Three Minutes at a Time

It's not working out well

2011-02-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

My cockamamie plan, that is. What the heck did I expect? Oh, wait a second...for it to work. At least kinda. So right now, it's 4:30, and I'm hungry, and I have roughly 500 calories left for the day. So, as I see it, my choices are:

1) Screw it.
2) Eat a lot of carrots, drink a lot of water, and try like hell to stay under budget.
3) Go moderate, go a little over budget, and try to burn it off tonight.

Go Packers!

2011-02-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

Yay! So, last night was the superbowl. And I was doing GREAT...until the queso came out. Dangit, I'm a sucker for some Velveeta and rotel. And I didn't go back for triple helpings (like normal), but that one serving did put me over calories for yesterday. And so what do I do? Go home and burn those few excess calories off, right?

Ummm...no. I had a piece of pizza. Dangit.

So herein lies my pattern...I stay under calories, am doing just fine, until usually AFTER dinner. And I wanna eat something else. Not usually cuz I'm hungry...just cuz it happens to be one of my most favorite foods in the world, or cuz dangit, that smells good! And then . And low and behold, that's exactly what the scale showed today....2 pound gain. Boom.

So today I'm trying one of those cockamamie plans I had. I'll let you know how it turns out tonight.

And now its Saturday

2011-02-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted since Tuesday. Whoops. Wednesday I stayed just under calories. Thursday, I did not. Like, by a lot. It was baaaad. Went to OTB with the ladies, then came home and had donuts and milk, and then the hubby wanted Taco Bueno (after we went driving in the snow!!). That's something I HAVE to work on...not eating when he does, and not feeling resentful when he eats around me. Sux. So much of my eating is emotional. They say loosing weight is just math...3500 calories less or burned is 1 pound lost. Not so simple for me.

On the good side, I stayed under on Friday, a true snow day, and again today. But I did so by sleeping late and not doing much all day. I've had some pretty cockamamie ideas the last couple of days (Ummm...when's the last time I had a happy pill? Need to quit screwing around and get back on a schedule with those so I can remember if I've had them, and keep up with them!). One obviously being, if I sleep a whole lot, I won't eat a lot of calories, right? I know...doesn't work that way. The other being, pick one food, and eat all of your calories that day in that food. My idea is that after 3 or 4 servings of one thing (even ice cream), I'm going to be sick of it and stop eating. But then won't that just throw me off into eating whatever I want even worse? And what do I do...plan what's for dinner, but make it in advance and eat it all day preceding dinner? WTF, right? But, at least (I say in my head), if you get sick and tired of carrots on Monday, that's fine...eat your calories in apples or ice cream or something else Tuesday.

One day (I can't remember which) where all my meals were great, very reasonable in calories, and so I had like 1100 calories to "play" with...snack on. And I still came in barely on target. I think that's it...I'm a total snacker. I need to find a way to use that to my advantage.

And now, tomorrow is the Super Bowl. Hmph. We'll have to see how that goes.

Snow day....

2011-02-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

...minus any snow. Seriously, we could have gone in today. What about tomorrow, when the wind chill is gonna be below zero? All I know is, I better have some clean sweats.

But enough about me. On to...me! I took a long, lovely "nap" this morning. I know conventional wisdom says to get up, get productive, and then take a nap in the afternoon. I'm just not conventional :)

This afternoon, I ate lunch (ahem...ok, 4 mini donuts and a glass of milk. But I stopped at 4! Old me would have eaten the WHOLE BAG!!), cleaned out my baking dishes cabinet, started dinner, and cleaned out the fridge. And despite my Wii absolutely refusing to cooperate, managed to do 15 minutes of Just Dance 2. I found some videos of the dance moves, and followed along...with the controller in my hand :)

So those are my victories for the day...stopped at 4 donuts (1 serving!), did a little moving (no matter what!) and made a healthy turkey chili for dinner (still working on the calorie count...but still!)

