More articles by Jacqueline!

Teaching Kindergarten - What Not to Do - "They are people, not your vision of ideal students. Let go of that ideal along with the small things, and you’ll all get along much better." The quote from the article is SOsososososo true!!! At ANY grade level, not just Kindergarten. I think more teachers really need to remember that.

European Burmese Cats: Breed Profile - pretty kitties!

LaPerm Cats: Breed Profile - I had never heard of these; omg they're cute! ^_^

Use Deep Mulch Gardening Technique to Eliminate Tilling and Weeding - I can't wait to try this!

WOW

I am so behind in posting these! Jacqueline's been so busy writing...

I broke them into groups of 2 or 3 with a similar topic area; hopefully it makes it easier to find things you're interested in...

Colorpoint Shorthair Cats: Breed Profile - this one reminds me a lot of my mom's cat... I wouldn't be surprized if the pet shop lied... :\
Egyptian Mau Cats: Breed Profile - And these remind me of my little TenKitty, but TenKitty doesn't have such lovely spots...
Havana Brown Cats: Breed Profile - Ooo... a kitty for the true chocolate connoisseur! Hehehe...

Ten Tips for Rabbit Owners - Excellent! She remembered everything I taught her... ^_^
Raising Free Range Chickens for Better Tasting Eggs and Meat - Why yes, we are considering it...
Beekeeping: The Advantages of Choosing the Top Bar Hive - Very interesting if you're considering beekeeping like we are!

The Advantages of Using Gardening Design Software - Designing your garden on the computer is sometimes easier than pencil & paper...
The Many Uses of Oswego Tea - We're hoping to grow some in our yard!

The Five Best Coffee Shops in Oswego, New York - Oh such lovely delicious places...
The Best Places to Fish in Oswego County, New York - For the fishing enthusiast who may be looking for some place new...
Review: Bombard Rustic Cabins in Saranac Lake, New York - Such wonderful memories of this place!

Kids Do Their Chores with the Ticket Method Reward System - Seriously!  It works!  I was impressed with how well!
Juno: Teen Pregnancy Discussion Opener for Parents - Such a good movie, I cannot recommend seeing this enough...
Bisexuality - Not Just a Phase - Living proof here...

Best Sites for Substitute Teacher Resources - A top ten list of sites chock full of tips for people like me!  ^_^
Joint Compression, Brushing: Tactile Stimulation Technique for the Special Education Classroom - One of the classrooms I worked in used this method which was new to me...

Are Cold Medications Safe and Effective? - Short answer: safe, but not any more effective than plenty of fluids and rest.
Using Nutrition to Treat Fibromyalgia - Good nutrition works here too!

Neopets

Something has happened!
	An ugly bug sits here eating a Scabu. He says 'Im going to eat all your Neopets food when you arent looking!!!'

And I won a Galleon Wall Clock from Tarla!

And Blounsi walks slowly up to the strange shrine, where Coltzan said, "I will do what I can to help you," and Blounsi has gained 1 level!  Cool!

Books & reading...

Well, there is one benefit to my job: I get to do a lot of reading.

Granted some of it falls under the category of easy readers, but when they're as cute as The April Rabbits, or as charming as My Mama had a Dancing Heart, how can I leave them off my list?

I can't, and thus I have bypassed my goal of 50 books this year. Well, I guess it wasn't a goal, because I honestly thought I read more than that, and was just curious as to how much I *do* read in a year...

Anyway, as of today, I am more than half way through my 51st book, Hoot, which unfortunately is not at home, but I am reading while in various classrooms. Lucky me that so many classes have it! LOL!

At home I am only a few pages into Crescent because I've just been so tired when I get home this week; I've fallen asleep for a nap nearly every day! (Although, I am wondering if not having the iron Rx is partly to blame...)

But I digress! So without further ado, here's my updated list of books read this year:

(For #1-22, you'll have to sign up for an LJ and friend me, then you can see this post...)

