cramerk

Steph, I do agree with what you are saying and until this week I was that giving person. Now...I just don't know. It really isn't about a Promethean board or money, it is about respect. As a teacher we don't get $$$, but I have always busted my butt to make a difference in my students' lives. Now I just don't know. Everytime I try to make a difference, try to help my students become independent, I get slapped down. Everytime I am asked to build a program, I have built the best program I could...but here I am, trying to build an earth science program and I get my budget cut so that someone can have a $4000 piece of equipment. Its about having at least the bare necessities...I don't even have that. If the district was so hurting for $$$ that we couldn't buy anything I would understand. But it isn't that way, its about giving a luxury to one class while others do without the basics and told that with that small amount of $$$ you now have to buy paper, pencils, colored pencils, glue, scissors, notebooks, calculators because we are no longer allowed to ask students to be responsible. However, I also am fried. Working multiple jobs, getting my master's, dealing with my own kids. That or 24 years of teaching is too much. What about the sacrifice your family makes so that you can follow your dream of teaching, only to die 2 1/2 months after you retire and never get to do all the things you and your family planned. I don't want $$, I don't even care about equipment...I DO care about making a difference. I have always gotten letters or phone calls from ex-students, not any more. All I get now is phone calls from parents who say that holding a student accountable to turn in an assignment is wrong. Then I have to appologize and promise never to hold them accountable. Don't worry, I'm not angry at you. You do have a great point. But I guess I have been slapped one to many times. I even got reprimanded in front of the other staff for ordering a package of colored pens. Another time for wearing a 'sloppy' shirt last year when I had lost enough weight that my clothes were big, but I couldn't afford new ones. I also go to work by 6:30 am and don't leave until after 5 pm.

Morning ladies!! Hope you all slept well! I forgot tp mention that I came home from work and would you believe that there was a kitchen counter under all the junk? Spent 2 hours just putting stuff away in the kitchen. There is still lots to do, but I am not going to stress about it. Just every night I am going to spend at least 1 hour cleaning/unpacking. One day down, many more to go! Janet, they have to choose you, how can they not!!! You have the best after picture I have seen!

Candice, it looks like you had a really great time!!!! The yard is beautiful, but not as beautiful as you. First day of school was uneventful. Zero stress, that is my goal. I resigned as a member of the Child Assisstance team. I may resign as a member of the Montana Behavior Initiative team as well. I don't need the stress and I don't need the added work. There is no pay involved and since I don't receive any 'benefits' as evident by my cut budget and lack of receiving a Promethean Board I definitely don't need the crap. I got a few comments on how nice I looked. I did look pretty good except for the neon white feet attached to tanned legs. I guess I should have bought some 'tan in a can' because it was pretty scarey. The memorial for the teacher who died is on Friday. There will be hundreds of people, so I am going to pass. I can't deal with it. So instead, I am going to quietly honor him from home. Sounds lame I know, but it is just more than I can handle right now. Especially since his passing has really made me question my life. How much do I really 'live' or do I just exsist. Candice, I didn't make enough for a plane ticket but I do feel much better about down sizing. I still have a lot to get rid of, but I figure I will start another 'yard sale' pile and have one in the spring. I am also hauling a load to the dump. Simplify! Well should go take a shower and find something to eat. Food today was good. Small breakfast: blueberries/kashi/yogurt, Lunch: carrots and the topping to a small serving of super nachoes, Snack: laughing cow wedge and some veggi chips, Dinner: don't know yet. Tomorrow I will be better prepared and am making a salad with lots of stuff! Oh, tried to take out my eye at work yesterday. Leaned over to pick something up and ran right into a thin green bamboo stake that was supporting a plant, hit me right in the eye lid. So I have a scabby eyelid with some swelling. Thank goodness my blink response was working. It would have devistated me to loose an eye. I shutter just thinking about it. chat later or tomorrow

Morning Ladies, up and at 'em! Enjoy your sleep in. The old brain is still asleep, so not much to say. So have a good day!! Good food choices! Candice, hope the party went well. Phyl, love the pics!

