The World According to Leslie

I can't believe I did it!  Today is January 31, 2013.  I have written something every day this month!  (I don't think I have ever done that!)  I can hope I will continue this pattern.  It's a feeling of accomplishment to write something (even though it sometimes feels like nothing) every day!  I'm hoping that if I can write on here daily, I can start writing that book!  (Still searching for the perfect topic.)  The topic will come.  I just have to wait until it is time. :)  For now, I'm going to enjoy my accomplishment of writing every day for a solid month! :) 

Monday evening, Tony, my mom, and I took the Princess to check out one of the local private schools.  It's the oldest in the city.  It's HUGE.  I remember watching it grow as some of my friends from church attended there growing up.  It's a church-based school that teaches Bible, but they also teach all the other stuff that kids need for college.  Note: Recently (the past 2 years, I think) they have had 2 students receive perfect scores on their SATs!!!  As a mom, I think that is huge.  As a teacher, I know how wonderful that is--very rare!  :)  We are looking into sending the Princess there for next year.  I'm hoping that we can work it out.  We are going to pray about it and do the paperwork for financial aid for it.  We shall see!  I'm just not happy with the educational situation she is in right now.  Without taking her to a school that she would only attend for ONE year, I can't move her next year in the pu...

At the beginning of every semester, I find it hard to plan my lessons.  I know that sounds weird.  I have 18 weeks of information I need to give the students.  I should have PLENTY to plan.   However, it is very hard for me to plan lessons the first few weeks. At the ending of every semester, I find it hard to plan my lessons.  I review all semester.  We play review games all semester.  I have given them PLENTY of information.  There should be plenty to review.  However, there are only so many ways to review information. There are only so many ways to ASK the same questions.  Since I get to make my own exams, it's much easier for me.  If, for some reason, I don't get to finish EVERYTHING I wanted to in a semester, I just don't put it on the exam. :)  If I finish more, I add it to the exam. I know what I want them to learn.  It's just easier to plan in the middle of the semester.... when things are already rollin...

I guess this week, we are back to "normal"....whatever that is. We are having a full week of school.  That's something we haven't done in 2 weeks.  We will be in class for the entire day.  That's something we haven't done in 3 weeks.  (We get out early on Exam days!) Ohhh....today, the kids get their report cards!  Can't wait!  I know the Princess will have really good grades! :)  Now....  to get myself back on a "normal" schedule.  Hmmm.....  that's easier said than done, I think. 

Yesterday, I spent almost 12 hours scrapbooking with my Scrap Happy Divas.  I love hanging out with these girls!  Scrapbooking IS therapy! :)  While I was there, Tony and the Princess took my car to have the oil changed.  They also washed it.  Since we live in the South, the salt trucks were out like crazy for the past couple of weeks.  We have had "snow" one Friday and "ice" the next!  This week, it's supposed to hit 70!  (REALLY!?!?!?!?)  That's nuts! Today, we had church this morning.  Then lunch at IHOP! :)  Love that place!  Then...grocery shopping.  We went to Sam's Club, first. The greeter at the door said, "Are you paying with cash?"  (Really, do people still carry cash?!)  We said, "No."  He said, "Then the lines are going to be long because the credit card/debit card machine just went out!"  I sent Tony back to the car to get my purse.  The only MANDATORY thing was some chee...

FAIR WARNING!!!! So, I am writing this on Friday night at 8:41pm.  I am going to play with the "Schedule" function to see if I can post it to show up later.  I have never tried this, so you might get this post 5 times before I am finished. :) 

Sometimes Chasity has brilliant moments.  She is 9, in the 4th grade (and reading on almost a 7th grade level), and uses words I'm sure I didn't use correctly until college. For example: The other day we were in the car (where most of our really interesting conversations happen).  She was playing Angry Birds on my phone.  All of a sudden she yelled, "I'm going to pulverize you pig!"  Obviously, I was floored!  Naturally, I said, "Did you say pulverize ?"  Her response was, "Well, duh!  It just means I'm going to kill him!"  Today, however, was not one of her more intellectual days.  We all know I'm wanting to write a book.  What should I write one about?  Who knows.  I have an idea, but I can't get it going.  So, I'm thinking it's not the right idea for now. :)  I need something I can write about that will just flow.  (I don't want to deal with "Writer's Block" until I've actually started wri...

