags of tree debris floating around on the street.

Once the rain stopped, we got out and cleaned up the front yard. Raked all the pine needles, leaves, and twigs; cut the larger branches into small pieces; swept the front walk a bit; cleaned off the cars. we haved a few larger branches that will need to be sawed into pieces for the trash service to pick up. Not sure about the fence, will look into that Monday I guess. Got to get my car in to get looked at as well. On the way to Luling, Chris plugged in the converter for the little car TV and some circuit blew. There is no radio or data screens working. The A/C has been making noises anyway, so it is a good time to get it in.

Since the storm this morning dumped more rain on us, there are tons of roads and intersections under water and lots of people still without power out on this side. Cy Fair is keeping schools closed till Thursday. So I have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to get stuff done. And I know Glencairn (where Watkins is) still is without power. Even if all schools had gotten power today, it would have been hard to open on Monday. All the cafeterias have been without power for 48 hours at least, so that means no food. There are so many ancillary things that need to be in place just to have school. And all buildings have to be checked for damage, and then repaired if necessary.

Thirty six hours is the longest I can remember ever going without power. It is utterly amazing how much you find yourself paralyzed because so many things you do are tied electricity. I found myself digging stuff out of the garbage disposal a couple times, can't use it without power! I was happy I had a stovetop coffee pot and remembered how my mom used to make coffee, the old-fashioned way! I tried to boil water first and just pour it through grounds in the coffee filter in the coffee maker. That took way too much time and got grounds in the coffee. So I made it in the stovetop pot and just strained it through a big strainer I have. I broke down last night, too, and did dishes by hand. They were kind of piling up in the sink, in hopes that the power would come on sooner. So the useless dishwasher was not so useless, serving as a great drying rack for the dishes.

Watching cable TV now with footage of the devastation on Galveston Island. Bolivar and Crystal Beach look horrible. A flyover of the west end of the island is painful. Some houses still standing on their pylons, others with the pylons still there but no house. And water EVERYWHERE. A marina in LaPorte has boats in the parking lot. Boats in the middle of the road in Seabrook. Reports of boats on the causeway (I45) going into Galveston. The boardwalk at Kemah is no longer.

I added the bad pics from the flooded street this morning. Apologies for the poor settings. I was a little sleepy. More in the coming days! Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers. All is well with the Ostermans today.

Pioneer Days

2008-09-13T21:34:00.004-05:00

Doing dishes by hand, only 3 stations on TV to watch, no air conditioning...this is how mom and dad lived long ago and far away!

9:20PM Saturday night - we are still without power but we had nothing better to do today (well we could have started cleaning up the yard, but...) so I called up my brother in Wimberly and we met him in Luling to borrow his generator. Back home by 7:00PM.

So right now we have the deep freeze and the two fridges back online and cold. Beer, white wine and other assorted beverages!!! Saved the meat in the freezers, too. Only lost 2 cartons of Blue Bell and ice. Got the TV on the generator as well, but cable is still out. So we watch the little analog TV right now. Router and modem are on a battery pack, charging on the generator.

Should have stopped at Walmart along I-10 to buy a couple box fans, though, but did not think of it till we were back here. We were lucky here. Seems like the most damage here in far west Houston is uprooted trees and downed limbs. They all seemed to miss going through windows around here too, falling to the side instead. As much as I hate making the days up, I really hope school is cancelled Monday.

I added some more photos to the slideshow as well. We drove around the subdivision earlier this afternoon. More tomorrow if there is anything to talk about.

Saturday Morning Coffee

2008-09-13T09:35:00.003-05:00

9:30 AM Saturday morning. God Bless Gas Stoves!!! Houston, we have coffee!

Power went out around 1 or 2 AM last night and then the wind and rain started. Got up around 4AM to see what was going on, lots of branches everywhere.

Up and about by 7:00 AM, with the blinds open there is some light. We are using one of the battery packs to power the router and modem so we can get internet access. We have a TV/radio/lantern and we are listening to AM radio broadcasts. Seems the eye passed to the east of us. That is good because the heaviest rains and strongest winds are on the north east side of the eye.

I will upload some pics as soon as I finish the post here. Fences down on all three sides of our yard. Turbine tops from people's garage or house are in a few yards out front. About an inch of standing water in the back yard. Abbey does seems to mind going out but Duke will have none of it! He runs right back to the door. We will have to take him out during a lull and make him stay until he does his thing.

Wind seems to be subsiding quite a bit. Power flickered once about 5AM, we are hoping that is a good sign. The house seems to have come through very well. I remember, during Alilcia in '83, hearing lots of house noises and howling wind in the chimney. The eye also passed right over us that day. We heard very few house noises last night and no wind echos in the chimney. Chris slept right through till about 5:30 or so.

Reports are Galveston and Port Arthur look bad. We have not seen anything yet. More later today!

What To Do, What To Do?

2008-09-12T19:48:00.002-05:00

7:45 PM- Ike we are patiently waiting for you. We have some fermented hops and barley, and a lovely concoction of Bacardi, lime, and mint, tons of food, and no party! Where are you? I know, I know, you are taking your time getting here, gathering strength, making some great displays of waves hitting the seawall in Galveston.