#	Author	Title	Pgs	Started	Finished	*
23	Curtis, Christopher Paul	Bud, Not Buddy	256	3/19/2008	3/21/2008	3
24	Kidd, Sue Monk	Mermaid Chair, The	335	3/22/2008	3/27/2008	3
25	Sheth, Kashmira	Keeping Corner	281	3/28/2008	3/31/2008	3
26	Chichester, Page	NWF Book of Family Nature Activities, The	132	4/2/2008	4/3/2008	4
27	Scott, Michael	Alchemyst, The	400	3/31/2008	4/7/2008	3
28	Dahl, Roald	Magic Finger, The	63	4/7/2008	4/7/2008	3
29	Heaser, Sue	Polymer Clay Techniques Book, The	125	4/2/2008	4/8/2008	5
30	Whelan, Gloria	Listening for Lions	195	4/7/2008	4/9/2008	5
31	Kessler, Liz	Tail of Emily Windsnap, The	209	4/10/2008	4/10/2008	3
32	Hagerty, Taylor	Miniature Scrapbooks	128	4/2/2008	4/11/2008	3
33	Wolf, Joan M.	Someone Named Eva	200	4/11/2008	4/11/2008	4
34	Danzinger, Paula	Amber Brown is not a Crayon	80	4/11/2008	4/11/2008	3
35	Gaiman, Neil	Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The	60	4/11/2008	4/11/2008	5
36	McCaffrey, Laura Williams	Alia Waking	214	4/11/2008	4/12/2008	3
37	Das, Prodeepta	A Child's Day in an Indian Village	32	4/12/2008	4/12/2008	2
38	Johnson, Cathy	Watercolor Pencil Magic	128	2/28/2008	4/16/2008	3
39	Acevedo, Mario	Nymphos of Rocky Flats, The	288	4/13/2008	4/17/2008	4
40	Brown, Simon	Practical Feng Shui	160	4/2/2008	4/19/2008	4
41	Acevedo, Mario	X-Rated Blood Suckers	370	4/18/2008	4/21/2008	4
42	McMillan, Mary	Lifesavers for Substitutes	156	4/21/2008	4/21/2008	2
43	Cleveland, David	April Rabbits, The	30	4/22/2008	4/22/2008	4
44	McCaffrey, Anne	Exchange of Gifts, An	94	4/22/2008	4/22/2008	4
45	Cresswell, Helen	Rumpelstiltskin	32	4/23/2008	4/23/2008	3
46	Johnston, Tony	Amber on the Mountain	32	4/24/2008	4/24/2008	4
47	Cleary, Brian	Stop & Go, Yes & No: What is an Antonym?	32	4/24/2008	4/24/2008	3
48	Tagg, Christine & Ellwand, David	Cinderlily	32	4/24/2008	4/24/2008	3
49	Erlich, Amy	Cinderella	32	4/24/2008	4/24/2008	3
50	Gray, Libba	My Mama had a Dancing Heart	32	4/24/2008	4/24/2008	5
51	Hiaasen, Carl	Hoot		4/9/2008
52	Abu-Jaber, Diana	Crescent		4/23/2008

Notice

I can only do so much before I crash... I can either read and reply to my email, I can read LJ & a few other blogs, I can post to my blogs, or I can just screw the whole damn computer and go sleep. Which is probably what I should have been doing, but...

This week I haven't been keeping up much at all. I tried paring my list down, it doesn't work... I love my friends, I don't want to *cut* any of them...

Anyway, what I'm trying to say with my jell-o-fied, sleep-deprived brain is that if you've said something important you better tell me to go look or comment with it here, because I don't know if I'll have an opportunity anytime soon to go back and read everything...

And everyone knows if you don't comment on someone's entry within the first 36-48 hours, you might as well not comment because they'll have forgotten what they wrote, and wonder why you're not commenting on their more recent posts! LOL!

I'm going bed... do your thang, peoples...

EDIT: I have no idea why semagic always posts this 4 hours earlier than I really post it. And it even put it ahead of the one I posted a little while ago... *BLAH* I'm going to bed...

Never gonna give you up!

OMG... I just got rickrolled on my own blog...

