Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Liars
Today was one of those days that I really wish I could drink. Working with small children is a wonderful thing and just the other day I was thinking about how lucky I am that I get to basically teach kids how to be good people and hopefully make the world a better place. Well today I thought, how can those little shits sit there for over an hour and lie to my face?!!? Never, ever have I been lied to like I have been at this new school that I work at. In my previous school, I dealt more frequently with rampaging, angry kids and their angry parents, which was no walk in the park either. Last year and now this year have opened my eyes to the frustrations of trying desperately hard to make a kid understand that the worst part of lying isn't the getting in trouble, it is that I will have no trust in you for quite a long time and that my friend is a big, big problem for you. After an hour of sitting listening to two second graders lie over and over (and I know they were lying because my new thing is to write down their first story and then every subsequent story they tell so I can go back and quote them) I actually started to chuckle....you know that kind of you are about to go crazy chuckle. One of the little angels thought I was laughing about his lying and started to smile at which time I had to oh so gently remind him that I was not laughing cause the situation was funny, but because I was going slightly insane due to his story telling. Why? Why do they lie? It's like you can tell them in a million different ways that lying will only cause you to get in more trouble and lose trust, but until they are in the situation they just don't get it. And some....well, some still don't get it. Job security I guess.....
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Toaster Anyone?
It happened. I fell prey to the beauty and ease of eBay. It all started this summer when going to garage sales and needing a toaster. I came across a beautiful vintage Sunbeam radiant heat toaster. This toaster is the kind that has no button or lever to press down. You just drop the bread in and the toaster then lowers the bread...kind of like magic. (Side note - I had no idea how to work said toaster in the beginning cause the lady at the garage sale just said, "You just drop the bread in" and having never ever seen this before was a bit skeptical and stood in front of said toaster for close to 30 minutes before calling my dad to ask if I had just been ripped off, when VOILA, the toast went down on its own when I dropped it in!)
Sadly this toaster must have been on its way out, because within about 3 months it quit working. I love toast and I loved that toaster even more (think cool, curvy, chrome) so I went on eBay to find another one. I found one, because what can't you find on eBay, and purchased it for $20. Oh, another side note....that garage sale toaster was only $2.50. Sigh. Anyway, my new toaster came and it didn't work. Thankfully, this was a very nice seller and I told her my plight and she refunded my money and said I didn't need to return it. So now I have two beautiful old toasters sitting in my entry because I can't seem to part with them and secretly hope someone somewhere will appear to me and know how to fix these toasters.
Back to eBay I went. Here is where it really went wrong. I found a bunch of old vintage toasters (not radiant heat ones because I think shipping might mess with that mechanism) and was trying to decide. Well, I have this issue with eBay where I bid on something and think, "I won't win with that bid, I'm sure." I must have had that thought on three days, however, because I checked my email a few days later and I had the message that I had won. Sweet! I checked my email the next day and saw another message saying I won. Why are they sending me another reminder? The following day I was checking email again and behold another message saying I had won. Ebay doesn't send three of the exact same "You won" message so I actually opened the email. Oh dear. I had won 3 different toasters. Shit. So now in my house I have 5, yes 5, toasters. They are all beautiful, old, chrome toasters, and thankfully one of the three is pretty close to my original beauty and works. I have two others though that would love a good home. So if anyone wants a vintage toaster for Christmas, you should let me know.
Sadly this toaster must have been on its way out, because within about 3 months it quit working. I love toast and I loved that toaster even more (think cool, curvy, chrome) so I went on eBay to find another one. I found one, because what can't you find on eBay, and purchased it for $20. Oh, another side note....that garage sale toaster was only $2.50. Sigh. Anyway, my new toaster came and it didn't work. Thankfully, this was a very nice seller and I told her my plight and she refunded my money and said I didn't need to return it. So now I have two beautiful old toasters sitting in my entry because I can't seem to part with them and secretly hope someone somewhere will appear to me and know how to fix these toasters.