Onward and upward!

*Edited to add--after dinner, I ate another 8 donuts...2 more servings. Miraculously, I still came in under my calorie budget for the day by 20 cals, according to my DailyPlate. But still...wanted to be honest, at least with myself!

Today's Victories

2011-01-31T18:05:00.000-08:00

Other than a weight loss since Friday? Glad you asked.

Stayed under my calorie budget for today
Drank 8 glasses of water or hot tea today (ok, finishing the last one now!)
Had a few "3 minute" moments...

made dinner instead of caving and going out
made some tea after school instead of chowing down on chips or cookies;
took the dog out for a short walk.

Did I hope for more? Yep. Is it better than nothing? A step ( or 3) in the right direction? Yep. So tomorrow...do a little more.

Consider this my first post.

2011-01-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

The Crazy Teacher never really was, and now it is no more. I'm tempted to delete the posts, but I think they'll stay up for now.

Welcome to the first post of "Three Minutes."

This is the first post of my weight loss journey, to share with friends and family, to keep myself accountable, to keep going when I don't want to any more.

I am almost exactly two weeks away from my 30th birthday. This morning, I weighed in at 316.7 pounds. Sounds like a lot? Consider that I'm 5'4". Yeah, that makes it worse. Second consideration? Friday I was at 318.2. So at least we're starting off in the right direction.

I am calling this blog "Three Minutes at a Time" because I am fat the reason I think a lot of people are...laziness. I want my life to change, but I don't want to do the work to change it. I hate exercising, plus spending an extra hour driving, changing, showering in addition to a 30 or 60 minute workout. But I can committ three minutes at a time to myself. Originally, that meant exercising three minutes at a time, how ever many times a day I could get in. That's one song, one burst of energy, one whatever. So no, not three minutes a day...lots of three minutes, as many as I can wrangle.

And yes, I know the research...you need to get your heart rate up at least X number of minutes a day, blah blah blah. But this is more than I was doing. And I know that 3 minutes of exercise will suddenly not be as hard, and then turn into 5 minutes, and so on and so forth. I'm not looking for "perfect." I'm looking for "better than nothing at all."

Secondly, there are a lot of other ways to take care of yourself three minutes at a time. Chop an extra veggie, and add it to something. Make a cup of hot tea instead of buying a soda. Wash your measuring cups and spoons so you can measure and track your meals. Sit down and log your meals instead of checking FB for the 40th time.

So, join me for the ride.

Texas Sta R Chart And Robinson Primary Data

2009-12-01T16:41:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Texas Sta R Chart And Robinson Primary Data

View more presentations from nhollingsworth.

Teaching and Learning

2009-12-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

The Texas Long Range Technology Plan is the state's vision for technology use in Texas Public Schools by the year 2020. It consists of four sections--Teaching and Learning, Teacher Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. The Texas STaR Chart grades each district and campus based on progress in these four domains.

The first area, Teaching and Learning, focuses on desired student behaviors. In the modern classroom, students will be able to connect to real world learning resources 24/7/365. Learning will be collaborative, creative, and focus on communication and problem solving, all in order to prepare the student for a lifetime of learning in a global, digital marketplace.

According to TEA (2008), STaR chart scores between 2006 and 2008 have shown 5% of districts have moved from early and developing tech, with a corresponding 5% increase in districts labeled advanced tech (p. 39).

Room for growth still exists. Teachers hesitate to completely individualize lessons and activities, balking at the extra work involved. Teachers are also notorious for hesitating to adopt new technologies, with the argument that the traditional methods have always been good enough. But for the students entering school today, who already know how to use a computer, iPod, cellphone, and how to surf the web, one size fits all education will not satisfy them for long. School districts must invest the extra time, professional development, and personnel into the goals outlined in the Texas Long Range Technology Plan in order to keep up with today's students, and provide them with the skills and tools to become tomorrow's technological leaders.

