DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was supposed to be my last day of student teaching. I say "supposed to be" because we're having a snow day instead. I was brushing my teeth this morning when the phone rang at 6:15 which is never a good sign. It was my cooperating teacher informing me of the snow day to which my reaction was "Really?" as I looked out the window. We'd had about 3 inches of snow which isn't enough to call off school in Northern Illinois but the coming ice storm/freezing rain/rain/blowing snow/Holocene Ice Age complete with woolly mammoths (basically the weatherpeople have no clear idea of what is coming, just that it is coming and it could be a doozie) was enough for the superintendent to cancel school. So today is very anticlimactic. I had expected to finish strong. I wasn't expecting cupcakes like the 5th grade gave me on my last day (yummy!) but still, some type of closure. This, dear readers, is like anticlosure.

Actually I had a problem. I am currently one credit short of earning an geography endorsement so I've been taking a class online to fulfill that credit. (Which is the topic for another post) Since students have been taking finals, all the grading is caught up, and there was nothing for me to do, I brought my textbook to school with me so I could study. Yesterday I left it at school thinking that I would studying this morning. Hence the problem. So I drove to school after leaving a message with my cooperating teacher, hoping beyond hope that maybe, just maybe the secret back door entrance would be open, I could sneak in, and grab my textbook. And guess what??? Today was my lucky day because the back door was open!!!!!! I grabbed my book and cleaned off the rest of my desk. Still anticlimactic but better. So as soon as Wisconsin decides that yes, I'm a teacher, Illinois and Indiana can make the same decisions. Then I can find a job, start getting paid again, and basically become a productive citizen (again.)


The rest of the afternoon will be devoted to Christmas cookies. Today: fudge, both chocolate and peanut butter. Maybe as a reward for finishing student teaching, I'll let myself lick more than just the spoon.....

Yay for Snow!!!

We had our first snow and received about 10 inches. It's hard to tell because it started blowing everywhere. Now it's beginning to look like Christmas! Of course, it's also very cold but that's ok.

We haven't had school for two days now: Wednesday because it was still snowing and today (Thursday) because it was still blowing and minus double digits temperature.

The best part is that I don't have to make these days up. They are an extra vacation for me!!!!

Do I have the Christmas spirit or just a cold?

I can't tell!! I think its Christmas spirit though!

Our tree is up and decorated. Our nativities are out, and both cats have pretended to be presents by sitting under the tree. I figure those three things make it Christmas if we don't have any snow yet.

I have two and 1/2 weeks of student teaching remaining. I figure I can make it. It's also kinda hard to think that after this I can teach. This is all I need to be a teacher. I keep thinking that there must be more! But thankfully there isn't!!

We had a good Thanksgiving. My parents came up for a visit and it was wonderful! We had both sets of parents over for Thanksgiving dinner and between all of us bringing food, we had a great meal and even better conversation and time spent together.

I love this time of year. It's so much fun and such a happy time of year. The anticipation is everywhere. Today was the hanging of the greens ceremony in church today and it always puts me even more in the Christmas spirit. Our church goes from bare to festive in an hour! Yay!

Today

Today was not so hot in the realm of student teaching. I can see that classroom management is always going to be a problem for me. It's been really dificult to walk in to the middle of class and manage the class. At least with the middle school I started the school year with them. They knew from day one that I was teacher.2. These high school students don't. They are starting to recognize me as "instructor" but not all of them. Some of them are really good kids and I like them; others I could kick.

I keep thinking, this will be so much easier when I have my own classroom. But will it? How do I create a classroom that a) functions b)is open and supportive while c)maintaining control? I don't know and if someone does know, can you please tell me? I would really like to know!

Also, if you hear of any job openings, let me know: middle/high school social studies!!!

Worst student teacher ever!

Today in 7th period (luckily one of my better classes) I was instructing them on how to complete their homework. I wanted them to finish filling out the worksheet. So I said "And please finish filling out your sheet." Only I didn't say "sheet." Another word, very similar, popped (or pooped) out of my mouth. The class burst into laughter and I know that I turned bright red. I apologized for my language and predicted that I would fail student teaching. The students continued to laugh at me for about the next 5 minutes. Travis ( my cooperating teacher) wasn't in the room at the time but I told him after school JUST IN CASE someone commented on my language. These things happen but I wish they wouldn't happen to ME!

I'm still here!

Sorry for the lack of blogging. Life has just been kinda crazy. Good, but crazy. I've been student teaching since August and then I'll be done before Christmas. Whereas my Wisconsin fellow students will be done mid-January! Ha! I'm not gloating, well, maybe a little.

Matt is now the ancient age of 31. Of course, in a few months, I'll be the same age but for right now, I'm still the youthful age of 30. I don't know what 30 is supposed to feel like but I certainly don't feel 30. Maybe like 24-25. I might feel that way because I'm in college but even when I wasn't I didn't feel my age. I suppose that's a good thing but I have to remind myself of my actual age sometimes. However, when dealing with teenagers, I often think, "They're 16 -18 and I'm 30. That means I'm almost twice their age and heck if I'm going to let them beat me!" It's my little peptalk and it does a pretty good job.

Ok, back to Matt's birthday. Here is his cake that I made. It's a red velvet cake with orange frosting and Scooby Doo decorations. Yes, he turned 31 but he is definitely a kid at heart and I love that about him.

Here he is with his cake.

Interior shot of the cake. I must admit, one of the most unusually colored cakes I've ever made, seen, or eaten.

