kitty fight

I am officially a crazy cat lady! I love this pic, so cute! It's probably what Simba and Ginger were like as kittens...

ice, ice baby!

Whew, it was cold this weekend! It was in the 80's on Wednesday and Thursday, then dropped to the 20's and 30's this weekend. I don't have a winter coat here (didn't think I'd really need one as the normal temps for this time of year are 70's) so I froze each time I went out. Not only has it been cold, a rain/ice mix has been drizzling all weekend.

I went out to my car this morning to go to church. I almost slipped and fell on the sidewalk, then when I got to my car there was a layer of ice covering it. I turned on the engine and blasted the defrost, got out my handy Foxridge scrapper (remember, the Mecca of years past?), and got to work. As I was working, I kept hearing sirens, fire engines and ambulances. I felt that the sirens mixed with freezing my butt off trying to scrap off the ice was a good enough sign that I should not go out in this mess. I turned off the engine, almost slipped again as I walked back to my apartment, and turned up the heat a little (to a balmy 64 degrees) and read all morning.

lessons learned

I found out the hard way that Ginger is allergic to milk. I knew that cats are lactose intolerant but I figured it affected them the same way it can affect humans; stomach ache, gasiness, etc. I ate cereal for dinner (I know, lazy) and when I finished, I had some milk left over. Ginger was sitting on the couch beside me so I figured I'd let her have some. She drank a little and then I took the bowl away. Within 2 minutes, Ginger starts gagging and all of the milk and food she had eaten a while ago came up, right onto the couch! Good thing I had a sheet on the couch (to protect it from all the cat fur). She proceeded to throw up again, this time even worse, on the carpet. I felt so bad that I had given it to her in the first place; I'll stick to straight cat food from now on! I think Ginger has a very sensitive stomach to begin with. I should have known better...

By the way, the water came back on late Friday evening. The next morning it was acting weird, coming out of the faucet in spurts so I was worried it was going to cut off again. But it didn't.

splish splash

That is not the sound I am hearing this evening. The water in my complex has been turned off since before I got home from work at 3:30. I'm ticked. There were a couple of guys working on it and they left about an hour ago and haven't returned. And with the threat of freezing rain tomorrow, I'm not sure if they will come back to finish the job any time soon. I know I should extend grace and not be upset, but this is ridiculous. Why in the world didn't they get it fixed earlier? It looked like a couple of the maintainance men who work for the complex; they need to get some professionals in here if they couldn't get the job done. What makes it even worse is that the Brita is out of water (didn't refill this morning) so I have little to no water until who knows when. I don't even know how I'm going to brush my teeth!

I've had a horrible week. Way to end it...

another list

Four Jobs I've Had
1. customer service associate (bleck!)
2. teacher (jury still out)
3. missionary
4. day care (best summer of college was working with Kel at good ol'...what the heck was it's name?!)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
1. While You Were Sleeping
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Ever After
4. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Four Places I Have Lived
1. Venezuela
2. Spain
3. Blacksburg, VA (love them Hokies!!!)
4. Hardy, VA (aka, the middle of nowhere!)

Four Shows I Like to Watch
1. Lost
2. ER
3. 7th Heaven (I know, major cheese!)
4. Extreme Home Makeover Home Edition (I want to marry Ty!)

Four Foods I Like (only 4?!)
1. Girl Scout cookies (it's that season again!)
2. ice cream
3. Panera's blueberry/strawberry summer salad (I can't wait for it to come back)
4. berries of any kind

Four Websites I Visit Daily
1. Blogger
2. Hotmail
3. MSN
4. um, that's it...

Four Things I Want to Do Before I Die(in no particular order)
1. Live in Italy and/or Greece
2. Get out of debt
3. Visit every Spanish speaking country in the world, and then some
4. Get married (I know, pathetic)

super Ginger!