Back to eBay I went. Here is where it really went wrong. I found a bunch of old vintage toasters (not radiant heat ones because I think shipping might mess with that mechanism) and was trying to decide. Well, I have this issue with eBay where I bid on something and think, "I won't win with that bid, I'm sure." I must have had that thought on three days, however, because I checked my email a few days later and I had the message that I had won. Sweet! I checked my email the next day and saw another message saying I won. Why are they sending me another reminder? The following day I was checking email again and behold another message saying I had won. Ebay doesn't send three of the exact same "You won" message so I actually opened the email. Oh dear. I had won 3 different toasters. Shit. So now in my house I have 5, yes 5, toasters. They are all beautiful, old, chrome toasters, and thankfully one of the three is pretty close to my original beauty and works. I have two others though that would love a good home. So if anyone wants a vintage toaster for Christmas, you should let me know.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
A Day Made Better
Whoa. Almost a month since the last post....yikes. Well, this is a good news post. Two good things in two days this week have prompted me to sit down and put the experience to words so I don't forget.
On Tuesday, I went to the doctor and received the happy news that everything seems fine since the surgery and my body is back to normal. I still haven't had a visit from my monthly friend however and I was a bit concerned about that. The Dr. put my mind at ease and said I really should even expect it for another two weeks. Whew. After that she said that I am free to "try again" (although to be honest I really hate that term, so I'll say "see what happens" instead.) Good news #1.
Then on Wednesday, I was teaching a 5th grade class when two guys from Office Max and my principal show up (along with the teacher of the class and a student teacher who were already in my room for the lesson). I am very confused at that point, especially when Brett (my boss) has a camera pointed at me. One Office Max guy says, "Are you Lori?" Oh....and he's holding a bouquet of flowers too. "Yes...." I say. "We are from Office Max. Have you heard of A Day Made Better?" "Yes," I say....although I really didn't but I was so stupefied at that point I didn't really know what I was saying. "Well, we are here to present you with $1,000 worth of supplies for your classroom. A Day Made Better is Office Max's program to try and erase teacher funded classrooms." HOLY SHIT!!! This was awesome and a very aptly named program because my day was INSTANTLY better. He and the other guy then wheel in (on a dolly) an ENORMOUS box (like big enough where I could it comfortably in it and put the lid on) full of classroom supplies. So he tells me to open it up and look through it and inside with the supplies are a new color laser printer and a new digital camera! AWESOME! Then they roll in a super sweet new office chair which is way nicer than any chair our school has or would provide. Then we took pictures with me and the Office Max guys and then with my class that was there witnessing the whole thing. One student asked, "Is your day better?" "Ummm, YES!". And then what was really cute was that the Office Max guy says that it was his first ever delivery for this program and he kept asking if I was happy and excited. He was pretty excited too I think. After they left, I asked a teacher why the hell I got that stuff and she said that you have to be nominated and she thought that Brett nominated me. I asked him later and he said yes that I totally deserved it cause I make so many other people's days better.
If you google a day made better office max, you will get the webpage with the info. They take one day a year to donate $1000 of supplies to 1000 teachers nationwide. If you search for my name, you'll see the entry from Brett. It's pretty basic to be honest, but nice nonetheless. Good news #2.
On Tuesday, I went to the doctor and received the happy news that everything seems fine since the surgery and my body is back to normal. I still haven't had a visit from my monthly friend however and I was a bit concerned about that. The Dr. put my mind at ease and said I really should even expect it for another two weeks. Whew. After that she said that I am free to "try again" (although to be honest I really hate that term, so I'll say "see what happens" instead.) Good news #1.
Then on Wednesday, I was teaching a 5th grade class when two guys from Office Max and my principal show up (along with the teacher of the class and a student teacher who were already in my room for the lesson). I am very confused at that point, especially when Brett (my boss) has a camera pointed at me. One Office Max guy says, "Are you Lori?" Oh....and he's holding a bouquet of flowers too. "Yes...." I say. "We are from Office Max. Have you heard of A Day Made Better?" "Yes," I say....although I really didn't but I was so stupefied at that point I didn't really know what I was saying. "Well, we are here to present you with $1,000 worth of supplies for your classroom. A Day Made Better is Office Max's program to try and erase teacher funded classrooms." HOLY SHIT!!! This was awesome and a very aptly named program because my day was INSTANTLY better. He and the other guy then wheel in (on a dolly) an ENORMOUS box (like big enough where I could it comfortably in it and put the lid on) full of classroom supplies. So he tells me to open it up and look through it and inside with the supplies are a new color laser printer and a new digital camera! AWESOME! Then they roll in a super sweet new office chair which is way nicer than any chair our school has or would provide. Then we took pictures with me and the Office Max guys and then with my class that was there witnessing the whole thing. One student asked, "Is your day better?" "Ummm, YES!". And then what was really cute was that the Office Max guy says that it was his first ever delivery for this program and he kept asking if I was happy and excited. He was pretty excited too I think. After they left, I asked a teacher why the hell I got that stuff and she said that you have to be nominated and she thought that Brett nominated me. I asked him later and he said yes that I totally deserved it cause I make so many other people's days better.