A day in the life of a student teacher

7:30 Arrive at school
7:31 First sip of coffee
7:32 Finish grading/post grades/prepare for days lessons
8:00 Students arrive
8:01-3:19 Blur of activity, talking, collecting/passing out papers, talking, answering random questions, talking, reminding students of homework to be turned in, talking, more questions "Yes, you may go to the bathroom, No, you may not go to your homeroom, Yes, that is the right answer, No look at it again, Stop (Pick one) talking, cheating, talking, hitting your neighbor, talking, poking the balloon (long story), talking, grossing out your neighbor, talking, eating paste, etc."
3:20 Sit down and try to remember what happened but mind is oozing out of ears

I really enjoy student teaching but it is exhausting! Occasionally I have moments where I think, "Yep, this is right for me." Yesterday we were discussing Native Americans in Illinois history and one of my students came up to be later and pointed out in a book that she was reading that the book talked about Native Americans too. Now this might not sound like a huge connection to make but she's 10. To be able to connect something that she is reading for fun with something we are studying is great! It made me smile.

Monday I start teaching math. Luckily for me, we're doing rounding decimals. I think that I can handle that!!!

As for my window project, I have: (drum roll) 2 left!!!!! Yep, 2!!!!!!!!! Out of 24! I've done 22 windows so far!!!!!!!

Student teaching

This week is week 3 of my student teaching and so far, so good. The students (fifth graders) are pretty good and I know all 60 of their names! Yay!! I've only had two snarky comment to me, which must be some sort of record. So far I'm kinda working into the classroom and taking more responsiblity. I like it. Hopefully it continues to go well.

Last weekend, Matt and I went to the Madison Zoo and had so much fun!!!! We forgot our camera so we don't have any pictures but it was fun. We got so close to a tiger I could have touched it (but I didn't). And the Madison Zoo was free, even better!!! We needed a fun day out and we got it!!

A good weekend!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend. Matt and I did. Part of my window project this summer has been to replace broken glass. Now, I can do this in theory but then, I can also do a back handspring in theory too, (meaning I know what I need to do but the true question is: Can I do it?) I had been putting it of and putting it off until I just had to do it. So I went to our local lumber yard and told them the size of glass I needed, they cut it, I came home, removed the broken glass, glazing and old points from the window, and replaced the glass with new, uncracked glass. I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself. I replaced three windows and Matt and I worked on replacing the fourth. That one was a bit of a struggle but we got it replaced. The new windows look pretty good and you can't tell the difference! The only problem is that I can't wear gloves and handle glass, even broken glass. For the first three windows I didn't have a problem but with the last window, I sliced my middle finger which began to bleed profusely. Now parts of our new glazing have little bits of red in them from my blood. Blood, sweat and tears. (I haven't actually cried over this project yet but I have definitely sweated and now bled.)

Saturday evening Matt and I went to go see "The Proposal." It's a very funny movie with a happy ending. I like that. Do all movies have to be thought-provoking or awe-inspiring? Sometimes, I just like a few laughs. Anyhow, this one is good. A little risque in parts, but still funny. Both Matt and I are Sandra Bullock fans which made us like it even more.

Before the movie, we had about 45 minutes to kill so after we purchased our tickets, we headed over to the mall from the movie theater (about 100 feet). Now, the best part of this mall is the humane society adoption center. They always have cute cats and dogs in there. As always, we headed for the shop to say hello to the animals. In the front window they had two kittens who were just going nuts with playing. They were very cute and one of them looked like Gus when he was a kitten, about 35 pounds ago (ok, not that many, more like 12) They had supercute dogs, rats, and even more cats. For each animal, they have a card next to it with the reason the previous owners brought it in and generally it's something like: couldn't care for, moving, too many pets, new baby, etc. One of the cats, a longhair domino cat, according to it's card, was brought in because of "unrealistic expectations." Now, this made Matt and I wonder what sort of unrealistic expectations might an owner have for a cat? Did they expect the cat to feed itself? Scoop it's own litter box? Maybe balance the owner's checkbook? "I thought this cat would know nuclear physics but I don't think it knows where it's tail is!" "You told me that this cat would change my life but I still have trouble with the can opener!!! Take it back!!" And so on. I had to leave the shop because I was giggling so much at the idea of "unrealistic expectations" and how Matt and I perceived it. It probably means that the owner thought the cat would get along with other animals and didn't or something like that. But the phrase "unrealistic expectations" could mean so much more....

I have unrealistic expectations for our cats: that Mac won't jump on the bed when I'm trying to make it and that Gus will realize that there are more comfortable places to sleep besides purring loudly between our heads while we're trying to sleep. Or there is his litter box issue, namely his misuse of the box. Yes, very unrealistic....

More Random!!!

Apparently, my life is random. I'm certain that others reading this would agree that their lives are also random but since this is my blog, I'll discuss my randomness. Feel free to post your random in the comments (must contain PG-13-rated randomness because occasionally my grandmother reads this blog (when I remember to print it off and send it to her:))

Random update: Fairs: We didn't go to the Great Jones County Fair because it was a great 75 miles away. I mean, I like elephant ears but I'm far too practical/cheap to justify that much gas/time/energy just to reward myself with yummy gooey dough coated in cinnamon sugar, all dripping and warm..... Oh sorry, where was I? Right, the fair. So instead Matt and I went to the Dubuque County Fair which does not have a descriptive adjective in front of it so we didn't know what to expect. It was ok. I did have some complaints thought. First off, not enough cows and mostly Holsteins, no goats, and only a few rabbits. Come on people, where are the farm animals??!? Second, NO ELEPHANT EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was dismayed, to say the least but I managed to keep my despair to a quiet howl on the midway, "Where are the ELEPHANT EARS!!!?!? I WANT AN EAR!!!!!!" while Matt quickly steered away from his deranged, somewhat psychotic, fair-food demanding wife. (This incident may or may not have happened. I leave you to judge) However, I have found that funnel cakes make an acceptable though not equal substitution. We did enjoy the pig racing and the BMX trick bikes doing flips in the air. Only at a Midwest fair would you have pig, actually piglet racing, and bike tricks about 20 feet away. FYI: the pigs were not greased. I checked.