So sad... -_-

65 Questions

1. What time did you get up today? 9:30ish

2. Diamonds or pearls? Meh, pearls I guess

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Eragon (damn that was over a year ago)

4. What is your favorite TV show? CSI

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? breakfast bars

6. What is your middle name? Katherine

7. What food do you dislike? canned asparagus

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? don’t have one

9. What kind of car do you drive? 1996 Dodge Caravan

10. Favorite sandwich? BLT or a Buffalo chicken

11. What characteristic do you despise? meanness

12. Favorite item of clothing? I used to have this purple tie-dyed sundress... I don’t really have a favorite anymore...

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? someplace warm with a nice place to swim

14. What color is your bathroom? awful

15. Favorite brand of clothing? *Brand?* I don’t even have a favorite *item* of clothing and you think I have a favorite *brand* now???

16. Where would you retire to? an RV

17. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Well my last was pretty memorable, but not for good reasons; Jacqueline and Jaie both did a really good job with my 35th...

18. Favorite sport to watch? Professional Dough Throwing! (If I have to watch anything... :P)

19. Furthest place you are sending this: Um... to my blog...

20. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Well since I’m posting it on my blog, anyone can reply or post in their own...

21. Person you expect to send it back first? Um...

22. Favorite saying: I don't know that I have one...

23. When is your birthday? July 22

24. Are you a morning person or a night person? depends, I can get used to getting up early, I can get used to staying up late, I think I prefer to wake about the time the sun comes up, and stay up as late as I want (meaning I don’t *have* to go to bed so I can get enough sleep to be coherent the next day...

25. What is your shoe size? depends on the shoe, 8-10

26. Pets? yes, 3 cats: Bunny, TenKitty, and Saten, and one Guinea pig, Allie (and four kids too, but CPS frowns on referring to them as such...)

27. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? We got a Guinea pig!

28. What did you want to be when you were little? A farmer (the kind who just has horses), a ballerina (HA!), and a vet (viewing a live spay in my teens killed that one)

29. How are you today? Not to bad, wishing vacation was longer, but also wishing for more money, so...

30. What is your favorite candy? See my last post...

31. What is your favorite flower? Lilacs

32. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Um...none at the moment.

33. What is your full name? Diana Katherine Bukowski née Brown

34. What are you listening to right now? wind chimes (lovely breezy day!)

35. What was the last thing you ate? Tuna melt on a bagel – no, a sour strawberry hard candy

36. Do you wish on stars? sometimes

37. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Ooo, we discussed this a long time ago on my LJ, and I thought I would be green, because it was used on every picture I drew just about (grass, leaves, etc.), but now I am not so sure...

Let’s see what the memes say!

What color crayon are you?

You are: Purple Crayon
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

What Crayon are You? Your Result: Jazzberry Jam   You are a little eccentric, and very creative. You like to come up with your own ways to do stuff, and are usually very fashionable. You're an individual, and people respect you for that. (YES THIS IS A REAL CRAYON COLOR)
Cotton Candy
Torch Red
Royal Purple
Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown
What Crayon are You? Make Your Own Quiz

And it really is a crayon too... More red than purple, but interesting...

38. How is the weather right now? sunny & breezy

39. Favorite soft drink? Sadly it's been discontinued... *sniff*

40. Favorite restaurant? Dinosaur BBQ

41. Hair color? PURPLE! Well, mine isn’t right now, but that’s my favorite... Mine is brown right now... all natural too... :P

42. Siblings? none

43. Favorite day of the year? Um... Don’t have one.

44. What was your favorite toy as a child? My crayons and paper prolly, or Barbie

46. Summer or winter? Summer

48. Hugs or kisses? Both

50. Chocolate or Vanilla? what for? Vanilla is good for sundaes with lots of toppings, chocolate for everything else!

51. Do you want your friends to email you back? Of course!

52. When was the last time you cried? I dunno...

53. What is under your bed? Stuff

54. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Rachel

55. What did you do last night? See the post before my last! LOL!

56. Favorite smell? Ooo... so many! Lilacs, fresh cut grass, roses, sandalwood, rain, sex, coffee...

57. What are you afraid of? being alone and unloved, not needed, discarded

58. Salty or sweet? sweet! ^_^

59. How many keys on your key ring? 6

60. How many years at your current job? less than one

61. Favorite day of the week? Friday.

62. How many towns have you LIVED IN? 6 or 7 but all in the same area except for the time in Hawaii and Chicoutimi

63. Do you make friends easily? Not really

64. How many people will you send this to? anyone who reads my blog

65. How many will respond? anyone who wants

Sugar on my Tongue

An album of my guilty pleasures...

