Reference:

Texas Education Agency. (2008, December). Progress report on the long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/comm/leg_reports/2008/08pr_to_lrpt.pdf

I'm...back?

2009-05-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

Am I ever going to blog consistently? Who knows. But I do like to come across this thing every once in a while and swear to do better. Hey, at least it is like a journal, showing me a snapshot of where I was a year (or more!) ago.

This year? Still eating out wayyyy too much. Grrr. When we work on it, we are great. The problem is, we eventually say "screw it" and eat out twice a day for a couple of weeks. The hubby's crazy schedule doesn't help....not that is crazy by design...he is just a workaholic. Good thing we don't have kids yet.

So, I've been counting calories (good gravy, am I OOOOOOOOOver for today!!!), and I've been doing great with that. So maybe I'll start blogging more. Maybe everytime I sit down to catalog my cheesy sins (and yes...I am fat because of the cheese. I never realized how much I ate!!!), I'll post, too. Probably ramblings. Maybe I'll go back to participating in Mr. Linky type things. Who knows. Maybe it'll be another year before I'm hear again. If so...right now, life is good. Just wanted me to know that.

Love--blossomteacher

Menu Plan Monday

2008-03-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not posting this on Monday, so sue me. Monday is not when I plan my menus, so getting them up before Monday just makes sense, too. Maybe this week I'll be somewhere before number 200 on Mr. Linky.

In no particular order:
Homemade pizza
Chicken stirfry
French onion chops and green beans
Pecan crusted pollack & spinach salad (pollack is on sale at HEB)
Oven fried chicken and corn souffle
Marlboro Man chicken sandwiches
Parmesan chicken and pasta or rice

Frugality of convenience foods

2008-03-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

Let's face it...one of the first pieces of advice when cutting back on spending is "quit eating out." And hubby and I have definitely cut wayyyyy back. Another corollary of that is to cut out convenience foods...make things from scratch instead of buying prepackaged food, for monetary as well as health reasons.

As I sit here and do my weekly grocery-ad trawling, and I saw that HEB has wings on sale. 6.99 for 6 servings of heat-and-eat wings. Now I am pretty sure getting raw wings and your own fixings would be cheaper, but I am seriously thinking about adding these to my grocery list for 2 reasons.

1) I've never made wings from scratch, but I understand you have to fry them. I hate to fry, I'm not good at it, and I'm afraid I'd just ruin the whole thing, which is not frugal. I always joke that when I make a new recipe, I have to budget not only for the ingredients, but for a box of chicken in case I screw the whole thing up.

2) I've been craving wings, but they are stupidly expensive. 10 for $5 at Little Ceasars?? I know WingStop and Buffalo Wild Wings are even more expensive...more like $7 for 10. I've never seen anything so ridiculous...except a $10 bowl of spaghetti. (But that's another post.) And I can get 6 servings for $7? As long as a serving is larger than 1 2/3 of a wing, I'm good. That's my kind of wings, thank-you-very-much!

Happy munching!--Blossomteacher

This is so me

2008-03-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

2008-03-04T17:17:00.001-08:00

I like to bake, a lot. And today at school, I found myself with nearly 2 cups of pineapple juice and the light syrup from canned mandarin oranges. (My kids and I were making fruit kabobs!) Instead of pouring all that good flavor down the drain, I found a bowl with a lid and saved it all. I'm planning on using it this weekend when I bake, partly as a substitute for some of the water/milk in my recipes, partly as a substitute for some of the sugar. I've done this before with strawberry bread and it was sooo good. I can't wait to see what comes out!

Menu Plan Monday

2008-03-01T18:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's Menu Plan Monday again! This weekend before I went grocery shopping, I asked hubby if he wanted anything special, like I always do. He asked for frozen stir-fry veggies, because "we need to eat more veggies!" LOL! My thoughts exactly, babe!