Kitty randomness: Some of you might be tired of reading about our cats but they are funny and keep Matt and I giggling. Pets of all kinds bring so much joy to a house that I like to share it. Our cats bring a particular type of joy, namely, weird because that's how our cats act. The other night we had cantaloupe. It was delicious. Matt cut it up and we partook. About a hour later, I noticed Gus (you knew Gus was coming into this story, didn't you?) acting oddly, even for him. He was shaking and pawing at his head. I tried to grab him but he ran away from me. Eventually I tracked him to his kitty hide-out (a cat cube) and grabbed him out of it. He still wouldn't let me look at his head so I had to forcibly turn his face towards me. According to the sticker stuck on the corner of his mouth and whiskers, he is a delicious home-grown cantaloupe. While his belly is the size and color of a cantaloupe, I can't tell if he's ripe or not. And apparently when Matt threw the rind in the trash, he missed one part. Ahh, Gus, our special kitty....

It's time for Random time!

#1. Yesterday was the first Annual "Normal Gus" day. Actually we don't know if it was the first Annual but we certainly hope so!! As we all know, Gus is normally not normal. But yesterday, we had a breakthrough. First sign of normality: Normally at treat time, if 5 cat treats are given out, 4 are quickly eaten by Mac, the treat addict, and one sits in front of Gus while he thinks about whether or not he wants the treat. By the time he has come to the conclusion that yes, he wants the treat, it has been snarfed by Mac "Give me treats or I'll give you death" Lee. Yesterday, the total treat count: Mac 2, Gus 3!!! Gus ate more treats yesterday than he has all year. Matt said that Gus just went cat-wild over the treats! Good for Gus. Second sign of normality: Gus wasn't afraid of the plastic bag when I put it away. Normally, he runs in terror from the sound of lightly crinkling plastic. Not yesterday. Third sign of normality: He sat like a cat, tummy tucked in, paws parallel to each other and not like an old man, paunch hanging out, legs all askew. For one day, we had two normal cats. It was bliss......

#2. After much consideration, I believe that Belted Galways replaced Jerseys in the coveted spot of "Merrilee's Favorite Cow." While I will always have a soft spot for Jerseys in my heart, Belted Galways are funnier. (And yes, dear readers, that was the sole criterion) Not that I have actually met a Belted Galway but there is a herd near us. These are black with a broad white "belt" that goes around their middle. And I'm assuming they are from Galway. Many of the cows near us have the belt in the middle. Some, however, have the belt closer to their hind end, reminding me of boys who wear their baggy pants much lower than they should. These are the gangster rappers of the herd, the nonconformists, the hip, and the "cool ." They make me chuckle because I always tell them "Pull your belt up" again proving my oddity in talking to cows. However, since we're are driving by these cows and Matt already knows I'm strange BUT still consented to marry me, I feel safe in saying it. And I laugh at my horrible joke at the cows' expense. Also, about 2 miles down the road is a small herd with 2 Belted in it. We (Matt and I) have decided that these are the rogue spies of the bovine world, the "Beef, James Beef." (Portrayed by Roger MOOOre)(sorry, couldn't resist) Cows are funny....

#3. Our tomatoes have blight. Again. Stupid rain. It's been so wet they haven't had the chance to dry out. Stupid rain. I haven't been able to work outside because of the, well, you know.

#4. We might go to the Great Jones County Fair this weekend. It's in um, Jones County, in case you weren't certain. And I'll let you know if it is truly "Great," "Good," or just "Okey-dokey."


Well, I think that's all my random thoughts for today.

Updates, updates, updates

This weekend my dad finally had knee replacement surgery. It only took Mom years of nagging for it to happen. No one in my family is stubborn! Anyhow, Dad is doing well and at home, enjoying his new armchair (which I also enjoyed and must admit that it is quite comfy) Dad, I'm glad you had the surgery and I know that in time, you'll be glad too.

Also, as for my classroom vents, we changed rooms and now I (along with most of the class) sit on the opposite side of the room from the annoying girls. The professor is doing what he can to get them to keep up but they need to learn that this isn't high school; no one is going to hold your hand. One of the girls has now missed two days of class, which is equivalent to 2 weeks of a normal-schedule class. So I sit next to three other girls and we help each other work out problems and discuss topics. Ahh, productive students....

I'm less annoyed with the world now and feel better about things (i.e. I'm not going to start yelling in the grocery store about the quality of crackers available.)

And, I think that this weekend, I might get another elephant ear!!! I'll keep you posted!

I'm mad and I'm not going to take it anymore!! No, not really...

Recently I've been getting annoyed with the world. I don't have a clear reason why, just a general "ticked" feeling. Here are my current top three pet peeves: (I'm glad that I'm typing that because I'm not so certain I could say it. Just tried and nope, can't)

Anyhow,
Issue #1. Our neighbors left for several days. From Saturday until Monday evening, their cat was in an open upstairs window yowling nearly constantly. It broke my heart. Their cat is kinda "borderline" domesticated and feral. He'll let you pet him and then hiss at you. Keeping him locked up doesn't help much with the "feral" issue.
Potential Solution: Tell them the next time I see them that Paws really missed them and that he was yowling for nearly 3 days straight in the open window. Offer to go over and check on the cats since their cats can't do anything differently than ours. If it happens again, call animal control (too harsh??)