I was just playing with Simba. I admit I was playing rough and getting him very stirred up. He kept trying to attack my hands but it was okay because they were under a blanket; his bites never penetrated through to my skin. All of the sudden, Simba decided this wasn't good enough and jumping up, tried to bite the top of my head. Before I even knew what was going on, Ginger jumped onto Simba and bit him, protecting me from his attack. When he fell, she let go and started hissing at him, letting him know his behavior would not be tolerated.

Don't worry, I'm fine; he didn't really bite me. I'm in shock right now by Ginger's heroic feat! She's normally so docile and a scaredy cat. She was my knight in shining armor!

perezosa

I don't feel like doing anything today! My apartment is a disaster and I've been sick all week, so you'd think I'd want to get moving and do something. But no, I am super unmotivated. It's a beautiful day, although a bit chilly, so I should get outside or at least go to the gym. What is wrong with me?!

lame

The commercial said, "And the return of Dr. Carter". What was I supposed to think except that there would be at least on significant scene with him. I watched the entire hour of the program and they stuck him in a scene at the end, background music playing, he's flying in a helicoptor over a field of white tents. He didn't even have a line! I'm so mad!

back in the saddle

I took another sick day today because I was feeling horrible last night. I thought I was even going to have to make a trip to the doctor. I woke up this morning and felt very tired, but not as sick, so that was good. I have spent a good portion of the day sleeping; I think that has been a huge help in my feeling better.

The worst part of being sick this time is that I blew my nose so much that it's dry and crusty around the nostrils. It constantly looks like I have something hanging out of my nose when in fact it's just dry flaky skin. Anyone have ideas for getting rid of it?

Growing Pains...

is now on DVD!!! At least the first season is. I know what I'm adding to my wishlist. Who else was totally in love with Mike Seaver?

wheezy

Nothing like going for a walk when you have a cold to make you feel out of shape! I decided to walk to the drug store that is just a block away so I could buy some medicine. I figured it was close enough that I wouldn't feel winded and far enough to at least get me out of my apartment complex. I thought the movement would help get my lungs working a bit and maybe clear them out. I was wrong. Walking there I got so hot and short of breath I thought I needed to stop and take a break. On the way back, I was walking so slow and felt like I needed my inhaler. I know I'm out of shape, but this is ridiculous!

Catkins

It's no secret that my cats are a little overweight. Simba is just a pound over what he should be, but Ginger is a whopping 5-6 pounds over what she should be; that's a third of her current weight. Think about trying to lose a third of your weight, yikes! When I took her to the vet the other day, I asked what I should do as the current method of diet cat food was not working. She suggested putting her on the "Catkins" diet. Yup, you read correctly. It's based on the Atkins diet for humans; high protein/low carb, which actually makes sense for cats. Because they eat out of each others' bowls, they both have to be on the diet. They seem to like the food though, so that's good. We'll see if Ginger loses any weight.

By the way, her eye is all healed and looking good. She is not the least bit excited about the drops, though.

sick day

I feel like the whole world has come down with the flu. Kids are hacking and sneezing all over the place. Schools are not exactly the most sanitary environments. I woke up this morning with a terribly sore throat. I thought about calling in a sub but I figured I should suck it up, especially since my sub folder isn't updated and I don't even know where it is! I went into work, and upon talking with a co-worker decided that I should just show a movie. They have been begging me for a free day, and while they don't deserve it, it would help to preserve my voice. I showed Napoleon Dynamite, which they love. I enjoyed watching the kids who had never seen it before react to the movie; they laughed and commented about it the whole way through. I saw my assitant principal and he told me to go home and that he would take care of finding a sub, so after 2nd period, I left. I'm a little sad not to watch the movie with my kids, but I know I need the rest. On top of everything else, it's gray and raining today. I'm going to crawl into bed and sleep forever!

new addiction

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal.You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk. You should major in: PhilosophyMusicTheologyArtHistoryForeign language

What should you major in?

pobrecita!