In no particular order:

Orange Glazed Chicken and green beans
Homemade pizza
Chicken Stirfry
Homemade hamburgers
Chicken, either this or that way, and salad
Pork Chops and Macaroni
Oven fried chicken and potato salad

Frugal Friday—Muffins

2008-02-29T16:39:00.000-08:00

Today is Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood. My new frugal habit is—muffins!

I stopped buying “snacky” things at the grocery store around Thanksgiving, when I started baking cookies every weekend. Since Christmas, and since I decided I was burned out on cookies, muffins have been our snacking mainstay. I make a big batch of muffins on Saturday afternoon, bag them up, and freeze them. That way, no matter how quickly or slowly they are eaten, they won’t go bad. They are perfect for afternoon snacking or a quick breakfast.

I like experimenting with new recipes I find online and in my cookbooks. Last weekend was banana nut muffins and a new recipe for maple walnut muffins. (I’ll post a pic the next time I make them!) This weekend I’m hoping to find and try a savory muffin to try, and make another batch of the maple muffins…I gave most of them to a teacher friend, but the one I had was so good.

This new habit has helped me keep our grocery costs well under $200/month for 3 adults. I know that is still high for some of you coupon mavens, but I am just getting started with couponing, so I’m still hoping to shave that down. So, break out (or invest in) a couple of muffin pans, flip through your recipe books and favorite sites, and have fun!

Pencil problems

2008-02-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

It is the 118th day of school. We have had 2 pencil cups since the first day...one for old broken pencils to go into, and one you get sharp pencils out of. This morning I have had not 1, but 2 kids take a pencil out of the broken pencil cup, go back to their seats, and then complain because it was BROKEN! I just stood back and watched the whole thing. Dear Lord, help me.

Easy taco soup

2008-02-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Alternate Title: Waste not, want not

This is my first Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Yay! (Oh wait...it's my first everything so far, so nothing new :)

I make my taco soup very simply...I actually call it chicken salsa soup. Chicken, salsa, and some frozen mixed veggies. Top with corn chips and cheese if you want, but not necessary.

I had followed Heather's advice to make baked chimichangas, and threw some frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs in the crockpot with some salsa. When I took the chicken out to shred, I noticed that I still had plenty of diluted salsa left, which I hated to waste. I threw in a couple more thighs, some more salsa, and a cup of frozen mixed veggies. Turn the crockpot back on, and voila...you have chicken salsa soup with practically no extra work! Hubby said it was the best "taco" soup he'd ever had :) And for about $2 for the whole pot ($1-chicken, $0.50-salsa, $0.50-veggies), cheap-to-boot!!

So my kitchen tip for this Tuesday...look at what you'd normally throw out. You never know what you can make of it!

Love--Blossom

Menu Plan Monday

2008-02-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's Menu Plan Monday again! Let's see if I can get this straight this time :) If you see some holdovers from last week, that's nothing new...hubby and I sometimes get on different eating schedules, so instead of cooking dinner, we "fend" for ourselves...leftovers, sandwiches, etc. Plus, I forgot that my parents were taking us out to eat on Wednesday!

Sunday lunch: Marlboro Man chicken sandwiches
Sunday dinner: Orange Blossom Chicken and mashed potatoes
Monday: Lasagna, salad, and toast
Tuesdsay: Orange Glazed Chicken and green beans (we prefer the chicken to the pork chops!)
Thursday: Baked Chimichangas and mexican rice
Friday: Hamburgers and chips
Saturday lunch: Grilled ham and cheese and taco soup (I'll post my taco soup recipe tomorrow!)
Saturday dinner: Pork Chops and macaroni

Most people have a "Clean out the Refridgerator Night," but since I teach, most of our leftovers go to school for me the next day. I neither have the a) time or b) money to go out to eat frequently! I'll be posting about that later, and my taco soup recipe will be for Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's Recipes!

I'm so stupid

2008-02-18T19:04:00.001-08:00

I went and read the instructions to MPM after I posted and linked. We'll try this the correct way next week!