Issue #2. The girl behind me in class back talks to the professor who doesn't do anything about it but it annoys me for him. Greatly. (Am I getting old?? Or just wise enough to know not to back talk professors. It's not cute or clever.) She is also very immature, which shows through almost every day. Uggh, I'm getting annoyed just thinking about it.
Potential Solution: Tell her to be quiet!!! No, that's what I WANT to do. I don't have any but does anyone have any thoughts.

Issue #3. Annoying lady at church. I won't go into too much but let's just say that she's THAT lady, the one who looks/sneers at you when you come to church 5 minutes late.
Potential Solution: Avoidance has worked thus far, why change? Also, wake up 5 minutes earlier.

So all of these petty annoyances have made me wonder what is going on. Is the world changing or am I? Does anyone else ever feel this way? This morning on my way to school, a car turned left right in front of another car who had to stop to let the first car go by so it wouldn't hit it. The second car beeped it's horn at the first car who flipped off the second car. Why? For not hitting it?? For letting them know that they almost caused an accident??

Sorry this post is a downer. But, since life is a constant process to improve, I have decided what to do to counter-act all these annoyances: something unexpectedly nice. Hold doors for people. Let them go first. Do what I can to help them. I know that I'm not the first to think of this but I do feel that if by making my world a little better, then I help the entire world. Pass it on!!!!

Things I learned this weekend:

1. Even when you are standing in the shade, you can still get a nasty sunburn. For proof, look at my lobster red shoulders.

2. Husbands can be quite shocked to learn that their wives have apparently never realized the validity of #1. (Matt was in disbelief that I didn't know that and my excuse of "But I was in the shade" didn't help my case)

3. Old glass breaks pretty easily. Especially when you're chipping away old window glazing. So now I have two more windows to replace. Oh well.

4. Free musical concerts bring a crowd. On Saturday we went to a free big-band concert and it was fabulous!!!!!!! Really enjoyed it but unfortunately there was no dance floor. Not that we can dance but we really like to give it a shot.

5. I'm in a minority of women whose husbands FORCE them to buy clothes. Matt made me buy more teaching clothes this weekend. We were looking through the store and I had one item to try on; Matt had 6 for me to try on. He's very good at shopping for women's clothes because of all the time he spent with his mother and sister shopping for clothes when he was a little boy.

6. We need a backwards dictionary or one that lists the definition of the word and then gives the word. I need it because I usually can think of the definition of the word but not the word I am looking for. Here's my quandary: Last week as I was driving into a neighboring town, I ended up following an Amish buggy. This town has been trying to crack down on people speeding into it and has set up those "Here's your speed" digital read-outs on the edge of town. As the buggy passed by, it was going a whopping 8 miles an hour. But just the sight of the buggy passing the speed-monitor was .....and here's where I need my dictionary. The word I want is not: ironic, oxymoronic, but more like "out of sync, out of place, seemingly backwards from the norm" Can anyone help me with this??

Happy Father's Day, a day late...

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in the world!!!! Thanks for being our Dad!!!!

I know that most people think that their father is the best in the world, which is perfectly acceptable, but I know that mine is the best!!!

Top ten reasons why my Dad is the best:

10. Willingly taught me to drive a manual car and didn't get upset when I "killed" the car numerous times or ran stop lights because I didn't want to face 1st gear again!

9. Understood that math and I are not friends even though he is friends with math.

8. Accepted that sometimes I brought home stray cats and dogs because they either a. needed a home or b. our pet was "lonely" and clearly needed a friend.

7. Helped me refurnish a corner cabinet that had been through a fire and had had blue paint spilled on it even though others said we should just get rid of it. It is a family heirloom and turned out to be solid cherry. A true diamond in the rough!!

6. Is always willing to answer my home improvement questions.

5. Is patience exemplified.

4. Even when I was out of college and technically grown up, he would wait for me to come home after being out with friends before going to bed. He wasn't upset that I was out late, he just wanted to be certain that I got home safely.

3. Drives 14 hours to see Matt and I whenever he can (Mom comes too, but this list is about Dad, sorry, Mom) And with driving, a Dad wisdom nugget: When traveling, if you put it (casserole, paint can, milk jug, etc.) on the floor, it can't fall off.

2. Continually shows how to be a good person and how to use the correct tool for the proper job. As he says, "If you have to force it, you're probably doing it wrong."

1. While he will always be my dad, he is now and forever more my friend.

I'm smarter than a tub of window glazing!

This weekend we had beautiful weather, so I decided it was time to tackle the windows. Well, not literally "tackle" because that could be very painful and/or destructive. On Friday, I started on a window that no one will ever see because it is at a very odd angle and location. Scraping and scraping old window glazing, old paint off the windows, and the flaking paint off the window sills is a great, yet productive way to spend your weekend!!

I figured out the glazing process and now have two windows scraped and reglazed. Only 22 more plus 5 basement windows. I love all the windows in our house but now I'm starting to wish we lived in a cave...

We also went to a one-year old's birthday party this weekend. Matt's cousin Eric and his wife Katrina threw a party for their son who turned the big "1." It was so much fun. He is a very happy baby but he really didn't like playing with his cake very much. I don't think he liked the icing on his fingers. It was supposed to be a Curious George cake but it looked more like the losing monkey from a monkey knife fight, missing an ear and his tail. It was the joke of the party. Luckily Katrina didn't make the cake so we could just make fun of it without hurting anyone's feelings.

Also, just to continually proof that Gus the cat is special: On Sunday night, Gus was sitting in the window. Having just discovered the "open" window means that he can sit in the window AND be inside at the same time, he was enjoying the evening breeze when he suddenly became hungry. Looking up he saw a paint chip from one of the 22 windows not yet tackled. Before any human could stop him, he reached up, grabbed the paint chip, and ate it. Yes, the cat ate paint. Now, I know that children can eat paint chips but no one ever mentioned that cats might do the same thing. Luckily, we don't have to worry about developmental disorders with Gus because he is already disordered.