As usual, click to see bigger, if you'd like!

More articles from Jacqueline!

A diverse group this time...

Is Indoor Formula Cat Food Better for Your Indoor Cat? - Short answer is no, not really...

Bombay Cats: Breed Profile - Another in her cat breed series...

Ten Films to Teach World War II in the Social Studies Classroom - Social Studies was never my favorite subject; perhaps if there had been more movies...

Ten Advantages to Being a Single Parent - bet no one mentioned the advantages; did they?!

Pangea Day

From their YouTube profile:

In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that -- to help people see themselves in others -- through the power of film.

On May 10, 2008 -- Pangea Day -- sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music. The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Pangea is the name of the original super-continent which contained all the world's land mass before the continents started splitting apart 250 million years ago. We're launching Pangea Day with the vision that the people of the world can begin to overcome their divisions, and that the power of film can help make it possible.

Movies can't change the world. But the people who watch them can.

On May 10, we want the whole world to be watching the Pangea Day program. Join an extraordinary community of people who are coming together to do just that by hosting an event.

You can host a Pangea Day event in your home, school, town square, or wherever you want to gather your friends, family, and community.

Visit www.pangeaday.org/events.php and plot your event on our map today! And check out our website www.pangeaday.org for more information.

Have patience if you try to find an event near you, that page takes a LONG time to load... Like go make a snack & come back kinda long! LOL!

Blogging for money

So I've added google ads and project wonderful to my side bars and it was painless.

However, I have been trying to get my blog approved through payperpost since LAST JUNE and it has been the biggest pain in the butt. One delay after another, then I finally could submit it to be approved again, only to have it denied because they felt it didn't meet the requirements. I went through their TOS, couldn't find out why, asked for more details so I could correct it, only to have someone reply that they couldn't see why either and they approved me. Then I took an opportunity for that glass tile place, a place I really would buy from which is why I haven't deleted the damn thing, and when I try to submit it, they say my blog isn't qualified! &(**%&%$%#()*(%^$!!!!!!!! Even worse, when I went to go and try and figure out why, I decided to delete my LJ from their accounts (because it shows as eligible for some opps when the blog I am using isn't), and I wound up deleting the wrong account! GAH!!! So now I have to go through the approval process all over again... *headdesk*

SocialSpark is just as frustrating. I can't find any info on why I'm not qualified to take opps and I can't find any info on how I get paid and when.

And ChaCha? I'm supposed to take tests to qualify, and when I follow the links to the tests, they tell me the email address is already registered. Duh. To me. Then I try to log on and I can't find the place to take the tests. I send a plea for help. They send me a place to log in for the tests, but my password is invalid and there's no place to get it reset. Again I ask for help and I get a link to have it emailed to me. What happens then? It says, "Sorry, we couldn't find your account." Shoot me.

So here it is Thursday and I'm just waiting for them all to get they're acts together so I can make some money to make up for being forced to take this week off...

*deep breath* Everything. Will. Be. O. K. Everything will be ok. Everything-will-be-ok, everythingwillbeok, everythingwillbeokeverythingwillbeokeverythingwillbeok....

Maintenance & responsibility

I spent most of today doing general maintenance to my websites. I have tagged all the entries here, and cleaned up some settings here and on LJ. I even signed up for some other sites, but am still waiting on approval for them...

I'm a bit upset that more than half my vacation is gone and I haven't had the chance to do the things I really wanted because I spent the last 2 days helping my dad out, and will have to go out on Fri & Sat too. I was hoping to just lounge around all week and play around rearranging the bedroom, organizing my stuff, cleaning up the yard... I suppose I could have on Sat and Sun, or today and tomorrow, but we had planned on going out and it wasn't until later in the day that we decided not to. :\

Meh. No one's fault, just feeling discontent, like everything is always rushed and there is no time to sit & relax anymore because it's either work or helping someone else or running the usual errands...