Menu Plan Monday

2008-02-18T18:48:00.001-08:00

I want to start posting my menus, but the days are just for reference. We really just keep a list on the fridge of what we can make this week, and pick nightly. Needless to say, most of our dinners are not fancy :) Check out today's Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday: Smoked Sausage & Mac and Cheese
Tuesday: Lasagna, Salad, and Garlic Toast
Wednesday: Snack night...queso and sausage balls
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie
Friday: Baked Chimichangas
Saturday: Homemade pizza

Lunches for me: leftover mac and cheese and quesadillas (not together!)
Oooh, I am sooooo lacking in veggies :(

Holey Crikey

2008-02-18T18:32:00.001-08:00

I can't believe the last time I posted was last June! Just goes to prove that this blog is going to be sporadic, to say the least. It was good to go back and re-read my old posts, though...I just started buying cereal again last week after that shopping juggernaut in June! Plus, without even realizing it, I had accomplished a couple of my goals. Not hardly enough, but some.

I've realized that if I post here and comment on other blogs, I can drive up my traffic and possibly make some blogging money (and thereby drop my second job :), so here goes nothing.

I intend to blog about the same things I read about and do everyday...teaching, cooking, and trying to save money. At the moment, I can't think of an original idea that I can write about that hasn't been done in the PF blogoverse, but I can try:)

God bless!--Blossomteacher

Insanely Cheap Cereal!

2007-06-01T18:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, so yet another post that has nothing to do with me being a teacher :) I promise, I'll get around to it. But this week, I stumbled across the craziest thing at the grocery store, and I took full advantage of it. I'm still coming down from the high of getting name-brand, really-good-stuff cereal for 49 cents a box!!!

Here's how it worked. First, the Brookshire's grocery store near my school ran a special on 6 types of General Mills cereal this week...99 cents a box. A really good deal to start with. Some weeks ago, I started printing off coupons, and printed off several that were $1 off 2 boxes of General Mills cereals. The Brookshire's ad said nothing about coupons, so I assumed they would accept them...and boy, did they. Between my little brother, myself, and my husband, we bought 40 boxes of cereal 4 boxes at a time (the limit was 5, but with the $1 off 2 boxes, we had to go with 4 at a time) over several shopping trips. Now, here's the great part (yes, it gets better than Cheerios for 49 cents a box!!!!)...for each 3 boxes of cereal we bought, the register printed out a coupon for a FREE GALLON OF MILK!! Plus, for each transaction, we also got a coupon for $2 off 5 boxes of General Mills Cereal. The coupon loop never ends!!!! So, we kept going through the line, kept getting more coupons, until we finally had more than enough. We've given the rest of our $1 off 2 boxes coupons to a friend, and we have called all our friends with small children to tell them about the awesome deal. I'm even offering them my "$2 off 5 boxes" coupons to get them started on the savings cycle! We now have enough cereal to get us through probably the next calendar year, and enough milk to get us through the summer, even though we will have to freeze it all!

Here's the financial breakdown:

40 boxes of cereal at $2.79 = $111.60
8 gallons of milk at $3.75 = $30.00
(Think I lost a couple of coupons) :(
Total $141.60

What we paid: $19.60

For a savings of: $122.00

And I know...buying something just because it is an incredible deal doesn't save you a dime if you wouldn't normally buy it. But that's the thing...we do buy milk and cereal every single week. It is my hubby's favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. With each box containing 15 servings, and counting the free milk (or, not counting milk at all, since you can snack on cereal), the cost per serving comes out to 3.27 cents. Insane!

Now I've just got to go back after I finish summer school each day next week and pick up a few of those free gallons of milk at a time!