I do wish you would hurry and get here, though. Dump your rain and move on. Oh and thanks for dumping Geraldo on his keister!

Is Ike One of the Lehman Brothers?

2008-09-12T11:08:00.005-05:00

I added some links over to the side. I'll add more as I find them.

Storm Pulse so you can track the hurricane.
Gary's Buoy is a buoy out in the gulf that is over a pipeline platform he installed last year - fun to watch the wave height as long possible.
Houston Wind by Zip Code allows you to see what the different areas around town are expecting.

And of course I'll take pics and post as I can.

The grocery store was stocked back up again this morning. Some water and some bread, etc. No ice though. I went back because all I needed was oregano - forgot it last night so we can make Italian Beef. Picked up a large package of bolio rolls (kind of like hoagie rolls but crustier), a loaf of fresh white bread (smelled so good it called my name!) and an additional case of water.

We put most of the water in the freezer so that when the power goes out we can keep the freezers and fridges cold still. I am also emptying the ice maker regularly, into ziploc bags and storing them in the freezer. Will most likely make one more Randall's run since we also forgot the most important thing for "hunkering down"! Corona! How could I forget that?

Anyway - 10:30 AM and the sun is still shining, it is hot and breezy here. Looks like a typical August day. Weird feeling though, remembering that everyone else is going about their daily routine wherever they are, while we are scurrying about making preps for the storm. Lehman Brothers is falling, Merril Lynch is down over 17 points, and the world keeps turning.

Gentlemen - Start Your Engines!

2008-09-12T07:09:00.002-05:00

Let the hype begin! Twenty four hour coverage that actually began yesterday.

A reporter standing next to the beach where a large 4x8 was laying, looking rather weathered, saying "This was a art of someone's house." Then a few minutes later another reporter in a different location standing on a pier that has already been partly swept away by the increasing waves, pointing out the missing part that had 4x8's looking suspiciously like the one shown earlier.

Galveston is already getting flooded as water goes into the bay and can not get out, flooding from back to front. Looks like about 6-12 inches of water on the roads on the bayside of the island. Seawall Blvd still looks fine, waves are looking spectacular, crashing in. I could get some great photos! And if you are on the island at this point, you are there to stay.

Models have the track going right up I-45 as it makes landfall, so - Michelle - get ready for some rain!

Have You Ever Seen Rain?

2008-09-11T20:54:00.004-05:00

I should make a play list of rain songs for this weekend. Suggestions? CCR - have You Ever Seen Rain, REO - Riding the Storm Out, Doors - Riders On the Storm, Jackson Browne - You Love the Thunder...I need suggestions. Just no (c)rap. I need something to do instead of lalundry or grading papers.

Most of the districts around the Houston area have cancelled school for tomorrow, heeding the request of Mayor White. It most likely will start raining fairly hard around the early afternoon, which could make getting kids home difficult. Not to mention, lots of parents will most likely just keep kids home anyway, and that is bad for us in terms of average daily attendance and federal money.

So now we sit and watch to see if Ike pulls a Rita. Three years ago, Hurricane Rita was threatening the area, and there was a mass exodus of EVERYONE in Galveston and Houston, and even some people in San Antonio and Austin. Schools were closed for 4 days - 2 days before the hurricane, 1 day of hurricane, and 1 day after hurricane. Rita did not even come close to Houston and we had to make up all 4 days of missed school. So far this year, however, most of the predictions about 24 hours out have been pretty much accurate. So we shall see what the 10PM update shows and go from there.

We really don't need to leave though. We are far enough inland and high enough above sea level that we won't see any storm surge flooding at all. We will get good hard rain, winds about 60-70 mph, most likely, and power outages. When Alicia hit in '83 power was out for about 10-12 hours. This time we have a gas stove and a gas grill, so we can still eat real food! Gary got an extra tank today for the grill, along with some batteries. Groceries are OK already, having just restocked from our return from Beijing, and we will put all the water bottles in the freezer so the freezers stay cold even if power goes out. Cars have full tanks of gas (I had to drive around a bit to find some,and the station started closing pumps just after I finished.) and all we need to do next is make sure the battery back ups for the TV's are OK.

So that is all for now. More later! Stay dry!

Ike and Spaghetti Predictions

2008-09-10T22:02:00.003-05:00

So we are changing the direction of this blog today!

Ike is not even here and President Bush has already declared all the coastal areas disaster areas.

Right now Ike is on track to hit land somewhere between Corpus and Houston. The more it turns North, the closer the dirty side is to us. While we will not get huge damage, we are expecting more and more rain if Ike moves more north, probably some good wind as well. Brazoria County has a mandatory evacuation starting tomorrow morning. The district has cancelled all classes and activities over the weekend, so I will not have to go to my ROPES update. Oh darn!

Here is a great website to track the hurricane.

http://www.stormpulse.com/

Jet lag is officially a thing of the past. I now can only blame the fact that I am almost over 50 as the only reason I am sleepy sometimes. We have been enjoying BBQ and Mexican food the last 2 weeks. Maybe this weekend we will feel like getting Chinese food again. It will not be as good as Jenna's though. Sigh!

Time to get back to grading papers! Stay dry everyone!
Go Cubs Go!!!

Laura