Today, we are expecting "ice".  For those of you who have snow, let me explain.  Ice can't be driven on.  It is slick and there is no way to get traction on it. Snow can be driven on if you are careful and don't drive like you are in NASCAR! Last Thursday night, we had snow.  Well... there was about an inch on the grass, but some of the roads were frozen over so school was cancelled!  :)  So, we had the " Not So Snow Day ." Today, the ice is supposed to start soon.  Some stations say 10am.  Some say noon.  There is even one (really random, out there station) that says 3pm!!  The neighboring school district (and several others) have already announced they are getting out early--3 hour early dismissal. My school district is waiting.  Not sure what they are waiting for, but they are waiting. I think they are hoping that we can get the kids to school today and dismiss early.  I think they are figuring that if nothin...

Today is the first day of the new semester.  WOW!  I can't believe I'm this nervous.  I have my syllabus all typed and copied!  I have all my info handouts ready. I have everything ready for the first day!  However.....  I am nervous!  I'm guessing it is meeting the new kids.  Since I teach at a high school, I get new kids today.  My previous students were WONDERFUL!  (Considering the school, I can't imagine that these kids will be any different!) I just guess that I'm anxious about meeting new people.  :)  Don't get me wrong!  I'm ready!  I have plenty do to in class today!  I just have First Day Jitters!  :) 

Monday was a day off school.  We celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. day.  (I posted about that here .) Yesterday was a Teacher Workday . Today the students are taking the final exam (last class) that they were supposed to have taken on Friday.  They get out for 1/2 the day.  As soon as I get my grades and stuff in the computer and get a couple more copies made, I am out for the day too.  (I might go have lunch with the Princess, if I can swing it!) Tomorrow begins a new semester.  I get new students.  The students all get new classes, new teachers.  I work in a high school.  We have 4 classes first semester and 4 different ones second semester.  Luckily for me, I only have to tweak what I did first semester because I am teaching the same thing this semester.  First semester, I only had 8 kids in my largest class.  This semester, my largest class will be 14.  That will be the biggest difference for me.  I have ...

Since we had a "Snow Day" on Friday, I have to work today. I had the option to be off today.  However, my procrastinating self decided on Thursday afternoon that I would sign up on Friday to be off today.  Guess what!  SNOW DAY!  (No!  It did NOT teach me a lesson about procrastination.  But...I will use it to teach my students a lesson about it.) :)  So...  I'm working today.  I'm taking the Princess to work with me. As soon as I finish making a few copies and moving my room around for the new kids I'll have on Thursday, I will be out of there.  I really do love my job this year!

Today is not just a holiday.  Today is not just a day off school and work. Today is a day to celebrate a man who tried to pull a nation together. Today is a day to think about what he did (what he said) and try to make his ideas work. Unfortunately, most people (especially kids) think today is just a holiday to be off school (to play games or sleep in).  They don't use the day to think about what was said or done.  Unfortunately, many people disregard the great man that was Martin Luther King, Jr.  I think having a day to contemplate what he did/said is great.  However, I think it would be greater if we really worked to keep his ideas at work. Did you know that there are many schools that are very segregated today?  Money separates the schools. There are many "rich white" schools and "poor black" schools again today.  There is no law to keep them that way, but society is making it impossible for all kids to get the same education.  Y...

A couple months ago, my parents told me they had learned to play Canasta.  I laughed at them.  I told them that was an "old people's game'!! During Christmas break when we went to Gatlinburg with my parents, they taught us how to play.  So now, when we get the chance, we go hang out with my parents (with we did anyways) and play Canasta!  It's actually pretty cool.

