Weed Whackers...Aisle Nine.

While standing in line at the grocery store, I noticed the lady behind me.  Why, you ask?  She had plastic eyelashes.

Plastic. Eyelashes.

Not regular false lashes where you can at least see some lash definition.  These were...well....Mr. Potato Head lashes.  They looked like plastic eyelash mittens.  Or Saul Rubinek's eyebrows.

So, there I am...covertly staring...trying not to laugh and biting my tongue to keep from asking the obvious questions...

Do you have a mirror at your house?

What are you pet caterpillers' names??

Your neck can bench press HOW much???

I know.  I need therapy.

I Don't Do New Year's Resolutions...

I don't do New Year's resolutions...  That is not to say that I don't have goals and ambitions or things that I would like to accomplish during the course of a year.  I just don't usually contemplate them at the beginning of the year. I'm more apt to set goals around my birthday...

However, I just happened to view my own blogs and realized that this last year was kind of miserly in terms of posts.  I know that there were several times this last year that I said the phrase, "I gotta blog about this..." and yet those stories are not here. That makes me sad.

There is so much that has happened in my life since May that has been influenced by the distress of my job.  And my job took over my life.  Literally.  I started working 10-15 hours a day.  I stopped blogging. I stopped taking pictures. I stopped travelling. I stopped eating right. I stopped laughing.  And that has got to stop.

I'm not quite sure how to accomplish the taking back of my life.  Maybe the first step is in acknowledging that I am not ok with this.  So...I have taken that first step.  I'll let you know when I figure out what the second step is.

Is My Head Really THAT Small??

The first time I realized that I had a small head was while in college.  I was still living at home and my dad had salvaged some football helmets from a middle school thinking that my mom could use them in the dress-up area of her preschool.  My younger brothers were trying to put them on but they weren't going over anyone's ears.  I grabbed one and went to set it on my head...we were all quite surprised when the helmet plopped down to my shoulders.  And even more surprised when I could turn my head back and forth...without the helmet moving.


Now, fastforward a few years...as you know from my previous post, I am in need of glasses.  I have had my exam and yesterday (Black Friday) I went shopping for frames.  I took a friend with me and we went to four different places. During the course of the first three, we learned what shapes and colors to stay away from.  However, when we got to the fourth place, some of those shapes and colors were suddenly working.  Then I noticed that they seemed smaller.  So we went to the youth/kids area and suddenly everything is looking good...  Anyway, seems I have a lot more options on what looks good when the glasses actually fit my face.


That being said, I am buying a pair on Monday.

Getting Old...

Most of the time I can avoid the realization.  I have a job that allows me to play catch and four-square, sing silly songs, lead messy science experiments and sleep-in late in the summer.  On my own time I play computer games and go on adventures with my camera and exporations with my car.  Mostly, I don't have time to think about getting old...

But sometimes the realization smacks me in the face.

I have been getting headaches lately, that are directly connected to the times that I am reading, grading or planning lessons.  So, yesterday, I had my first ever eye-exam.  I need glasses.  Not just any glasses. Bifocals.  (Nothing says, "old" like bifocals...unless it's trifocals.) I need support reading and I have an astigmatism.

Now you might be thinking, "Nobody has to know you have bifocals...just get the no-line lenses."  But the doctor tells me that the no-line lenses cause waviness in your peripheral vision.  Since I am not willing to sacrifice any of my peripheral vision...in my photography or my teaching (75% of all inappropriate behavior in the classroom takes place in my peripheral vision.)...I find myself not only having to admit to myself that I am getting old but I also have to announce it to the world.

So, I will be out with all of the crazy people who enjoy shopping during the holidays, trying to find a pair of frames that will just say "old"...not "old nerd". 

By the way, this will take place on Black Friday.  Yeah.  I don't know what I'm thinking either.  If nothing else, it will give me something to blog about.

Just Plain Ugly

I can't tell you how stressed I am.  I wish I could.  However, doing so would be irresponsible and severely lacking in good judgment and self-control.  AND could ultimately lead to more stress if I ended up losing my job over a momentary "vent".  So I will stick to generalizations.

I am tired of working 12-14 hours a day to barely keep my head above the water. Sick of being micro-managaed. Frustrated with the fact that there is no communication but you can be reprimanded when you don't know something.  I seriously do not know how much more of this I can take before I break.

If I do break, I won't be the first.  Three others have already broken and moved on...

Long Time, No Post...

Hey all,

I'm still here.  I'm exhausted...but I'm still here.  I underwent a major career shift this summer.  It may not seem that way to some but believe me...major shift.  Last year I was a teacher.  I taught Bible/Christian Worldview and Logic to junior high students.  Two subjects I am passionate about to students just slightly younger than the high school students I thoroughly enjoy.

This year I am a teacher.  I teach Bible and Science to 4th and 5th graders, Spelling and Handwriting to 4th graders and Math to 5th graders.  I am still passionate about Bible but Science?... and Math?...not so much. Spelling was my very worst subject in school and I don't even know how to write in cursive...  It's killing me.

The amount of classroom management, procedures, directions, and guidance I need to provide this year has tripled.  Last year I was able to take students who had basic knowledge and lead them deeper.  This year I have to teach the basic knowledge.  I don't know how to do that. 

I am spending 70 to 90 hours a week at work so far this year.  I am really tired and do not have a lot of time for things like....blogging, let alone things that keep me calm...like photography, reading, or road-tripping.  I will try to check in now and again.

On a final note:
4th and 5th grade certainly provide a plethera of blog fodder...if I could just find the time to share...

Word of the Day

Today has been brought to you by the word "disintegrated" and the word "horizonical"....which needed to be disintegrated...