Steph, I am so sorry. It seems like your town has had more than it's share of bad things. I think that is another reason to stop obsessing about things. I am not ready for school tomorrow, NOTHING is done, I haven't even unstacked my student chairs from the summer cleaning. I'll do it in the morning. copying done, nope. lesson plans done, nope. idea what I am going to do, nope. I am going to have to decide if I am going to stay on the committees that I am on. I don't think so. Anyway, best get to bed, have a good evening! TTFN

Work was pretty uneventful, rained most of the day. Decided I needed some inside plants, I don't know why I buy them I usually kill them. But came home and hung plant hangers and potted up the plants. So now I have 2 papyrus, a pot of curly bright red coleus and some speckly cool pink, green, and ivory coleus, a miniature spruce ( 3 inches tall), a pot of 3 variety of ivy, and a tiny spider plant, oh and a hoya plant. So now I have a little forest in the kitchen. I don't have a lot of natural light, but my nursery boss says that if they are under flourecant or full spectrum lights they will grow fine. School tomorrow, yeah... actually it will be just fine. It is all about attitude. I have made a plan for the house, every night I am going to spend one hour cleaning and putting things away. It may take a while, but at least it will be done. Steph, your house should be spotless by now!! Janet, great work out!! Phyl, Candice...how were the parties.

Darn, Janet, don't you hate it when we get so old we can't remember things. That seems to be my everyday life. It is raining today. my kids didn't cover the yard sale stuff very well, and naturally I didn't check, bad on me, but now a bunch of stuff is wet. I guess that means it really goes in the garbage. Will probably be a slow day at the nursery. But that is okay, the boss is off gold prospecting and I get to open on my own....a first! She was so sweet yesterday. I was telling her about school and the Promethean Board going to the teacher who is crappy, she was so supportive. Later I asked her how a plant would do as a house plant. So she gave me one...she said, "I know it isn't a Promethean Board, but I appreaciate your work." What a sweetheart. It wasn't an expensive plant, it would have cost me $4.25, but the thought was fabulous! Slept like a rock last night. Worked on my crusty feet, thanks again ladies for the kit. So tonight I will come home and give myself a pedicure. need to finish up some laundry and then think about school. But I'm not going to stress about it! You all have a great day!!TTFN

Steph, I forgot, also explain to Michael that since he is a 'young' man, doing laundry will help he gain some independence. You know, convince him that it is a good thing....

Michael is old enough to wash his own laundry. My girls were about that age. I got tired of washing clean folded clothes because they were to lazy to put them away, so they just threw them into the hamper. I would walk him through the process, just a refresher, and then leave it up to him. Eventually he will do it...or not. I think DD#5, wore the same clothes for about a month, but then again she is doesn't care what other people think. Well need to go take my meds, I am 1 1/2 hours late, so sleep will be awhile away.

Janet, yep, I feel like I did pretty well on the yard sale. I figure any of the craft items that don't sell I will take to school and donate them. The fabric, I am going to find an organization who makes quilts for the needy. Take what is decent to Goodwill, and the rest, to the dump. Neighbor lady who makes awesome bread sent over some rolls. I sent all but one home with Elyse and had 1/2 of one with a little butter for dinner. That is the first time I have enjoyed 1/2 of a small dinner roll and not felt deprived not eating the other half,,,or 3! I really feel like I have gained some control. But I am worried a bit about school. Janet, I am going to need support and bossing to keep me from binging. Temperature wise, we went from 98 to 40 in 24 hours, but that is Montana for you.

Phyl, I agree, you are just beautiful!! I have always known you were beautiful on the inside, but damn woman, you a stunning. Earl better behave, or you might just find another man!! Linda, it does feel good to get rid of stuff. I think I probably could have sold more things, but I can always have another! So far I made about $200, which isn't bad since most of the stuff was $1 to $2. People here are WAY cheap. I had some fired, but not painted ceramic things that cost be $40 EACH, and people were complaining that I was asking $5. There was a package of 30 Femo blocks that normally sells for $50 and was asking $8 for the blocks, a book, and all the molds and tools. Again people wanted it for $2, forget that, I'll give it away. Anyway, it is chilly here with the wind blowing like crazy. Suppose to be 40 degrees tonight and only in the 50's tomorrow, brrrr. My new computer is ready, but I don't have time to go pick it up until next week. I hope this one survives until then. Guess I'm going to go find some dinner, TTFN Oh Linda, darn right, you and I BOTH need to live a little more and work a little less. We need to realize that there are other things to do beside teaching!