I really am just a homebody and want to stay home 95% of the time...

i r spe-shul!

*SQUEE!*



Even my LJ was nominated and that's all friends locked! LOL! ^_^

Veggie Burgers

Some of my favorite foods!

Veggie Burger Guide: Comparing the Major Brands of Meatless Burgers

My very favorite of them all is Boca Burger's All American... Yum!

Articles =^_^=

More articles in Jacqueline's kitty series:

American Wirehair Cats: Breed Profile
American Bobtail Cats: Breed Profile

Video Games anyone?

Jacqueline just linked me to a great article written by a fellow unschooler about video games, and it is so well written and true, I just wanted to share it here too...

http://zajosa.blogspot.com/2008/04/problem-when-parents-think-childs.html

Birds

I haven't been writing about the birds lately but they have been a constant source of enjoyment to me, and I have been overjoyed as each and every one returned, and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the indigo bunting again.  The robins seemed to be here early, and I missed blogging when they first arrived.  The chickadees, titmice, and juncos are regulars at the feeder still (although for a while over the winter it seemed to be only the chickadees).  I have heard the blue jays, but not seen them, and seen the cardinals in others' yards, but not ours.  I can hear the killdeers across the street, and this morning the most melodious singing got me out of bed in time to see the male goldfinch take a nip of seed and fly away.  And perhaps the most noticeable of all, I can now see the mourning doves under the feeder again, because they no longer blend into the ground.  The grass is green!

Neopets

Ooooo....

You reel in your line and get...


Flask of Rainbow Fountain Water!

Your pet's fishing skill increases to 130!
GrundiGolem's fishing skill is 130.
BunnyKissd's fishing skill is 125.
Blounsi's fishing skill is 124.
Dreamy_Phin's fishing skill is 123.

OMGOMGOMG... Do you *know* what the Flask of Rainbow Fountain Water can do????


BunnyKissd could finally become the chocolate cybunny she wants to be!!!No finding all the lab maps and then blasting her daily with a ray risking not only her gender, but her species as well! Just poof! Chocolate!

Glass tiles for my bathroom

For a long time now I have wanted to redecorate a bathroom with these gorgeous glass mosaic tiles, like I saw in an ad for some new bathroom product ages ago. What's great about The Glass Tile Store is that you can get samples for just the cost of shipping which is only about four or five dollars, and they have got a wonderful selection! The 1”x1” stained glass and iridescent tiles are similar to the kind that were in that ad; the river bardiglio gray river rocks would go perfect in the pond-themed bathroom I want to do; and the jelly bean blend pebble glass would be adorable in a child’s candy-themed bathroom! I can't wait until we can afford to redo the bathrooms here! ^_^



EDIT:
I ought to delete this post since I never got paid for it because of PPP screwed up my blogs, but I don't blog about things unless I really mean it, so I suppose I'll leave this here...

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 11 April 2008.

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by BunnyKissd. For questions about this blog, please contact bunnykissd (at) gmail.com.

This blog now accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. I believe in honesty of relationship, opinion, and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics, or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space, or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner of this blog, BunnyKissd, is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites, and various other topics. Even though BunnyKissd receives compensation for some posts or advertisements, she always give her honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to:

Humor

So we went grocery shopping today, and in one aisle there was some POP marketing. (That's Point of Purchase marketing for those of you who might not know.) Some red, yellow, and white crackers were popping out of a Ritz box (like shown below) in the center of the aisle, leading you to the Ritz crackers, where there was a big white cracker outline (like below) in which it said in bold white text:

Flaky and
proud of it.
...and then the catch-phrase, "Ritz. Open for fun." And I just wanted to peel it up and take it home with us! I thought we could cover the *Ritz* part with something, and it would be perfect for me! XD


So, anyone in the industry wanna get me that??? ^_^

Articles by Jacqueline

I swear they publish these all on one day...

What is Hallermann's Syndrome?
Burmese Cats - A Breed Profile
Training Ravens

More article from Jacqueline!