If you google a day made better office max, you will get the webpage with the info. They take one day a year to donate $1000 of supplies to 1000 teachers nationwide. If you search for my name, you'll see the entry from Brett. It's pretty basic to be honest, but nice nonetheless. Good news #2.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
It's "Fest" time
Oh yes, it's time to "fest". Fall is the time of year where you can find a "Fest" of some sort in most small towns and big cities all around northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. This past Saturday I went to Fall Fest in Chester Park right by my house. My dad came up and we ended up with Honeycrisp apples from Bayfield, a metal snowflake for a Christmas tree topper, hand made soap for Brian, and a dried flower thing for my front door. The apples were the biggest score because every year I go to Apple Fest in Bayfield (yet another fest this time of year....this year I'll be going on Oct. 8th) in hopes to get Honeycrisp apples, and the past three years I've been skunked. There is a limited supply of them and if you've never had one before, you would know why they sell out so quickly. Quite possibly the best apple ever. Anyway, I scored a 10 lb. bag of them, so if I can't get more on the 8th, then I'll be ok. Dad and I also went to check out what you could call Hawk Ridge Festival-for the annual hawk and raptor migration. Last year, we saw TONS of birds flying by...it was really amazing. This year, it was cloudy and the wind was from the south which apparently is not conducive to bird migration, therefore we saw three birds. Not very impressive.
Last Saturday, Kate and I went to Harvest Festival. It is near the lake and consists of area crafts/businesses, a huge farmers market, stustainable living booths, fun stuff for kids, and a tent with the newest green technology. Found some yummy cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, heirloom garlic (I didn't know there were so many kinds of garlic!), and onions. It's a very laid back, hippie-esque crowd and is a fun place to go.
This coming weekend I can take off from fest-ing and then the 1st it's down to Stone Lake to the Cranberry Fest and then the 8th to Apple Fest. Some may say that these festivals are a bit cheesy and overdone, but I disagree. There are usually a lot of local foods and hand made items that are pretty cool. You just have to be patient and move through the irritatingly slow-moving crowds of people and look past all the greasy (yet delicious) food, to find the good stuff.
Today was spent in the kitchen making use of the veggies Dad brought up with him. I canned green tomato pickles, stewed tomatoes, and baked oatmeal molasses bread. I was talking with my friend Stacy on the phone today and she summed it up nicely by saying that this time of year really brings out the Suzy Homemaker in people. I agree. Plus it helps to use the stove to bake and can when it is only 55 and raining outside! Especially when you refuse to turn on your furnace (even if it has frosted for several nights in a row) because it is only September for god's sake and I will not turn it on until at least mid-October. We'll see about that one I guess......
Last Saturday, Kate and I went to Harvest Festival. It is near the lake and consists of area crafts/businesses, a huge farmers market, stustainable living booths, fun stuff for kids, and a tent with the newest green technology. Found some yummy cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, heirloom garlic (I didn't know there were so many kinds of garlic!), and onions. It's a very laid back, hippie-esque crowd and is a fun place to go.
This coming weekend I can take off from fest-ing and then the 1st it's down to Stone Lake to the Cranberry Fest and then the 8th to Apple Fest. Some may say that these festivals are a bit cheesy and overdone, but I disagree. There are usually a lot of local foods and hand made items that are pretty cool. You just have to be patient and move through the irritatingly slow-moving crowds of people and look past all the greasy (yet delicious) food, to find the good stuff.
Today was spent in the kitchen making use of the veggies Dad brought up with him. I canned green tomato pickles, stewed tomatoes, and baked oatmeal molasses bread. I was talking with my friend Stacy on the phone today and she summed it up nicely by saying that this time of year really brings out the Suzy Homemaker in people. I agree. Plus it helps to use the stove to bake and can when it is only 55 and raining outside! Especially when you refuse to turn on your furnace (even if it has frosted for several nights in a row) because it is only September for god's sake and I will not turn it on until at least mid-October. We'll see about that one I guess......