Janet, I still can't beleive that the 'before' pic was you. You looked good then, but 'wow' your 'after' is know down gorgeous. Your short story is perfect, there is a spelling error in the 3rd to last paragraph where you say 'bad' instead of 'band. But you said eveything perfectly. So you have a 'slip' with the cheeto puffs, Toss the rest of the bag and drink lots of fluids this weekend to get rid of the extra salt. With that much salt, naturally you are going to show a significant weight gain. But is will ge Water weight nor 'fat weight'. Hugs on the furry issue. Miss Molly wakes me up on a regular basis. Needless to say, I am tired this morning, typing with my eyes closed. Well Janet, enjoy your workout. I'll think of you trapped at the gym. TTFN

So far so good on the yard sale, about 1/3 of the stuff is gone, but should be busier tomorrow with it being Saturday. Got a call this morning that one of our long time teachers who retired at the end of school this spring died. He was a fabulous 1st grade teacher who made a real difference. He retires after 30+ years of teaching and dies 2 1/2 months later. He was a vet who was exposed to Agent Orange and developed lymphoma. Monday is going to be tough on all the staff and students. It just reminds me to grab life and live it to the fullest. STARTING today!!!! Step one, dump all the excess bagage, material and emotional. No more dragging crap around. Yep Janet, I am going to go and out and leave it at the door. I need to work on the eating at school, but I am getting it balanced. Believe it or not, I don't really feel like eating when I am home. For one of the first times in my life I actually have a small sliver of hope and control!!! Well, only got 4 hours of sleep last night, so I am going to head. Phyl & Candice, party away. Janet, it is just you and me....home bodies! See you all in the morning.

Morning Ladies, thank you for reading my -itchy post! I feel better now. New day and a nice cooler day for the yard sale. The carpenter is also coming to begin cutting the hole for the door from my bedroom out to the deck. Can't wait. It will take several weeks because the carpenter & electrician are working on it during their days off, thus a cheaper expense. Man you would no believe the crap I found. EX: a hand food meal for making apple butter, a new Pilates beginner set. Cookbooks, Well need to go do some pricing. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Wow, I come home from a crappy day at work take a 'short nap' (3 hours later) and the whole world changes. Karri, hang in there. Linda, oh wouldn't it be nice if I sold enough for a plane ticket. But Montana yard sales are natoriously cheap. I just hope I make enough to pay for a few groceries. I think there was something in the air, because I ripped the face off a teacher at work, and I seeth inside but I NEVER say anything. It has been brewing for a few years, this 'teacher' (and I use the term VERY lightly) was a pro football player, so he was hired to coach. Once hired he refused to coach. When he came he knew nothing about teaching and less about science and math. So I mentored him. What happens, they give him all my math classes and I get to teach earth science which I hate. Now because he is such a stellar teacher, NOT, he teaches directly from the book, won't even write his own notes, he gets a new Promethean Board, cost $4000. For those of you not in education, a Promethean Board is an interactive white board that you use, think extremely high tech chalkboard. this is the teacher who leaves in the middle of a parent conference because his contract time is up. Is not on a single committee and still can't teach worth crap. What do I get for all the extra hours I put in...my class budget cut so HE can have a Promethean board to teach math. He doesn't even teach science anymore, which is what these boards are designed for. I am to the point that what little $$ I have I am ready to tell the district just where they can put it. Back to the point, my ripping his face off...he always calls me 'Cramer', even in front of the kids, just like I was one of his locker jocks. So I finally told him, okay yelled at him that I don't appreciate being shown disrespect that way. So his response.."so what do you want me to call you, MRS. Cramer". I said that would be just fine. So, is my classroom ready? nope. Is it going to be? nope. Do I care? nope. The reality...I get paid the same as lousy teachers, so what is the point. I'm done busting my butt. I have pulled my name off the field trip to hike with the 6th graders. I am not going to do all the extra work to prepare for a sub and then deal with a field trip.