101 in 1001

2007-05-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

**Update 2/18/08--I had totally forgotten about this project, but I've accomplished a few! Yay! I've marked those very few in blue, and the ones where the deadline has passed or are dropped in red, and I'm going to pick up and try to knock out a few more!**

I guess I have fallen prey to spending too much time online, like so many people, but out of that time I have learned lots of good ideas and new things. One project I stumbled across on The Simple Dollar (but originally from Triplux) is 101 goals in 1001 days. The basic guidelines are these:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

I never thought 101 goals would be so hard...it seems like I have been setting goals for years, since I learned about them in junior high. So far I only have 62. I had over 70 yesterday, but didn't open the right document when Excel recovered from an error, so those last few are gone. I'm loving the idea behind the project, though...lots of goals, so they can be short term, midterm, or long term. Plus, 1001 days is just short of 3 years...not too soon, but not too far away. If I'm ready to work on one, great. If not, there's always next week or next month or next school year. Anyway, without further ado, here is my list so far. I'll update it as I go. Bold = in progress

1. Loose an average of 1 lb. a week for 1 year. (0/52)
2. Attend Curves every weekday for a year (0/260)--I'm actually gonna cancel my membership, I think. $30 a month is a lot when I don't go!
3. Be able to touch my head to the floor.
4. Be able to do 50 sit-ups without break and in 1 minute. (0/50)
5. Be in bed before 10 p.m. every night for 1 month (1/31).
6. Walk a 1-mile Walk-a-thon (March of Dimes or such)
7. Drink nothing but water for 1 month (0/31)
8. Try one new fruit or veggie every week this summer (0/12) (next summer, ok?)
9. Buy and keep fresh carrots in fridge every week for 2 months for snacking on (2/8)
10. Wash face and moisturize every night for 1 month (0/31)
11. Discreetly contact ten separate managers about the good work a specific employee has done (0/10)
12. Read 10 National Book Award winners or nominees in Children’s Lit. (0/10)
	The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party (Candlewick Press) - M.T. Anderson
	The Penderwicks (Alfred A. Knopf) - Jeanne Birdsall
	The House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer
	Richard Peck – A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories
	When Zachary Beaver Came to Town - Kimberly Willis Holt
	A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle
	Katherine Paterson - The Great Gilly Hopkins
	Lloyd Alexander - The High King
	Westmark - Lloyd Alexander
	One as-of-yet undetermined book
13. Read 10 biographies. (0/10)
	I'm just going to have to feel these out. Just because it is popular right now doesn't mean
	I'm going to automatically put it on the list…I may want to read some "classics."
14. Read 10 non-fiction books (not biographies). (0/10)
	Same as # 11.
15. Watch at least 10 of the AFIs top 100 movies that I haven’t seen. (0/10).
	I've only seen 20 of the top 100. Sad, but then…life is more than movies.
	Singin' in the Rain
	All About Eve
	The Maltese Falcon
	West Side Story
	Tootsie
	Bringing Up Baby
	Citizen Kane
	The Apartment
	Clockwork Orange
	The Manchurian Candidate
16. Write 1 post a week for blog (1/143?)
17. Complete both grocery shopping and laundry on Saturday every week for 3 months (0/9)
18. Wear make-up every school day for 1 school year (0/178)
19. Buy one really nice nightgown that is sexy and comfy…or at least that doesn’t look like a white satin sack on me.
20. Wear something other than tennis shoes or Crocs to school for 1 week. (5/5) (Got some comfy sandals! Yay!)
21. Visit local museum
22. Not play Spider Solitare at all for 1 month (0/31)
23. Make each recipe in my Recipezaar cookbook. (0/71)
24. Read all of the unread books on my bookcase.
25. Read 10 other novels I've been wanting to
	California Demon
	Harry Potter # 7
	The Yiddish Policeman's Union
	Gregory Maguire's books
	Phillipa Gregory's historical novels
	The Invention of Hugo Cabret
	New "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" novel
	Hitchhiker's Guide books
26. Read at least 1 book about the difference about Shias and Sunnis, or on Islam and the Middle East in general
27. Try at least one series that I have wondered about (Pendragon, etc.) (Pendragon...didn't like it)
28. Turn off computer by 8:00 p.m. every night for 1 month (0/31)
29. Have all debt paid off except mortgage ($0/$16,000) (cc & car payment)
30. Have a $5,000 nest egg. ($0/$5000)
31. Donate $10 to charity for each item on this list I do not complete.
32. Take care of library bill and start using library by Fall 2007
33. For 1 month, spend nothing but bills and groceries (no eating out, nothing for school, nothing for house, nothing for hubby, etc.)
34. Buy washer and dryer.
35. Spend less than $100 on a weekend visit to Dallas. (Cuz I was too broke to spend more! Hah!)
36. Complete at least 2 secret shops (if available) every time I go to Denton or Corpus to help defray the cost of gas (Quit secret shopping)
37. Pay off Mr. Electric bill. ($1800/$3,000)
38. Do 2005 taxes (sad, I know).
39. Leave 10 love notes for my husband for no reason at all. (0/10)
40. Take at least 1 impromptu trip a year (0/3)
41. Complete 1 new unit per year (1/3)--I'm working on 1 now!
42. Make my bed every night before bed for 1 month (0/31).
43. Sweep the whole house daily for 1 month (0/31)
44. Have plumber install plumbing for washer.
45. Make and put up a piece of art in living room between vases.
46. Fill vases with attractive faux floral arrangement (or anything, honestly!!)
47. Take down Christmas tree. (I did, but then we put it back up...and didn't decorate it. And now it is naked and in the dining room.)
48. Take down Christmas tree immediately after Christmas in 2007.
49. Put up curtains and tie-backs over closet in bedroom
50. Put up blinds in bathroom
51. Replace blinds in living room, dining room, office, and kitchen (0/8)
52. Choose paint colors for kitchen
53. Hire someone to paint kitchen :)
54. Choose new flooring for kitchen
55. Have new flooring laid in kitchen.
56. Have new flooring laid in bathroom
57. Digitize Mamau’s photo collection and upload for family access
58. Have a cache of 50 cards for various purposes (homemade). (0/50)
59. Fix music archiving problem
60. Buy teacher birthday presents before school begins and keep at school so I don’t have to remember to buy them or bring them from home!
61. Clean off desk and lay out lesson plans for next day every day for 2 months (0/40)
62. Have a student teacher or make 2 substantive, helpful posts a week to KinderKorner listserve for 1 school year. (I'm counting this because I am a mentor this year! A cruddy one, I think, but still...you haven't met my class. I've had other irons in the fire, trust me)
63. Learn to sew well enough to make a skirt.