So that was our weekend: scraping windows, smushing cake, and a paint-eating cat.
A very destructive weekend!!!!

*HELP* This Old House, the window edition

My next goal for our house is to work on the windows on the first floor. The second floor windows were replaced before we purchased the home and the original owner had intended to replace the windows on the first floor as well. Luckily they didn't. The windows are the original and to this history nerd, are super cool!!! But they do need some work. They need to be: recaulked, repainted, and in some places, the glass needs to be replaced. I also need to repainted the stuccoed foundation, which is currently off-white and will stay off-white.

Faithful blog readers, all 4 of you, I need your advice. Here are my window options:

A. Start with the first floor windows and work down, painting the foundation and basement windows last so any drips from the 1st floor windows can be covered up

OR

B. Work my way up starting with the basement windows and foundation moving to the first floor

ALSO:

1. Do those handy-dandy caulk pointer things that you can buy to get a smooth line actually work or am I better off using my fingers?

2. Should I scrape all the old caulk off the windows or just the sections that are crumbling? When scraping caulk, should I use a special tool so that I don't scrape/break/shatter the glass?


A non-home improvement question: I heard somewhere that if you are craving a food item, you should eat it. The craving is your body's attempt to get you to eat that item and regulate your body. So if you are craving veggies, your body needs the vitamins found in veggies.

My question is: Does this apply to donuts? I had a dream last night about a chocolate donut and now I really want one. Is my body telling me that I have a donut deficiency? I'll stay away from the donuts but I'm still curious about donut deficiencies....

This Old House, the gardening edition

Sorry for the lack of posts. After school ended, I came down with some sort of bug. It wasn't the porky flu but Matt said that I had the Monkey Virus or M1K1 as he called it. It took me a couple of weeks to feel better but now I'm myself again, except for my insatiable appetite for bananas....

Matt and I have been very busy around our house. We decided not to plant any vegetables this year and instead focus on our flowers and pretty gardening. So we laid a brick border around our flower beds and planted new plants to help pretty-fy the place.

Look at our pretty home. I must say, and I'm not biased, that this is the prettiest home I've ever owned (of course, it's the only home I've ever owned...)

I forgot to turn this one, so it's sideways, but this is the brick we laid along side the house and some of the flowers we planted.

Our front flower bed. I just planted 53 annuals, most of them in the front but it's going to take them a while to take root. Also planted: lily bulbs, dahlia bulbs, and a rose bush. The flowers on the front step are pansies. My Grandma Ethel loved pansies and I searched for them last year to plant in her memory. I couldn't find them anywhere but this year we have a lovely memory garden for Grandma. Every time I look at them I think of her. (She would be embarrassed by all this attention in my blog but it's my blog and I'll type what I want!)

This is our dwarf burning bush. It was very hard to plant since it is ON FIRE!!! Hahaha, what a bad joke!!! To dig a small hole, we called JULIE. I don't remember what all the letters stand for but basically it is a free utility-marking service. All our utilities came and marked their locations in our yard, which now looks like a clown exploded because of all the different colors of spray paint on the yard!! Anyhow, where we wanted our fire bush was just fine. Yay!

So I think we're good on the yard improvements for a time. Actually, I think we're running out of yard to fiddle with!

And while all these pictures have been uploading, I've been cleaning out a closet. I really don't need training notes from CP anymore or notes from college. If I haven't looked at them in five years, they're gone!!

Mac is trying to help me clean the closet, investigating all the new smells and climbing into the boxes I'm cleaning. What a helpful kitty.......

S-U-M-M-E-R

This week was the last week of classes and so far, finals week is looking fairly reasonable. Today is commencement (what university has commencement BEFORE finals week? And this is the normal schedule, not an emergency schedule because of bad winter weather!) I have three summer classes this summer and then student teaching next fall. I still don't know where I'm teaching, but I'm assuming I will find out sometime....

The last class I pre-student taught in (meaning fewer hours and less responsibility compared to REAL student-teaching) was a 5th grade class and they made me "Thank-You" notes. My cooperating teacher (who we bought our house from --it's a small town) dropped them off yesterday. The notes were so cute! Apparently, I "rock" if you're a 5th grader. They were fun and I appreciated my cooperating teacher letting them make the notes. And when I'm having a tough day in the future and think that I'm just standing up in the front of the classroom accomplishing nothing, I will pull those notes out and remind myself that maybe I am.

With the weather improving, I've been trying to take more walks outside (hence the constant run-ins with the vulture) and I really enjoy it. It's my hour or so to myself when I can think and just be. Although thinking while walking up hill is very hard and I do most of my thinking going downhill. During my down-hill endorphine rush, I've decided that we don't walk enough as a society. We are far too comfortable just getting in the car and driving there. When you walk somewhere, you are forced to slow down and truly look at the world around you. For example, the amount of trash on the roadside is disgusting. And people throw out the oddest things: pillows, pizza boxes (who is eating pizza in their car? Can't you wait till you get home?), and more. But on a positive note, I also get to startle cows, which is always funny but then I feel sorry for the cow and I apologize to her. So, yes, I'm talking to the cows. Gesh, am I weird.....

May, Sway!!

It happened again. I was circled by the vulture while walking. Ok, now it's just getting old. Unless the vulture wants to make friends with me, but I'm not certain how well a human-vulture friendship could happen.

And last week after church, Matt and I were driving home. While we were waiting to turn onto the highway, we were passed by a motorcycle crew. Most of the motorcycles were the typical: black leather, lots of chrome, tough looking guys with bandannas and more black leather with jeans. But one of them was not. He was a tough looking guy but instead of a motorcycle, he was cruising town on a white and red Vespa. So funny! I laughed at him, which I know isn't nice, but it was so incongruous, I had to laugh!!