Crap, I just realized that I goofed up when I set my alarm, it was suspose to be for 5:15, but I set it for 4:15, I just cheated myself out of an hour of sleep!

Morning ladies, I hope you all had a good evening! Miss Molly thought getting up at 3 am was a good idea, grrr. Ah well, she is very polite when she asks to get up, just a very quiet woof. Now if I could just convince her that she can get off the bed on her own (she has a set of stairs) and go potty without a mom escort! Had a nice visit with DD#2, she is the heart PA in Idaho Falls. I guess it has been a tought month. Several of her friends have been diagnosed with cancer that has matastizized (sp). I told her that they needed to move because evidently the radioactive waste disposal site is not secure. Just my opinion. Another day at school, hopefully I will get something done today! Then home to finish going through stuff for the yard sale. If I have time I think I will go through some of my fabric and sell it for $1.00 a pound. Steph, keep up the good work! Cleaning and eating healthy is liberating....or so I have been told! Janet you go girl! Candice don't drive yourself crazy getting ready! Phyl have fun at the wedding! Linda?

Thanks everyone for the support about the yoga. One of the teachers at school said that she would work with me as well. Steph, all I can say is...CRAP. Michael can't get a break! School today was okay, boring, but okay. didn't get a single thing accomplished. Get home and am making piles for the yard sale. Knock on the door. Elyse is getting served papers for writing bad checks. They want to know where she lives, I have to admit that I don't know. so I give them her phone number and where she works. So now I guess my daughter is a felon. Crap. I hope she learns something and doesn't have to spend time in jail. well back to the piles! Food, what food. Today was a bowl of fruit, a piece of cheese and some peanut butter crackers. I guess that is plenty of food. Sometimes I just wish I could chew on a big juicy steak with salad and a smothered baked potatoe. That is when I know I still have food issues. But the band keeps me honest, most of the time.

Steph, thanks for the idea, I never thought of utube. Hugs on Michael issues. But you are right, as a teacher we know what girls write like! This is your time to champion Michael, I know he will be impressed and it will be helpful in the long run. Hang in there! School today, but no students, just meetings all day. Hope to get some stuff done in my room, hummm, not likely. Love you all, but need to kick it in gear, decided to sleep in until 6 instead of getting up at 4 like I usually do for school. See you tonight!

Yep, I think that taking a yoga class and possibly some meditation will help me cope with stress. I did find a zumba class, but it is 40 miles away and I really don't want to drive that far after school nights. I found a yoga class here in Stevensville, but the price is high. I know you guys are use to paying a lot for a gym, but normally around here it is about $50 a month. The yoga class is 5 passes for $55 or basically $11 a class. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I did buy some of those salmon burgers from Costco today. do you remember what all they put on them?

Candice, I love it!! I don't even make my own ice now. I like the flavor of store ice better, filtered water and no hassle. Finished up at school today. Didn't get anything done for class, but have completed my commitment for behavior stuff. Went into town for a costco run for DD#5, had a nice visit. Tried to get DD#4's phone bill put into her name, Verison refused and since she hasn't made any payments since the natorious 7000 textmessages a month, Verison has turned me into the collection agency. So thank you very much. Let's just pray I don't have to buy anything on credit for SEVERAL years. I have school tomorrow and Thursday, yard sale Fri & Sat and work Sat & Sun and then students on Monday. Found out my classes will be 30 plus students each, so I will be seeing 180 students a day AND my budget just got cut by 15%. It is going to be a fun year. Okay, enough, I have -itched enough, back to the positive me. I am going to look for a yoga and meditation class. I think that will be the only way I am going to be able to deal with the stress. Good think about stress, today all I have eaten was a protein bar. I use to eat my stress, now I just get stressed, whowhowho! Where is everyone? Well need to go unpack a few boxes, TTFN

