Longest Week Ever

This week we had the pleasure of starting Monday and Tuesday with two 12 hour days. Good times, conferences with parents. Always so enlightening those meetings. No need to ask the "why" questions about the kids once you meet the parents!

Now that the week is finally over I think it is time to shake off the stress with a delicious martini and a super hero movie!


Cheers all!

It's the end of the world as we know it

Or at least my frame of reference. Why do the children argue with me, refuse to work and complain about everything? I'm officially old. In my day if the teacher asked, we did. Now I am stuck telling kids I don't argue with them. What happened?

After a particularly bad day, my very good friend and running partner and I decided it must be the demise of the family as we know it. No dads, moms are tired,no one wants to step it up, or something. I'll tell you what, if it doesn't change quick there is going to be one less teacher out there. I'm getting burned out and it's happening fast. I'm not surprised, I've lasted much longer than most these days. Did you know the average teacher quits in the first 5 yeas of their career? It's true. Really, here is what we have to look forward to.

1. A frozen salary with cut days. I haven't had a real raise in 3 years. No, it's not about the money, but this is frustrating.
2. Public outcry for blood. For some reason people hate us. Ouch
3. Kids who no longer think they have to listen or comply
4. High blood pressure and increased cancer rates
5. Kids less and less prepared for your grade each year.
6. Looming Test Scores

Good times. I used to think that I was good at this job. I loved it and thought I made a difference. I'm not feeling that anymore. Truth be told I'm not feeling anything anymore. I don't know what happened to change it all. I want to feel happy again. I want to see that gleam in my student's eyes. I want to see the light bulb go on.

Please someone, bring that back. I want to want to be here.

Give me an F

-R-I-D-A-Y!

Normally Friday is one of my favorite words anyway. But this week it's a state-wide in-service day for teachers. What that means is that it is a day in which teachers have the opportunity to take workshops all over the state aimed at bettering their craft. My district in their infinite wisdom decided to make it a non-contract day. This means we don't get paid today. Did I mention most of the workshops cost anywhere from $50 to $500 dollars? My thought is that if I'm not getting paid to work, I'm not going to pay someone else to teach me something. Seems like digging a hole.

I've decided to better my craft today by spending the day playing, catching up on my grad school reading and generally having a fantastic time. How will this improved my student's education as originally intended?

Well, I'll be less likely to be a raging bitch come Monday. In fact, I think I"m thinking happier thoughts about the children and my job already!

Carrot Anyone?

This is my friend Laura and I after the Great Pumpkin Run this morning. Not only did I set a PR today and break the 33 minute mark, but I was also told by another runner that she used me as her pacer and wouldn't let me get out of her sight.

I know right? Crazy talk. I'm always the turtle of the group. The fact that I was a rabbit for someone makes my day. Hell it makes my year! Thank you lady, thank you so much!

Soccer Balls and Pumpkins!

This is Madeleine in the thick of the action today. Watching her is always a great start to a Saturday. How do you follow it up you ask?

With a trip to the pumpkin patch. This was my first trip to a real pumpkin patch. It was also my first time in a corn maze and a hay bale maze. Good times! I highly recommend it! Here are just a few of the offerings:

Zach demonstrating the ill advised hay slide in shorts.
Or:

Madeleine in the tube!
If you prefer a more family filled event there is always the hayride!

Which I loved because the tractor driver totally reminded me of Dad. A big grin, driving a tractor, telling stories to all.
The tractor dropped us of here:

Beautiful don't you think? Certainly Linus would spend Halloween hanging out here waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.

Madeleine with the task of finding the perfect pumpkin.
And so we finally wrapped up our perfect day at the pumpkin patch. Four full size pumpkins in tow, to mini's for fun.
Oh and one moral reminder to me.

Of why I will NEVER eat veal.

LSD: Insight or Insanity?

Prior to watching the fantastic 50s film of same name, I might have thought Insight was the correct answer to that question for using LSD. Thank goodness for my new onset of insomnia which provided me with the opportunity to locate the true answer via all night classic movies. I really feel like I dodged a bullet on that one. Why don't we just show these to the kids anymore? Stupid Nancy Regan with her "Just say no." These films are so much more powerful. I've also got Alcohol: Death behind the Wheel in my DVR ready to continue the enlightenment train.