Hello World!

2007-05-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first post on "The Crazy Teacher." It is my first blog, and I'm not sure if I will have enough discipline to keep it up, or if anyone will ever read it. But that's OK...I think this is more to be cathartic than to be read. And if people read it, then great. If not...oh well.

First about me. As you can tell from the title of the blog, I am a) a little crazy and b) a teacher. Specifically, I teach kindergarten in Texas. If you are a paranoid parent who has found this on Google and are worried that I am your kid's teacher, let me assure you now...I will never post my kids' names, faces, or anything identifying. I am much more likely to rant about the state of the school system, parents, life, and the world in general. So even if I am your kid's teacher...you won't find him or her here. But maybe if you are a parent, or know a parent, or are even thinking about having kids, and you read this, it will make you think about children and their teachers and how different it is to be a kid or raise a kid in today's world. It isn't easy. It never was, actually. But some parents seem to think it is, or should be, and don't/won't/can't put the work required into raising a child to be responsible, polite, and not completely screwed up. Some parents have still got it right, but so many don't seem to have a clue. Even the ones who care and want to. What is scary is the parents who don't care. But I digress. And if you are wondering about life experience...no, I don't have kids. But celibate priests offer marriage counseling, right? Same thing.

The school year is winding down...9 days to go. Anyone who tells you we teachers aren't counting the days is lying. We are :)