Really, I think I might be in need of an "attitude adjustment".  Yesterday, I was in such a bad mood all day.  I guess it started when I found out that I am going to have to work next Saturday (Jan. 26) to make up for the " Not So Snow Day ".  It really was ridiculous in my opinion to have us stay home in order to watch the snow melt all day!  :(  After that, I realized that I wasn't going to have time (or money) to get to my aunt's house.  I need to pick up my Grandma's (mom's mom) China Cabinet (hutch, thing).  My Grandma lived with my aunt and uncle until my aunt couldn't care for her any longer.  So we moved her up here to a Retirement Center.  My aunt passed, and my Grandma passed.  A few months ago, my uncle passed too.  Of course that leaves an empty house for the kids to take care of.  They are planning to sell the house.  However, I need to get the hutch out of there before they move it all to consignment so...

In NC, we get LITTLE snow.  So...when there is snow, we get time off school.  (As a teacher, I get time off work too!) I think we could have survived with a 2-hour delay today.  However, at 6:30am, they decided to cancel school for the day! Hooray for 4 day weekends! Boo for having to work next Saturday!  Our make-up day is going to be Jan. 26th.  No sleeping in for me that day!  lol  Well.... we are planning a little road trip to the beach.  So.... my SNOW DAY became a beach weekend! :) LOVE IT!

Yesterday, I posted that we are having "Weird Weather" here.  As of 10pm last night, the weather people (not just weathermen any more) are calling for 2-4 inches.  Unfortunately, they are all saying that it will be gone by 5am! I may not be a Science person, but wouldn't it take a LITTLE longer than an hour for the snow to completely melt if it doesn't stop snowing until 4am!?  (Just asking!) We may (or may not) have some snow tonight!  I may (or may not) get to see it in the morning since I wake up around 4am! :)  I just wonder what they are going to do about school--the last high school exam for the semester is tomorrow morning!  (We shall see what the plan is!)

So yesterday, I posted about all the people who had been reading my posts lately.  Today, I have only had 2 pageviews.  That seems strange to me.

Anyone who knows me knows that I L-O-V-E love cold weather.  (Although now that I'm getting older, I do get cold more!) I have always wanted to live in the COLD!  Unfortunately, I live in NC.  There really isn't a "winter" here, most years.  We will have cold weather.  Then it warms to the 50s.  50-ish is the "average" temp here in January.  However, this weekend, we had a "heat wave".  It was 70-ish degrees here on Saturday and Sunday.  The surrounding days (Thursday-Monday) were in the 60s.  Yesterday was supposed to be in the 60s, but I think we stayed in the 50s.  Then, on the news last night, I hear they are calling for "flurries" on Thursday night!  Really?  Snow?  You see, normally, when they call for "flurries" we get a lot of snow.  When they call for "X inches" we get flurries.  I don't know whether to be excited or not.  Do I make sure I stock up on bread and milk?  (We have plen...

Do those sound like weird numbers?  Well, to me, they seem really crazy!  Why? Well, since I started blogging, I have had 3995 page views.  That seems insane because it hasn't been long since I was trying to break 3000. (I think I have that post somewhere.) I have written 415--make that 416 posts now!  Believe it or not, I have written every day (sometimes twice a day) since January 1st.  (Maybe December 31st?!)  It's nice to say something every day!  Yes, I know.  I still need to finish my 2012: A Year in Review.  I think I'm up to October.  (I'll try to get to that this week.) 72?  That's the number of followers I have.  I remember watching it grow from ZERO. Then I had 70 for over a year.  Now that I'm blogging more consistently, I have added two followers.  Now... if I could only get you guys to comment and let me know what you think. :)  That would be awesome!! Hopefully, today, I will break 40...

I spent four years as an Undergraduate student.  I attended three different 4-year universities.  I also attended a community college.  I spent 4 1/2 years as a Graduate student.  As you can probably guess, I have more Student Loan debt than I care to admit!  However, I won't try to get someone else to pay it (unless one of you just wants to write me a check to cover it!)!!  I won't try to get out of paying it.  I will pay my debt.  One day, when I have finished paying it off, I will be so excited!  Unfortunately, I think I might pay off my house and my student loans around the same year! :(  Was it worth it?  Yes....every penny!  Would I do it again?!  Yes...every second of it! Would I do anything differently?  Maybe.... but I think my life is pretty good, okie dokie, okay right now! :)  I'll just keep making my little payments until I can make BIG payments to get a chunk out of the loans! :)...