Pagan Holidays: What is Beltaine?
Ten Ways to Celebrate Beltaine (Beltane)
Church of Google: Faith in an Omniscient, Omnipresent Algorithms
Taking Care of Pet Crows and Ravens

Monday? No, Tuesday...

Note: This was posted at nearly 8pm, not whatever time blogger says...

It's not been a bad day but it hasn't been a very good one... 

I felt sick and tired and fat and ugly this morning, but I pushed it aside and just dealt; I had to go to work.  Jacqueline made my morning run ever so smoothly and before I knew it, I was heading to the car.  And what should await me there?  One very panicky cat!  He had been shut in all night long.  Needless to say, he peed.  And the car REEKED!  Thankfully it was warm enough to drive to school with the windows down without freezing and looking suspicious.  I applied some strong clean smelling scented oil to my wrists and headed to work.

Work seemed to go ok at first.  I got to my classroom (I was to be the TA in a 3rd grade inclusion class) and the door was unlocked, but the other teacher wasn't around.  So I found the Ta's desk and searched for some plans... nothing but a general description.  But then the other teacher arrived, and it was all good!  I would be working with the awesome dude with the polite class (seriously, he's working the manners thing overtime with them!), and he is such a nice guy!  So the children arrived and they introduced themselves to me:

"Hi, I'm Jake!" *holding out hand*
"Good morning, Jake!  You can call me Mrs. B." *shakes hand*
"Nice meeting you!"
"Nice meeting you, too!"

Then we went down to Morning Express (a short assembly for announcements, awards, etc.), and after that, my perfect morning crumbled.  The TA was there; she had asked for the sub for tomorrow when her Dr's appointment is, not today, and the only reason she wasn't there first thing was because of an early morning meeting.  So I head down to the office to find out where they want me until my afternoon placement with a different teacher.

Of course the office staff is busy, as they always are, with calls and teachers and students coming in and out, and half an hour later, the principal of all people comes to walk down the hall with me, going from room to room to see if they needed help.  Eventually we came to the reading room, where there were 2 other subs, and of course they said yes to the principal; any sub would!  So I got to "help" the other 2 subs do simple reading activities with the 8-10 students who were there.  Of course, after about 45 minutes they had a planning period and that took up nearly the rest of the morning!  I did however get to work with a boy who probably doesn't remember me, but who is actually my ex-husband's cousin.  It's interesting to see how he's grown, and a little sad that he's in the slow reading group.

At noon I headed to my afternoon placement, and again found an empty classroom.  I noticed that there was a note for the sub, but it was for tomorrow and for all day.  It did however explain that kids were in specials at the moment, so I headed down to the office to make sure I really *was* supposed to be subbing for her this afternoon as well.  They did reassure me that I was indeed subbing for her, and I was lucky to show up right when her TA walked into the office, as for the next hour and 20 minutes the kids would be at specials and then lunch, and then she, the TA, would be handling the afternoon.

So I headed to the faculty lounge and ate the lovely lunch Jacqueline packed for me while perusing a book.  After a while the room got noisy, so I grabbed the paper instead, where I discovered that someone I went to elementary school with is now superintendent of the school district my dad lives in, a place I could conceivably work!  I don't know why, but I find that scary, and it makes me just a little disappointed in myself.  I suppose just because he makes more money and has become an *important* person, it doesn't make me less of a person, or less important.

At the appropriate time I headed upstairs to the classroom, just before the kids, and well before the TA.  With no plans and no idea what was supposed to be going on, I just let the kids do what they wanted, and they were pretty well behaved.  A few minutes later the TA came in and told them that until the Math Group comes back (a group that must get pulled during "activity time" after lunch) it was to be a quiet work time, and if there was talking during quiet work time, there would be no going outside during recess at the end of the day.