The end of school...

Is almost here!!! Yippee!!!!

Then it's onto summer school followed by student teaching followed by??????

I had a tough day Wednesday. In the morning I was talking with a classmate when I suddenly swallowed my gum. I choked a little but managed to keep on talking! Then I was walking to class and tripped over a bit of sidewalk in front of an entire class of 2nd graders on campus for some reason. Always good to look silly in front of 2nd graders.

When I reached home, I decided to go for a walk. On my way home, a vulture started to circle me. Now, I walk about 3 miles and while I'm climbing the last hill, I do sometimes think, "Oh, I'm not going to make it," but death is not really in the picture at that time. I thought that maybe the vulture knew something I didn't and that if this is what impending death feels like, I feel pretty good. Who knew there were so many endorphins connected with death!!

Anyhow, the vulture circled me a couple of times and swooped off somewhere else, apparently deciding that I was moving too much to be dead. Vultures are just ugly, prehistoric looking creatures.

Today in my pre-student teaching class, we made reticules. We've been reading a novel about traveling on the Oregon Trail in which the main character makes a reticule. So I got to teach about 9 5th graders to sew. It was....draining. "Mrs. Lee, my string came out of my thingy!" "Mrs. Lee, the needle is poking me." "Mrs. Lee, I broke my sewing." "Mrs. Lee, now what?" "Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Lee" and so on. The kids had fun and didn't do a half bad job for their first time sewing. And, no major bleed-outs, necessary amputations, or anything else that might happen when you give a class of 11 year olds needles and pins!! It was tiring but fun and some of the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves!!!

A plague upon the Lee Household

Recently we have been experiencing a plague of biblical proportions. Well, at least with our small appliances.

First, our microwave decided that it would no longer microwave and would only kinda "defrost" sometimes. So we took it out to the small appliance pasture/graveyard (the garage until electronics recycling day) where it quickly made friends with the space heater that blew up, the record player that wouldn't turn, and other small electronics. It reminds me of the Land of Misfit Toys but instead the Land of the Useless Appliances, which is not as musical or Christmasy.

Luckily, my in-laws had an extra one from someone's dorm room so now we can microwave again.


Then, our blender decided that it would rather leak everywhere than blend. Now, the upright members of the Lee household often enjoy a fruit smoothie or occasionally a homemade milkshake, if we're feeling dangerous. So the death of the blender was quite a blow to us. Since we didn't have to buy a new microwave, we decided to splurge and buy a new blender. (No one ever told me that once you're married, living on the edge means looking at new blenders. I probably wouldn't have believed them anyway....)

Our new blender has a glass pitcher, which I will break. It is only a matter of time but even more intriguing is that it is a "digital" blender. Will someone please tell me how a blender can be digital? Does it have a clearer picture? What, are the digital blenders replacing the analog blenders? Do the analog blenders not have as crisp of a blend? No where on the box does it describe how its "digital" (I checked four times).

I think its a marketing ploy. "Oh, this blender is DIGITAL. It must be better than these other non-digital blenders." It didn't work on the Lees. Instead the marked-down price tag caught us!

Because of our small appliance issues, I'm keeping a crash cart right next to the coffeemaker. I will give it CPR (coffee pot resuscitation) if I need to!!!!

Friday fun

It's hard to believe that it's been over a month since I last blogged. I guess that's because nothing really out of the ordinary has happened. Just life, taxes, cat poo, and dirty socks which are the complete opposite of exciting.

However, yesterday (Friday) was a good day. It started out well because my first class on Friday is at 10, which means that I can sleep in until 7:30!!! I went to school, worked, and came home. When I walked in the back door, Matt said that we were going on a picnic since Friday was a glorious day (70+ and sunny!!!) and that he already had the picnic packed! So I changed shoes, got in the car, and let Matt drive to the Thomson Causeway . We had our picnic sitting on a bench next to the Mississippi River while watching geese, ducks, and other birds enjoy the day. Then we walked around the woods for a while, and just enjoyed nature. The last time that we were there, baby garter snakes were everywhere which frightened Matt and might have made him scream like a little girl. And being the good person that I am, I did not remind Matt of this fact several times and tease him with snake-like sticks. Nope, I didn't.....

Then on our way home, we stopped at Matt's parents house to meet their new cat. Well, not actually their new cat. They had a stray that showed up at their house and I wanted to check him/her out! She (I think it's a she) is a black and white kitty that is very friendly. Either she ended up lost or someone dumped her because she likes people! Matt ran home to get some cat food for her (our boys won't miss a cup or two) while I petted her. She is very sweet, very matted, and looks to be in tough shape. She's been on her own for a while. I call her "Diamond" because she has a diamond shape on her back. After she ate some and I combed her a bit, she wandered towards the road. We thought she was headed back towards the farm on the other side of the road but none of us saw her cross. I looked around and decided that she must have crawled into the drainage pipe. I looked for her but couldn't see her in the pipe. About five minutes later, she showed up again and this time I saw her crawl out of the pipe. We left some food for her and headed home. Once we got home, we both immediately changed clothes and showered because we don't want our boys to get sick from her. And they both weregiving us looks like "Where have you been and what other cat have you been petting? Cheaters!"

So, this morning, Matt is taking Diamond to the local humane society to be checked out and hopefully put up for adoption. We would take her but I've never seen boy/girl cats get along very well and our boys are kinda spoiled and set in their ways. I think she needs a home with only her in it. And Matt has some silly rule about pets equaling the number of people in the house. Whatever.... If it were up to me, I would have taken her home last night and let her sleep in our garage.......