How is it possible that it is Monday again?  Really? Didn't we just have Monday last week? WOW!  I can't believe this is the last Monday with my current kids!  Today is a review day.  Then we have exams tomorrow-Friday.  Next Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, and Tuesday is a teacher workday.  I do not have to work (at my school) on Monday, but I will be working at the daycare so Mom can take Dad to the doctor.  I may not have to work Tuesday either.  It just depends on how much stuff I can get done during exams and after school on the days that the kids get out early this week (Tuesday-Friday).  I might get TWO days off next week. :) Then Wednesday.... well.... I get all "new" kids.  "New" because they are teenagers, but NEW because I have never had them before. :) I get to do EVERYTHING over again!  (That is the coolest thing about High School!)  If you mess it up in first semester, you get to try it again...

I went to scrapbook with my Scrap Happy Divas.  That is ALWAYS very exciting.  We are going to be going to a different location (less than a mile from the normal one) on Jan. 26th to scrapbook.  We are scrapbooking to help raise money for Relay for Life.  :)  When the lady came to pick up our registrations, one of my "triplets" said she didn't know where the place was.  What did we do?  ROAD TRIP!  We, my other "triplet" and I, took her to show her where the place it.  Then we came back to scrapbook some more! About an hour later, a lady (whom I met for the first time yesterday) was talking to her daughter on the phone.  We heard, "They just put out the peanut butter chocolate donuts?"!!  What did we do?  ROAD TRIP! We went to Sheetz (in Salisbury) to get donuts.  Unfortunately, there for 4 of us in the car and they only had 3 peanut butter filled chocolate covered donuts.  There were 5 more people wai...

Last week, Tony informed me that he had to work today and tomorrow.  Luckily, he's in town, and not an hour away like normal.  Unfortunately, the last time he worked a weekend on the job he's doing this weekend, he worked Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday.  They all blended together though because he didn't get off work "Friday" until 2 am Saturday morning.  Then he went BACK to work 8am, and he worked until 3am Sunday morning.  Sunday he went back in at 8 am.  He got off at 5am on Monday morning, took Chasity to school, took a shower, and went back to work until 9pm on Monday night!!!  The GREAT thing about it?  The paycheck.  Saturdays are automatic time-and-a-half.  Sundays are automatic double time !!!  That paycheck was AWESOME!!!  The horrible thing?  We didn't get to see Tony much and he was exhausted the entire week trying to "catch up" on sleep! However, he says that is won't be that bad this weekend....

If you want to catch up on this tale, read Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 .    We have arrived to Labor Day.  September!!!   We did not have any softball games that weekend.  We rented a small SUV and drove to Boone, NC.  That is one of my most favorite places….EVER!  It has Appalachian State University and Tweetsie Railroad !   I attended App State as a Freshman in college.  Music major.  Totally different post.   For the past two years, Chasity has earned “Cookie Points” for selling Girl Scout cookies.  With those points, she can get tickets to places and Gift Certificates to places.    The first year (2011) she got a bowling party, $25 card to Build-a-Bear , and 2 tix to Tweetsie.  Last year (2012) she got $25 card to Applebee’s , $25 card to Build-a-Bear, and 2 tix to Tweetsie.  Who knows how many points she will get this year (2013) and what she will get for them!?    So...

When school lets out, my niece (who is a junior in high school) picks my daughter up and takes her to my mom at daycare!  I love it.  It gives my niece a little money every week, and it gets my daughter "home" safely!  My niece goes to the same high school that I went to, my siblings (including her dad) went to, and MY dad (her Grand Dad) went to.  It's a great school.  We just moved into the district so that my daughter, too, will be attending the same high school in a few years. However.... (There's always a "however," right?) However... the rival high school is just up the street (a few miles). The daycare is in the district for the rival high school. :(  So...yesterday, I went to pick up my daughter at daycare.  When I got there, a group of kids from the rival high school were standing in the middle of the intersection where I needed to turn.  (It was a side street, but STILL!) They saw me and moved.  One of them is in my Gi...