Nah Janet, I am actually home tonight. I have unpacked 8 boxes...of books, 3 boxes so far for the yard sale. Going to throw it all together for a sale on Friday and saturday. I'm going through all my craft stuff and am selling everything but my quilting stuff, so goodbye to...wool yarn, candle stuff, lotion stuff, weaving stuff, potpourri, wooden ornament projects, wire jewelry projects, femo projects, stamping projects, rug making stuff, ceramic stuff, more wood stuff, concrete stuff...crap, how much stuff do I have. I'm selling my antique quilt frame. That is just the stuff I can think of. I know there is more, I can't even think about all the videos and DVD's. Candice, remind me...this is going to be liberating???? Phyl, I'll go through my beading stuff and send it your way. I am going to keep some of the smallest beads for some crazy quilting. I think I will keep my embroidery stuff. Um...what about my leather stuff? Okay, what about... Ah forget it, I can't even think of everything else....

Candice, I remember all those old shows! Boy, I have decided that I have finally lost it. I got up early this morning to do some unpacking and gather stuff for the garage sale I am having on Friday. I'm doing dishes, I look at the clock, crap, where did the time go. So I rush around and try to throw all my stuff together and rush out to the car and drive like the dickens to get to work on time. I drive up to the nursery and the gate is closed, so I open it and drive in and the boss walks out and asks me what I was doing at work AN HOUR EARLY. So much for getting a lot down. So yep, I am going to throw together a yard sale on Friday. I bribed Elyse to set it all up and run it while I am at work and I'll share the money with her. Stephanie, okay you have taken the first step, I am SO PROUD of you, I knew you could do it!! Sorry, short post, I really am tired. TTFN

I'm tired, worked all day at school making behavior signs and labels for EVERY student locker. Candice you are right, I'm too tired to unpack tonight, but I am going to sit down with my list. It is time for it all to go. The only thing I really enjoy is my quilting and sewing, so I am going to write a list of everything that will go. I don't really enjoy making candles or lotion, so that is first to go. Phyl, would you be interested in my beading stuff? Beads are not to heavy, so it wouldn't take much to ship them. Ceramics...need to go..., wire projects have to go, wooden projects need to go. Thank you for giving me permission to down size. I really should have a garage sale, but I just can't figure out when I will have time to do it. The perfect weekend would be September 11th. Maybe I can get Elyse to work it for me. I need some food. TTFn

Karri, so sorry about the health issues. Listen to the docs. Okay Steph, Candice...we haven't heard about food lately??? Steph, did you step on the scale. I know you are going to say..."When I get done with Pink Ribbon stuff." But lets get real here, you will always have "stuff". You said so yourself. So...girl you are my inspiration, now get your ass on the scale and make some good food choices. I love you and I won't see you back like your 'before' picture'. I still remember the first time I met you, I thought, "What a skinny -itch'. Not because you were a -itch, but because you were skinny. Later when you shared that you lost 80+ pounds with a lapband your face glowed, REALLY glowed. I want to see that pride again. Don't you DARE, slide back. Had a decent time with my mom. Managed to make a bigger disaster in the house than before. But I am making a dent. Oh Janet, my quilt room looks like the Hoarder show. Okay, right now, the whole house looks like that. But you raised a good point, I do have so much crap. Do I really need the large box of jars for making candles? How about the dozen cobalt blue lotion bottles with pumps for making my own lotion? What about all the candle making supplies? The box of my kids' papers from elementary school? Remember the eldest is 32. I think I need an intervention, that or a really big yard sale. Hum, a yard sale, I hate yard sales. Yep I need help. Linda, you said everything just right!!! Phyl, still out partying and traveling. Candice, remember we want to see pics of the Bday party. Well, need to kick it in gear. Yesterday worked at the nursery until 5:30, then had a work meeting at school until 10:30. Today, need to be back at school for work meeting at 8, so best go. Love you all. TTFN