decorations

It's a gloomy overcast day. I didn't get called to sub so I put out a few Christmas decorations. I plan to spend the afternoon reading The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.This is the first fiction book for me in a long time, but I have to say I am enjoying it. I like a long thick book with a lot of characters.

martha stewart ornament

a Martha Stewart ornament I made with second graders



Today's a beautiful day and I'm not going to waste it crowded into a germy old mall. I haven't walked since my illness and I suddenly have a burst of energy that I don't want to waste shopping. Besides, It's not even December yet.

thanksgiving prayer

God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, You looked upon all that You created and declared it good. Grant that I might regard your creation with esteem and appreciation, seeing You at work in every daily operation. Help me to give thanks as I recognize Your loving work in all abundant blessings. Most of all, let me see not only Your creation but also its redemption, through Jesus Christ.

winning ticket

Yes! I'm going to the lottery today to cash in my winning ticket! If I had one more number I could have won really big, 2.1 million dollars. Still I won what I consider a sizable amount and for a poor substitute teacher, the unexpected win is quite thrilling!

cacti and prayer

One is blooming, one is not.

Dear Jesus, Great Physician of both body and soul, thank you for restoring my health. I'm eighty percent!



did you miss me...

Wow, I feel like I'm finally back among the living! After a bout of walking pneumonia and stomach flu I've been camping out on the couch for awhile.
 When I get the flu I always get dizzy and pass out. Yesterday, I was letting the dog in and down I went, right in the middle of the foyer... so I have a sore head, bruised elbow, and purple tongue from biting it as a result of the fall. I hate being sick. And I had to cancel a day of subbing in my favorite second grade classroom today.
But I got to watch Oprah's Favorite Things show while sipping chamomile tea and munching on oyster crackers and I started reading a new book, Adventures in Yellowstone by M. Mark Miller.  

six syllables

staying in
cough cough cough

geo boards, day 22

I was very impressed, three and four year olds playing and making shapes with geo boards and rubber bands. I can remember using geo boards with second graders and they were either not interested or extremely bored  (no pun intended!) with the whole concept of making shapes with rubber bands. Why not shoot it across the room, maybe somebody will shoot it back to me. 
We also stomped feet to High Stepping Horses and pounded golf tees into a huge pumpkin left over from Halloween.
You could almost forget the fact that most of them are non-verbal, wear pull ups and are diagnosed autistic.

poppy seed bread

• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons poppy seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
• 1 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/8 cup oil (canola or whatever)
• 3 cups flour    

Glaze:

• 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
• 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1'4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar

Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Add poppy seed, flavorings, milk and oil. lightly grease 3 eight inch loaf pans (use whatever size, it doesn't matter). Add flour, a cup @ a time. Fill pans 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool. Mix glaze ingredients together well, then drizzle over the loaves.

This is a recipe that I received from a fellow teacher (a Baptist minister's wife) years ago. I like it because it does not have lemon in it. Today I have to make it for something going on at church which proves I really have turned into my mother!

being honest

Next Monday Matt Lauer is going to interview George Bush. I must find something else to do that day.

dewey

It's sunny outside today but the wind is so whippy I just feel like staying put. I was called earlier to sub at the preschool but I declined because it's not how I planned to spend this day. Yesterday I picked up five books from the library, Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron among them. Since the first book about Dewey is my all-time favorite animal book I knew that I wanted to spend the day reading the second one written about him. I've always been fond of animals but I think as I've gotten older, I'm just nuts about them. Like that commercial on television where the polar bear travels to suburbia to hug the man who is driving the new all-electric car. Bears, especially polar bears, I can't get enough of them. Is anybody else like that? 

third grade: day 21

What can I say, any day I'm standing in front of a classroom full of sweet kids I feel like a teacher again. My favorite thing was sharing the book, Two Bobbies, written by Kirby Larson. This book is about a dog and a cat who survive Hurricane Katrina. They rely on each other and although the story does have a happy ending there are some sad parts as well. I warned the kids that I may cry at the end if the two Bobbies don 't make it but I was able to hold it together.
I almost cried earlier in the day when I looked down and discovered my new Barse bracelet was missing. I found it later on the parking lot.
Thank you Jesus for helping me find my new bracelet. Thank you for allowing me to help third graders learn today.

me day

When I'm not scheduled to sub I tend to spend my days just doing "me" things, like watching Martha Stewart make a Mississippi Mud Pie, or pulling on my silk underwear and going for a long hike in the woods. Sometimes I crave a day without words or explanations about why I'm doing what I'm doing.
I do have to remember to vote though. This is the day that River City decides whether to go "smoke-free." I hope it passes!

the giants

The San Francisco Giants are up against the Texas Rangers in the World Series this year. The Rangers were once owned by George Bush, that means that I am pulling heavily for the Giants to win! Go San Fran! Beat their pants off!