Monday, September 5, 2011
Life Update
Things in my life are settling down now into a nice, familiar routine. My energy level is pretty much back to normal, things are healing nicely (I think), and I overall just feel much better. Friday I went to work for my first day of school. SOOO glad that I did. There is nothing like walking into an elementary school and seeing little faces light up while saying, "Hi Miss Thompson!" and then getting a hug. Just the kind of therapy I needed to gain some perspective. And if I hadn't gone to work, I would have missed meeting a new kindergartener who I know I will be best buds with before the end of the year. My principal brings him down for alternative lunch and recess, which basically means that there is some reason you are not eating with your class and/or going out to recess and lots of times that reason is behavior related., introduces him to me, and then asks him to tell me why he's been brought to my room. The kid is super cute, of course, and he's chewing this enormous mouthful of food and tries to talk. "No, go ahead and chew that up and then you can tell me." He gets done, takes a deep breath and says, "I punched another student," in a very Eyore kind of voice and looking pretty bummed. "Why did you do that?" Another big sigh and looking even more defeated, "I just wanted to be his friend." Job security. We've got a lot of work to do apparently with this little guy. The good news is that he is very likeable and I think has a good heart.
Other than that, the weekend was good. I did a lot of cooking, trying to use up stuff from the garden. Cream of tomato soup, blueberry pastries, sour cream cucumbers, and zucchini patties. Sunday, Brian's brother came for a visit and stayed the night. Man oh man are those two like night and day. Hard to believe they are brothers. Then today, all three of us went up to Babbitt to see their mom and hang with her for the day. We broke out her vintage badminton set and had a really good time playing that. I haven't played badminton for a long time and Brian and I played quite a while. Foxy joined in too.....I think she somehow thought that Brian was going to like hit me with his racket every time he swung at the birdie because she would run between his legs and bark like crazy and one time when he was running up to get a short shot (in Foxy's world he was running at me) she nipped him in the ankle. I had to turn my head so he didn't see me laugh. Poor Foxy. She can't help it, she's a herding dog with an attachment disorder. What's she supposed to do? Then we grilled dinner and headed home. On to my first full (almost) week at work.......
Side note: It's only like 45 degrees right now and it feels delicious. Good sleeping weather.
Other than that, the weekend was good. I did a lot of cooking, trying to use up stuff from the garden. Cream of tomato soup, blueberry pastries, sour cream cucumbers, and zucchini patties. Sunday, Brian's brother came for a visit and stayed the night. Man oh man are those two like night and day. Hard to believe they are brothers. Then today, all three of us went up to Babbitt to see their mom and hang with her for the day. We broke out her vintage badminton set and had a really good time playing that. I haven't played badminton for a long time and Brian and I played quite a while. Foxy joined in too.....I think she somehow thought that Brian was going to like hit me with his racket every time he swung at the birdie because she would run between his legs and bark like crazy and one time when he was running up to get a short shot (in Foxy's world he was running at me) she nipped him in the ankle. I had to turn my head so he didn't see me laugh. Poor Foxy. She can't help it, she's a herding dog with an attachment disorder. What's she supposed to do? Then we grilled dinner and headed home. On to my first full (almost) week at work.......
Side note: It's only like 45 degrees right now and it feels delicious. Good sleeping weather.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Relief
My doctor just called (yes, at 8:30 at night!) to tell me that it is NOT a molar pregnancy!!! Yeah!!! She said pathology said there weren't any signs of a molar, so it was just a blighted ovum. I am so relieved. It is a bad enough situation to lose a pregnancy, but to be told there might be cancer involved....that is really frightening. The other good piece of this news is that now we can try again in a month or two, rather than 6-12 months if it had been a molar. So I guess this means I'll just blog about my kinda boring daily life til I'm able to share the good news of when we are expecting again.
Recovery
At home resting today after my surgery yesterday. I had to be to the surgery center at 1:00. Brian drove me and we got in right away. We had a nurse who actually was quite entertaining; she was very good at her job. We went over all the paperwork, and what to do after the surgery and then just sat and waited for a bit. The anesthesiologist came in to tell me the risks and ask questions. He was pretty cool too, and even better, he listened to me when I said I puked last time I had general anesthesia and he said he'd do his best to make sure that didn't happen. Around 2:30 the nurse and doctor came in to tell me it was time to head back, and out I went. Everyone in the operating room was really nice. The guy told me," Ok, good night, don't let the bed bugs bite and if they do hit 'em with a shoe," and that's the last I remember.