Guess I have to take LSD and Drink and Drive off my to do list for the day though.

Single Again

Sean has left me in charge of the dog and the house for the weekend while he treks off on his version of what I've deemed a midlife crisis. Stupid mistake on his part that is for sure cause who knows what I'll do. I have control of the bank password and all the vehicles. Let's hope for a sunny weekend. I'll be spending most of it hanging with my bff/sister and the munchkins. So far we have a date with a pumpkin patch and later on our favorite martini bar.

I could possibly see some condo shopping in my future too. Hey, I've got the truck, why waste it?

X'ed

I'm one of only 46 million who can claim the Generation X label. We notoriously turned our back on the establishment and announced that we weren't driven by money. We didn't care about status, we were all about what was real. Maybe that was the problem. The end result is that we are labeled as random, ambiguous, and suffer with contradictory ways. Save the world? Nope, I'm not sure that is in the cards for my generation.

I spent the majority of my twenties job jumping. Granted, I graduated from college during the first collapse of the job market. I think most of us graduated with degrees and ended up pouring coffee at the time. However, at least we had jobs which is better than what is out there right now.

In my 30s I went back to school and got my teaching degree. It has held me for the past 8 years. While I don't see myself in this career for another 20 years, I should be ok for a few more. Every now and again, especially after a particularly challenging day, I want to be done. But most days, I can see myself doing this for a while longer.

Where my Generation X downfall happens is with my fitness. I just can't commit to it. I start something and I stop it. The idea of being accountable to myself is laughable. Apparently I suffer from lower expectations because that is all I can think of that would account for the lack of follow through. My favorite exercise buddy moved away and while we still text our workouts, it doesn't get my ass to the gym on the drive home. My husband has a gym membership too. We've never workout out together. My trainer and I have been hit and miss for months. I'm officially off the wagon these days.


Hand and hand with my lack of commitment to the exercise is my poor body image. I've been unhappy with my weight for about 20 years now. I graduated from high school just over 100 pounds. I got married at about 105. I haven't weighed that for 22 years. I grew up and became a woman and it would be unhealthy for me to be that weight again. Yet, it probably is unhealthy for me to be the weight I currently am. My joints get sore and I'm sure they'd be happier with a little less. A few years ago I joined Weight Watchers and lost 25 pounds. It was great! Since then I've keep it off and lost about 5 more. However, I've been stuck somewhere between 5 and 15 pounds over weight since then. I know what I need to do, I just don't do it.

I was lamenting to my text workout buddy last night that I really need to lose this weight. She texted me the following: "maybe you should go back on WW." Sounds smart right? My response to her was this "well, yes I'd love to go back on WW, but I'd hate to give up control of my binges."

Random, ambiguous & contradictory ways. Guess that sums it up pretty well now doesn't it?

Priorities?

Yesterday was payday. I haven't received a paycheck in 3 months. This year to save money, the district paid us all our summer checks in one big chunk at the end of June. Now, giving me all my summer pay at once was not a good idea. However, I did a great job budgeting it out until we had our Rogue crisis and then all bets were off. So, the end of my summer was spent pinching pennies.

Fast forward to the committee work I did this summer and a tiny raise (which was then offset by cut days) and I received a nice chunk of real money in the bank yesterday. I've been dreaming about what I'd do once I received that check. I thought of shoes, of new clothes, of food not prepared by Sean or myself.

So what did I do with my new found wealth? I bought a hideous day glow yellow running rain jacket so I can be seen now that it is Oregon fall. Dark, wet and cold, yuck. I got it for a song though, so that is awesome. Yay for the clearance rack! Apparently this is last year's model. This year day glow orange is all the rage. No matter. I'm still just trying to figure out what happened to make this a priority for me. Seriously? Ugly by choice?

I guess keeping the demons at bay through running is trumping any idea I may have had about fashion.