You know how sometimes life gets a little nuts? You know how sometimes, as women, we don't take time for ourselves? Well, I have found a group of women to hang out with, and it's better than therapy! I have been scrapbooking for about 3-4 years now!! (WOW! Time has really flown!)  Anyways, I started very simply.  I put pictures on a page and made sure there was pretty paper behind it.  Now, I take a little longer because I have been doing it longer and I like to embellish.  A year ago, my friend, who is a  Creative Memories consultant, got a group of us together.  We did not know each other.  The only common thing was our friend.  Now, three of us, "The Triplets" are best friends.  We call each other, have "Girls' Night", and help each other out! When we arrive at the crops, sometimes we have had a hard week (day/month/etc.).  After about an hour, these women have me laughing and crying and everything else.  With my dad ...

If you want to catch up on this Year in Review, you can get Part 1 and Part 2 .   August arrived!  LOVE AUGUST! August is Chasity’s birthday!  She is the best kid ever!  We have the simplest, but the best, parties for her.   This year, the theme was “Princess and the Frog.”  Unfortunately, I was so consumed with school and work (I started work the week before her birthday!) that I forgot to order the cake!   What does ANY good mom do when she forgets to order the birthday cake?  Well, duh, she calls her own mom in tears!    Then her mom (my mom!) said, we can just make a cake!   What does any good daughter (me) do when her mom says that?    She goes and gets a cute pan and lots of M&Ms and icing.  Then she shows up at her mom’s house to make the cake!   So remember this is the DAY BEFORE the party—Friday night!  Mom has worked all day. She’s kept Chasity so Tony and I coul...

I guess I should say, "Winner, winner, pizza dinner," but that wouldn't be right either. "Winner, winner, pizza lunch" just doesn't sound the same! :)  My 3rd period class is awesome!  Before Christmas break, the school had a contest for 3rd period classes. We were to collect change to help the PTSO with a project at the school. My 3rd period class, which only has 7 kids in it, won!  OK!  So I matched part of what they collected.  Then there was an "anonymous" donor also.  So my kids ended up with over $150!!!  So today....during that class.... I get to sit back, relax, and do nothing! :)  They are having a pizza and movie party!  They are also having a sub!  (That was part of the deal!) AND...to top it all off!  I get to wear jeans today! :)  LOVE!!! Yippee for "winner winner chicken dinner pizza lunch"!!!

Here is Part 1 of this story. Now we are up to May. In May 2012, Tony and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. The last time we really went anywhere (like a trip) was in 2002—our first anniversary. The only reason we went anywhere then was because my best friend was getting married the day before our anniversary. So Tony and I took off to Kentucky (or West Virginia, I can’t remember). Anyways, we haven’t been anywhere since then for our anniversary. So this year, our anniversary fell on a Saturday. That was the first time it has been on a Saturday (since we got married)!!! So after the softball game that day, we left for the beach. We took all the stuff with us in the car. We changed clothes in the bathrooms at the ballfield. We left! The next morning, before we headed home, we walked on the beach for a while.    School let out on June 8th. On June 14th, we had to take Chasity to the ER. She couldn’t breathe. She...

As you know, I am a high school teacher.  In the county where I teach (and in many places now) the classes run on a 4X4 block schedule.  This means that the students have 4 classes from August until January; then they change classes and have 4 different classes from January to June. Right now, we are in the final days of the first semester.  The students only have this week (5 days) and then Monday of next week of "regular" classes.  Then they have four days of exams--one each day.  That means that next week, the students will get out of school early on Tuesday thru Friday.  Then we have our Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and a teacher workday the following week.  I can't believe that I only have these kids for 6 more days and an exam.  I'm a little excited to see what my new kids will be like, but I have gotten so used to these kids.  They are FABULOUS!!!  I can't imagine having a better group.  (I am going to double my numb...