Ginger has an eye infection. I took her to the vet this morning and 125 smackers later, she has some eye drops and got an allergy shot. Yesh, I spend more on medical visits for my cats than I do for myself! She did very well at the vet, surprisingly. I was afraid she would be a nervous mess and not let the vet touch her. She did let me know, repeatedly, how unhappy she was to be in her carrier. The whole way there and back she meowed this low guteral meow that is not like her at all, the same one I heard for 22 hours when I moved here from Florida. She's doing fine now, not too excited about the drops but she'll survive. Oh, yeah, the vet weighed her and she's gained almost a pound since last April. I've been feeding her diet cat food for months and this is the end result. Yikes! I guess this just means there is more of her to love:)

here he is!

Isn't he precious?! I'm already in love with the kid and I haven't even met him in person. I can't wait to finally go home now! I'll keep you updated on when that will be; unfortunately I'm so broke I don't know if or when I'll be able to go home, so sad!

window sitting

It is a beautiful day! It's 70 degrees and sunny, with a slight breeze. I took a nice long walk which helped to relax my brain a bit.

Ginger and Simba loves days like this because I open the windows. They love to sit in the sill and check out what's going on on the other side. They watch the cars and the trees swaying in the breeze. Just a moment ago, Ginger was sitting in the sill. I heard her start to meow, but it was a soft low meow, and sounded really far away. My first thought: "oh no! she's fallen through the screen!" I went to check on her and she had not fallen through, thank goodness! She had discovered a little birdie or something and was singing to it. Isn't that precious? I love my little critters!

i'm an auntie!

My nephew was born on Jan. 25th! I'm so excited and I will post pictures as soon as my sister is able to send them. He was 9 lbs, 2 ounces, so a big boy! My mom says he already has chub on his legs:) I can't wait to see him. Hopefully I'll be able to go home over spring break!

wut a happend wuz...

A big fat nothing. Yep, you read correctly. Upon my co-workers return, I told her what happened and she also had the extensive note the substitute left. She went to the principal's office for advice on how she should punish the class. He said, "you're not going to like this, but you shouldn't do anything." His reasoning? You can't punish the whole class for what a few students did because the opposite effect will happen and the entire class will mutiny. I have to admit that it did make sense, but it still stinks! I was told that if it ever happens again, that I should call security down. As for my class, they of course heard through the rumor mill that her class wasn't punished and they were upset. I had to tell them that it was none of their concern but I certainly felt their pain.

ps--I'm applying my ebonics language learning in the title:)

today

Ah, the joys of teaching. I teach in a portable, which isn't really that bad. I get to control the temperature in the room and we have windows, which isn't a luxury that every class in the building has. You can feel a little closed off from the rest of the staff and the copy room is about a million miles away, but other than that, it's not that bad. The worst part is that my room is right next door to my co-workers; a door separates them so we can visit each other if we need to. The walls are not that thick, so if one of our classes gets rowdy, the other class can hear it. This usually isn't a problem because even when I have a super rowdy class, hers are equally so and they block out each other.

Today, my co-worker had a sub. The day went fine until the last period of the day. My class was behaving very well (one of my favorite classes) and trying to work. The class next door kept banging on the wall, making all sorts of noise. They were also yelling and evidently not doing their work. My class was so frustrated that a couple of the boys got up to go over to the door to go into the class to say something. I had to threaten them with detention to divert them, even though I secretly would have loved to see it. I handed out a quiz and my students were having great difficulty concentrating because of all the noise. Finally, I opened the door and told the other class that their behavior was unacceptable and that their teacher would hear about it. I shut the door and as I did so, one of the students yelled "f* you!" at me. I'm used to the cursing by now, but this is the first time that someone has so openly directed at me. Legally, I can even press charges and the punk will have to pay a $175 fine. I'm thinking about doing it...Anyways, my class continued to get upset by the other class' behavior, making comments like, "Miss K, you're getting punked by that class!" and "I'm going to turn hulk on that class!" I felt bad for them but at the same time it made me feel really good because my kids didn't like that fact that I was getting treated badly. They love me:)!

I can't wait to talk to their teacher tomorrow...