Everything was going fine until D came back to class, which happened to coincide with the TA vanishing.  I have no clue where she went, I was helping a student with some work.  D, however, has serious anger issues.  He came in loud, slammed his chair around, started talking loudly to his classmates, and disrupting everyone.  I wandered closer to his desk (that proximity thing really does work for some students) and he just got louder.  So I explained that we were having a quiet work time right now, and told him what things he should be working on.  He was disrespectful and rude in return.  I quietly and calmly said he didn't need to have an attitude; I was just explaining what we were doing, since he had been away when directions were given.  He continued with his attitude but got to work, so I walked away.  Of course the rest of the class had by this time all started talking.  So I questioned the class, "I thought this was to be a quiet work time or there would be no recess?"  Just then the TA came in, and everyone got quiet.

Things seemed to go ok for a while, but then quiet work time was over, and they were going to do a science experiment.  Apparently they had done this experiment on their own yesterday, but messed it all up; so the TA was going to do the experiment herself, with the students watching & helping.  Theoretically, this sounds feasible.  Not with D and his cronies all hanging out together, it's not.  They were pushing and shoving, not just each other, but other students as well, with D being the ring leader:  "Hey, S!  Push him!"  He'd whisper things like that, not realizing I was right behind him, and when I make my presence known, he'd give me the attitude.  "Whut?!"  Then of course, instead of paying attention to the experiment, he's goofing off and playing with some toy.  I asked him to put it away.  He refused, claiming he could still hear.  I said he needed to be watching with his eyeballs, and if he was playing with that he wasn't; so he put it away.  I took 2 steps away to write something on the board for the TA and he had it out again.  I said his name, he ignored me, I held out my hand for it and he pulled away.  I said, "Put it away or I will hold it til the end of the day," and he put it back in his pocket.  Back to the board to write more data down, and he had it out again.  I walked up to him and as he hastily tried to hide it, said, "Give it to me."  He gave it to me, but held on to it through a loop with one finger, not exactly letting go.  I told him to let go and he complained it was caught, yet when he straightened his finger it came right off, and I put it on the teacher's desk.

Of course this left him bored with nothing to distract him, and since the Ta's stance had been to tell him what to do and then ignore him 'til he disrupted the class again, I chose to let him be, standing at the board waiting for data to write down.  After a few moment he looks back at me and I am still ignoring him, not making faces or telling him to do anything, and he yells across the classroom, "What's that look for?!"  Thankfully, everyone ignored him.  One student did catch my eye, and we exchanged puzzled looks.  The experiment took nearly 45 minutes.  It was tedious.  And then there was a ditto.  And getting the students to explain their observations and conclusions was like pulling teeth.

Eventually, they muddled through it, got their report cards, got their back packs, and we got to go outside.  It was sunny and warm and just about every grade was out playing.  It was lovely.  After recess, the TA asked me to walk them up and told them to follow me.  I was shocked when they didn't!  Absolutely stunned when the moment she turned the corner, they took off running.  Was I *that* ineffective???  When I got back to the room, the phone was ringing, and the students were loud and running all over.  After answering the phone, I told the kids to sit quietly on their desks (their chairs get stacked in the afternoon), and they didn't listen.  They were standing in groups talking, running about, goofing off...  Eventually the TA came back, and the students were dismissed, and I got to go home, but guess what.  I'm the sub in the room tomorrow too... >.<

Of course the day wasn't over.  There was the returning to the car to find the cat pee smell had of course been fermenting in the warm sun!  Then coming home and discovering I put my bag in the pee on the ride home!  And then discovering it soaked through to my purse!  But there was Jacqueline, and she listened to everything, and cleaned up the cat pee while I checked the messages.  At 1ish my dad had called saying he had chest pains and a racing pulse and was calling 911 to get an ambulance to the hospital.  I immediately called his cell.  He answered.  Still in the ER, no idea what the problem is.  He didn't want me to come down; he said he'd call when they got him in a room.  He had an angiogram and had to have a stint put in just last month.

That was at 4 and I have been writing this ever since.  Not continuously, I've done other things...  I made myself a sundae, with a can of mandarin oranges, 1 scoop of ice cream, and the last of the hot fudge.  I looked for some info on who the real Kilroy was.  I stood at the window and listened to all the birds and the spring peepers.  I ate a column of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies.  I tried to find plans for a flag book-type of scrapbook.  I read my email.  I talked to Jacqueline and a little bit with Mykel on IM.  I ate a small bowl of chili with cornbread.  (I think I ate too much junk food earlier.)