About a month ago, a Jewish lady spoke in our church about her faith and she said something that really resonated with me. She said that there is a Jewish proverb about helping animals. Helping animals, in this proverb, is the best act you can do because animals can not thank you or pay you back in any way. You help them out of the kindness of your heart. I like that quite a bit although I believe animals can pay us back. Gus is constantly paying his rent by holding things down, attacking killer milk rings, laying on slippers so they don't wander off, and monitoring the closed window situation....

So that was our Friday. It was a good day.

A beautiful sight.....

This morning as I was driving to school, I noticed an unusual sight.

Ahead of me on the left (northwesterly) was the full moon.

Behind me (the southeasterly), the rising sun.

At a single point in time, I could see the full moon AND the sun. It was beautiful!! And very odd!! I enjoyed the view all the way to the state line when the moon finally sank.


P.S. We've been combing cornstarch through Gus' (Gus's??) fur and he looks much better!!! Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and Boy.

A cat question

Yesterday Gus had to go to the vet and while he was there, the vet cleaned his ears (Gus's, not the vet's). I think he must have used mineral oil which is now all over Gus's head. He is not making any attempt to clean himself. What can I do to help him? He is a little sensitive about me touching his ears because of his experience with the vet. Do you think a warm wet washcloth followed by a combing (which he loves!!!) would help??

Suggestions?????

For all the math nerds in the world

HAPPY SQUARE ROOT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3/3/09

Matt's Owwiey and Misc.

This summer Matt hurt his back and needed to ice it. But he wanted to keep working. So we came up with this arrangement....

Yes, that's a pair of my hose holding an ice bag on his back. It worked quite well and you can see from the location of the ice that it was difficult to hold ice there well any other way. I thought it was quite clever of us to come up with this arrangement.

And now for an action shot....

For Christmas, Matt received the ingredients for sushi. Now, I know that some of you (Mom) are probably thinking "Yuck, sushi??!??," but it's really good as long as it's not made with raw fish. We are more California roll people than anything else. So here is a picture of the sushi that Matt made one night for dinner.

Don't worry, it's imitation crab, avocado, and rice wrapped in nori. Yumm!!! It is all gone!!!!!!

We also made peanut curry chicken soup. Yummmmmy

(But I don't think that soup photographs well. It was much yummier than this picture would imply.)

A Bond question

I love James Bond movies. I know that this makes me an odd girl, but let's face it, there is plenty else that makes me an odd girl.

Also, does this make me a Bond girl?? Can I introduce myself as "Lee, Merrilee Lee?" Yeah, that won't add to the confusion!

Anyhow, Matt and I are in the middle of a discussion. If you are familiar with "Goldfinger," at the very end of the movie, the army at Fort Knox is gassed. Well, Matt says that they were gassed with something that made them pass out for a while but I say that they were not really gassed at all, and just fell over and played possum for a while.

Comments?

PS. Scotland forever!

A Day in the Life of Gus

Woke up groggy from a short night, having only slept 15 hours. Proceeded to sit like an old man while trying to have morning bath.

Took brief nap with Mac. Mac got the good spot in the sun. Settled for less comfortable spot on end table.

Took another brief nap with Mac. Now in kitty tube. Appear to be holding paws with Mac. Enjoying faking out human.

Performed important duties such as:

Holding down lotion bottle.

Monitoring movement of TV remote AND pillow AND couch while observing entire living room for any suspicious activities. Very busy.

Supervising baseball cap. Cap has tendency to move around and be found in different areas, almost as if someone else is moving/wearing it. Must watch cap for quick or odd movements. Also is quite comfy to sleep on.

After having performed such important duties all day, humans come home and have the audicity to dress me up and laugh at me. They need a hobby or at least something else to do on a Wednesday night.

Pictures

I've had tons of pictures to post on my blog but since we have dial-up at home, it takes forever! Well, I finally remembered to take the camera to work so that I can use the super-fast Internet at school!!

These are the lovely flowers that Dad gave me for Valentine's Day. He has always sent me a bouquet and has managed to always find a florist where ever I was living. It always makes my V-Day. This year he sent them to Matt's bank. I had been wondering where he would send them and he always surprises me!!!

Remember my longing for an elephant ear? Well at the last fair we went to this summer, this cart greeted us as we walked in. I was so happy, I started jumping up and down. There were about 6 carts with elephant ears at this fair. Of course, I got one and kinda shared it with Matt. I ate it slowly for the next two days, savoring my treat. Now we know which fair to go to next year when I NEED AN ELEPHANT EAR!!!!!

Our volunteer pumpkins, potatoes, and sunflowers (I planted the sunflowers). Towards the end of the summer, they were growing even more into the alley and Matt had to keep taking the feelers and pointing them towards the garage to keep the alley open. We had a lovely crop of pumpkins and a few potatoes.

Morels grow in our area. I had never heard of/eaten/hunted a morel until I moved here. They grow for a very short period of time in very specific areas and are considered a delicacy. These are some that Matt and my mother-in-law found.

They taste ok. I apparently don't have a taste for items considered delicacies. What a surprise!!

This is some of the sauce that we made with our tomatoes. We like trying different varieties but here is a list of our favorites:

Big Boy

Mortgage Lifter

Cherokee Purple (just because you can sing "Cherokee Purple" to the the tune of "Cherokee People" for the entire summer)

Any yellow tomato (just because they're pretty and different)

Mr. Stripey (the name alone makes this my favorite tomato)

Tomatoes to avoid like the plague:

Roman Candle: They have this tough core that you have to cut out and once you do that, most of your tomato is gone.

Zebra: once again, considered a delicacy and I totally dislike them. Even mixed in with other tomatoes, they taste disgusting.