I woke up and was going to tell them that they needed to give me more sedation cause I was waking up during the procedure, but turns out I was done and waking up like I was supposed to. Once I was kind of awake, the cramps started. Wow. Pretty painful. Painful enough for me to tell the nurse that, "I've got cramping and it really hurts." So she asked the anesthesiologist what to give me, and since he didn't want me to puke (which I hadn't) he didn't give me a narcotic, but something else that started with a T which was put in through my IV. That didn't go so well. About a minute later, I told the nurse I was feeling light-headed and I thought I was going to pass out. "What?" she said like she didn't totally believe me. "I'm going to pass out," I told her again, and that's when my monitor started beeping and flashing cause my blood pressure was dropping. They laid me totally flat (a few more nurses came over) and my pressure leveled out at around 60/30. I think I freaked the one nurse who was in charge of me out, cause she kept checking my pressure then almost every 5-10 minutes for the next hour, and she jokingly kept shaking her finger at me.
Around 4ish, I went back to my room where Brian was waiting. He looked a little worried when I was wheeled in, and when I asked him later what he was thinking when he saw me, he said he wasn't expecting me to look so pathetic and crippled. "I felt like taking care of you," was how he put it. I finally started to feel better (that medicine must have kicked in) and my blood pressure was coming up. I was freezing so they have this cool gown thing where there is a plastic liner between the gown and your body. They hook a vacuum hose thing into the liner and then blow hot air into it so it isn't touching your skin but you get nice and warm. They covered me in like 4 warm blankets and then I was feeling pretty good.
Around 5, I was able to leave....my blood pressure was up to 93/53. The nurses post-op were just great. Brian drove me home and then went to get Thai food (I hadn't eaten since midnight) and my pain killers. What a guy. He is such a sport. I fell asleep around 7:30, woke up today around 6:30 to see if I could go to work but felt a little woozy from the drugs, so went back to sleep til 8:30. Feeling pretty good at the moment, and that's not due to pain meds either. Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate every one of you. I'll keep you updated with the news of the pathologists results and where we go from there.
I woke up and was going to tell them that they needed to give me more sedation cause I was waking up during the procedure, but turns out I was done and waking up like I was supposed to. Once I was kind of awake, the cramps started. Wow. Pretty painful. Painful enough for me to tell the nurse that, "I've got cramping and it really hurts." So she asked the anesthesiologist what to give me, and since he didn't want me to puke (which I hadn't) he didn't give me a narcotic, but something else that started with a T which was put in through my IV. That didn't go so well. About a minute later, I told the nurse I was feeling light-headed and I thought I was going to pass out. "What?" she said like she didn't totally believe me. "I'm going to pass out," I told her again, and that's when my monitor started beeping and flashing cause my blood pressure was dropping. They laid me totally flat (a few more nurses came over) and my pressure leveled out at around 60/30. I think I freaked the one nurse who was in charge of me out, cause she kept checking my pressure then almost every 5-10 minutes for the next hour, and she jokingly kept shaking her finger at me.
Around 4ish, I went back to my room where Brian was waiting. He looked a little worried when I was wheeled in, and when I asked him later what he was thinking when he saw me, he said he wasn't expecting me to look so pathetic and crippled. "I felt like taking care of you," was how he put it. I finally started to feel better (that medicine must have kicked in) and my blood pressure was coming up. I was freezing so they have this cool gown thing where there is a plastic liner between the gown and your body. They hook a vacuum hose thing into the liner and then blow hot air into it so it isn't touching your skin but you get nice and warm. They covered me in like 4 warm blankets and then I was feeling pretty good.
Around 5, I was able to leave....my blood pressure was up to 93/53. The nurses post-op were just great. Brian drove me home and then went to get Thai food (I hadn't eaten since midnight) and my pain killers. What a guy. He is such a sport. I fell asleep around 7:30, woke up today around 6:30 to see if I could go to work but felt a little woozy from the drugs, so went back to sleep til 8:30. Feeling pretty good at the moment, and that's not due to pain meds either. Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate every one of you. I'll keep you updated with the news of the pathologists results and where we go from there.
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