And Jacqueline said to me in an off-line message, "A theme in my unschooling groups seems to be about not losing today because you are worrying about tomorrow. I am trying to remember that - live it."  And it's a good thing to remember and try to live by.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.

Worry is wasting today's time cluttering up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles.

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!

So I shall attempt to not worry about tomorrow, or even later when my dad calls, in fact, I think I am so tired right now, that all I can do is sleep...

What to do...

I have this lovely box, and I used to keep small scrapbook embellishments in it from various swaps. Eventually however, it got messy and my collection outgrew the box. So I reorganized it into a larger container, leaving this box empty. Now I have this beautiful box and have no idea what to do with it!

       


Click to enlarge...
It's a tad too small for photos, being less than 3.5" deep and the *shelves* just less than 4" high, and it's not sturdy enough for anything really heavy, since it's just pressboard. I *could* conceivably make a few small scrapbook albums and store them in here, kinda going with the same theme, but I am not sure that's very practical.  I do *not* want to get rid of it, as I not only paid more than I should have for it (even on sale), but I love it!

So what would *you* do with it?

ROTFL!

I love puns...

Another more personal article from Jacqueline!

Living in Housing Projects as a White Minority

Although her situation seemed bleak, Jacqueline made the best of her situation and created a joyous home for herself and her children. I am not happy she had to live there, but I am proud that she stuck to her ideals and clung to her joy. I am grateful for the depth of her experiences so that I can learn from her...

Dinner for April 1st...

Tonight since we got some money for food, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some groceries to make a very special dinner. It was much appreciated since the food pantry food is *not* all that tasty, no matter how hard you try. (This is not a complaint, just a fact.)

Anyway, I took pics! Loverly pics of the loverly food & loverly table!

Meatloaf...

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and cupcakes for dessert...

The happy family!

The recipes for these very yummeh foods can be found here (and trust me, these are recipes you have *got* to try! CLICKY-CLICKY!) :
Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy - Yummeh!
Chicken Pot Pie - no, we didn't serve this, but got the mixed veggies from this recipe...
Colorful Cupcakes - not vegetarian I'm afraid...

The kids were all so excited! Esme said everything looked so real except the *mashed potatoes* and was worried that we had gotten them on her meatloaf! LOL! Ant thought the mashed potatoes looked the most like the real thing, and Lia was fooled by it all, telling us all she was so excited to have all those sweets and then have 2 cupcakes for dessert too! (Jo was skeptical from the get-go...)

The real fun happened when we let them have dessert though... Jacqueline & I took ours first and started peeling the liners from our cupcakes, while Ant & Esme got theirs. As Jacqueline & I were biting into ours, Esme & Ant were all like *wtf?* as they started unwrapping theirs... Then Esme got it, and she started laughing, but Ant, who was still convinced that they were topped with frosting, turned his head to the side, and said, "Ew!" (He's a very fussy eater.) Then finally noticing his mom & I eating them, and the girls laughing so hard, he realized what they were and chowed down!

In the future I think I'd make just a few changes: Definitely more than just the *cupcakes* for dessert; I was left feeling like I hadn't eaten anything healthy at all, and had to have a few slices of deli chicken to assuage the need for more *real* food. Also, I'd make more; we definitely got our fill of the sweet dinner, but not enough dessert. Perhaps the meatloaf cake on this page would be more satisfying. And if we make the cupcakes again, perhaps a different recipe, with no cheese; I think that would make it less greasy... Maybe the main course should be a little smaller additionally; perhaps just that pot pie. If we do make the meatloaf again, definitely we should add the *ketchup* like Jacqueline & I discussed to make it look even more like our own. And somehow we have to figure out how to get more real veggies into the meal! LOL!

*Note: We used Hershey's Hot Fudge instead of Caramel or Butterscotch since we prefer dark brown gravy to the lighter varieties... ~_^

Also, I apologize for the side bar over the pics... It's late and I am too tired to deal with fixing it...

Click the pics to see full size...