We received our third seed catalog this year. We found Seed Savers, which is located near us in Iowa. They focus on heirloom/non-hybrid seeds with trying to preserve the older varieties. You could make a great argument that most seeds, even the heirlooms are technically hybrids since they were developed from a variety of other types, but this organization doesn't like the genetically modified hybrids, and wants to protect the naturally developed types. So we're going to order our seeds from them. Their prices were manageable and I like the idea of my money going to a not-for-profit dedicated to preserving plants, rather than to a corporation. And Seed Savers has a pancake breakfast in the spring. I'd like to see Walmart or Lowes do that!!!

Ok, I'm ready to garden.

Friday the 13th

Here are some fun facts I learned about Friday the 13th. I hope you enjoy it!!!

1. The British Navy built a ship named Friday the 13th. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again.

2. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13). And the explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13 (not a Friday). The crew did make it back to Earth safely, however.

3. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.

4. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback (some call him one of the best ever), he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and was trounced 38-16 by the San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana (who wore No. 16 and won all four Super Bowls he played in).

6. Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.
7. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.

8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

9. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

10. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."

11. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number, though his experience didn't support such faith. He arrived in Normandy, France on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918, for peace talks, only to return with a treaty he couldn't get Congress to sign. (The ship's crew wanted to dock the next day due to superstitions, Fernsler said.) He toured the United States to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near-fatal stroke.

12. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

13. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation.

Daniel Russell...

Is my nephew. Sorry for the confusion. I just was so excited that I forgot to explain the connection!!!

Daniel Russell

A.K.A. The cutest baby ever!!

No offense to those who have babies or nieces/nephews already but in my humble opinion and long-time baby cuteness judge, Daniel wins hands down!

It's tough being a newborn! People expect you to eat, use your diapers, and breathe! All at the same time!!! Gesh, you're not a rocket doctor!!! For heaven's sake, you're only a week old!!

Proud Gramma holding Daniel

See, he's the cutest, isn't he!!!

Ahhh!

I have a hair on my head. I can't tell if it's gray or blonde. Is it my first gray hair?

I've been highlighting/coloring my hair for a while now and I'm letting it grow out. The difference (my roots) isn't too different, I don't think, and Matt says you can't even tell. Although he's a boy and gets slightly unnerved around makeup, curlers, and the like. So this hair is my natural color but what color is it?

And of course it's on the top of my head right in front so that when I look in the mirror to check that my mascara isn't running, I see this hair.

It shines in the light (not gray)
It's lighter than the others (gray)
Others are lighter than the others and are clearly not gray (not gray)
I'm getting old (gray)
I'm not that old (not gray)

To pluck or not to pluck.....

Punishing Gus

Do other people put their animals in "time-out?"

Gus aka Sir Chunk-a-Lot, can be a naughty kitty.

Jumping onto and into anything he can. Picking on his brother Mac. Generally annoying all two-legged and four-legged roommates.

Swatting him and telling him that he is a "bad cat" doesn't work because he thinks you're just playing with him. Even squirting him with the water bottle doesn't help because it just riles him up more.

So he gets a time out. He is placed (gently tossed) into the bathroom, the door is shut behind him, and he remains in there for 5 minutes.

This happened Saturday. He was just being naughty and so received a time out. At the end of the time out, I walked over to open the door and nearly stepped on Mac. He was sitting outside the door waiting for his playmate to come back out. And his sensory deprivation time worked! He was relatively calm for the next hour or so. After that, Matt and I didn't care because we went to bed. Mac was on his own!

Once again, Matt and I would make great parents as long as we can: train our children to eat off the floor, use a litter box, put them in rooms along for extended periods of time as punishment, and take them to the vet's office when it's time for their annual rabies/distemper shots!



On an unrelated note, last night Matt made Chinese food for supper. Yum yum!!!! It was chicken with broccoli and other Chinese vegetables in a hosin/ginger/honey sauce! Yum!!! It's amazing to me how "international" American's diets are. One day you might have Chinese for supper, the next Italian, Mexican, Thai, who knows what!!

Last week we made a huge batch of waffles (supper for breakfast again!) and froze what we couldn't eat (about 15 waffles) We've been slowly using them up by: taking them out of the freezer, placing them into to the toaster, and enjoying! You know, it's such an easy thing to do, toasting these pre-made waffles, someone should start a business doing this.

They could name it "Wafflo" or "Toast-ems"....
Oh, right. Eggo....

MIA

So I didn't end up blogging quite like I had intended to over my Christmas break. Part of the problem: I didn't really do anything worthwhile enough to blog about and no one wants to read random Merrilee thoughts about: life, the world, living with cats, or the addictiveness of chocolate!!

School has started up again. I think my classes will be fine. So far I don't have any classes on Thursday so this Thursday I stayed home. But it wasn't a good day. I had some errands to run and as I was returning home and pulling into the garage, I knocked my right side view mirror off my car. It just totally popped off like a Lego AND the garage is fine, luckily. I took my car to our local garage and for a bit over $200, my car will be like new!
So that was my morning.

That evening, Matt and I were taking out the trash and the recycling. I stepped out of our front door, trying to be careful to miss the ice patches on the front steps. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the entire step was iced over. I tried to keep my balance but ended up flat on my rear. I didn't hurt anything but my pride. Although my bum was a little tender the next day.

Matt and I recently took a compatibility quiz in a magazine that I receive. According to it, we are 100% compatible! We knew what reality TV shows we would audition for (none), what we would order off of an unlimited menu (Matt: anything; Me: chocolate), where we could go if we could (Matt: Vermont, Me: England), and what books we are currently reading. We both agreed, however, to throw out the question regarding toilet paper (under or over) due to semantics and a poorly phrased question. So, yay!