In 2012, we had some ups, some downs.  We did some things that we loved, hated, and some that we NEVER want to do again! In January, Chasity decided she wanted to cheer.  So… we signed her up.  She made some new friends.  Unfortunately, it was very unorganized.  (We are not used to that with sports.  Softball for the same organization is very organized.)  So, she decided by March that she HATED cheering.  That’s okay!  She still loves Softball. Softball registration is in January.  The evaluation day and draft are in February.  That means that by the end of February, you are practicing Softball.  Then the games start in March.    This year, her team was the “Mets”.  They were the season and tournament CHAMPS!!!  We had the best coach ever!  We are hoping to play for him again this Spring!   Easter was fun.  We had an Easter Egg Hunt at church.  (It was after the Su...

Before I try to use Live Writer to post my pics about 2012, I am attempting to see if it will work.      So…… did it work?

Tomorrow is my niece's 9th birthday!  The coolest thing about that is that she is #5 of 5 kids in her family!  My daughter was born in August 2003.  My niece was born in Jan. 2004.  Why is that so cool? My sis-in-law and I were pregnant at the same time.  However, because she had already had 4 kids, she knew how to "hide" hers.  She waited until after my daughter was born to tell the family.  (I think she waited until like October to tell us!) She wanted me to have all the fun (and perks) of a first pregnancy without taking any of it away from me.  Wasn't that awesome of her? Now, my daughter and my niece are best friends.  Unfortunately because of how their birthdays fall, they are in different grades.  Mine=4th; Niece=3rd.  But.... they do get to play on teams together in the softball league.  We try really hard to keep them on teams together so that they don't have to play against one another.  Since her bir...

I'm really not a morning person!  I hate mornings.  I would much rather sleep until noon and get up and stay up all night! However, for most of my life (almost ALL of it) I have had to get up early for everything I do.  I think they should have 3rd shift school.  I could teach at that.  Shoot!  I'd even send my kid to that!  (She's not a morning person either!) I have been blogging every day this year (haha!  4 days!)!!!  I have done it in the mornings for most of those days. Why is that I have time in the mornings to do things that I can't do in the evening?  It could be that I don't plan anything else in the mornings.... because I'm not a morning person.  It could be that I'm in here on the computer anyways (email, work email, etc.).  It could be that since I graduated in December, I haven't had to spend hours on the computer every night working on homework.  So, I have been letting my Princess play on my compu...

So yesterday, 1/2/13, was my 400th post!  I really should keep up with things like that!  Of course, I am hoping that I will almost double (or really double) the number of posts I had (total) by the end of 2013.  Some days, I just feel like there is nothing to write.  Some days I just don't have time to write.  Some days, I feel like if I write what I want to, you will not want to read it.  Anyways.... This year, since we moved, I moved the Princess to a new school.  (I never should have done that!)  However, I did.  We really aren't impressed with the school.  But, it's the district we live in.  So, I guess she will be there ONE more year....next year for 5th grade.  Then she will go to middle school.  (Her middle school has a new principal this year, and I really like her.  I'm hoping she will stick around until Chasity gets there...and is finished there.) The latest problem is that my munchkin has ear inf...

Today, I am going back to work.  I have been off work since 2:20pm on Dec. 21st. WOW!  Those days have flown.  I'm hoping that the kids are still in "sugar comas" or at least still "half asleep" so that they will be CALM today!  Otherwise, I'm guessing these kids are going to be bouncing off the walls after having not seen each other in over a week. Now, it's time to get ready for exams.  In a couple of weeks, I will have new kids.  WOW!  I can't believe the year is almost half way over!  Good morning!  Good day! Let's hope the kiddos are happy to day! :) 

I just spent two hours (yep!  You read that correctly--TWO HOURS) working on a post with pictures and details from 2012.  It was 2012 in Review.  I used Windows Live Writer, like I always do when I am posting pics.  Then it wouldn't let me post.  It also wouldn't let me save.  So now.... I have NOTHING to show for those two hours I just worked. Maybe.... I will put the time in to try it again.  However, I will probably just post random things from 2012 in Review and not do the entire post over!  I hate when that happens.  I wish I knew how to get Blogger to work when I'm posting pics.  Anyways..... HAPPY NEW YEAR!