I learned something today

Last year when I was teaching high school in Virginia one of my young men wore a shirt to school one day that had emblazened across the front in red letters "G UNIT". This was one of my boys that continuely got into fights and couldn't take what he gave.

Well the kids took to making fun of him. They knew he would never be able to beat them up. Hell...this kid was bigger than me and I could have probably taken him if need be.

Well...I asked the kids what "G UNIT" even stood for. Not one of them knew. They decided it ment "Gay UNIT". I told him to stop wearing the shirt because it seem to upset him when the kids made fun of him.

Anyway...all of that is beside the point. I never did find out what G UNIT meant until today. I was listening to my favorite radio program "The Russ Martin Show" on 105.3 The Talk That Rocks. They were talking about last night's music awards on HBO. And they started talking about "G UNIT". Finally after all this time I found out it DID have a meaning!!!

As it turns out "G UNIT" is part of 50 cent's group. Who would have known. It still doesn't mean much to me and it makes me laugh that the kids in Virginia were trying to be so cool and had no idea what they were wearing.

So see...it is true...you learn something every day!!!

Little Gripes

Well...we have finished the first 2 weeks of school. That is sooooo hard to believe.

For the most part things have been great. Well...they have been great in comparison to last year when I was starting to teach high school in the middle of Virginia. That was horrible...so there wasn't much that had to happen this year for it to be better.

The kids are good. I only have a few with attitudes that I am going to have to deal with. I am teaching 5 classes of 7th grade and 1 class of 6th grade. My 6th grade class is last period of the day. So...I teach 7th grade all day and then at the very end of the day I have to completely switch gears and do something new.

My 6th graders must be the most whiney group of kids in the world. I taught 6th graders for 3 years in Irving and they were nothing like these kids. The complain about everything I ask them to do. They regularly tell me that what I am asking them to do is not fair and then procede to mutter under their breaths (but loud enough for me to hear) how horrible it is and that they shouldn't have to do it. That is about to drive me up the wall. I will be lucky to keep my temper for much longer.

Thursday we had a meeting with the science person of the district. I left the meeting feeling horrible. Apparently they want us to start teaching curriculum on the FIRST day of school. What a joke. Oh...and we aren't supposed to spend time teaching what they learned last year. Hmmmm...lets think about this for a minute. I have yet to meet a middle school student who can actually use a ruler. Yet, we are supposed to do labs in which they measure accurately in centimeters or millimeters. Most of the time as I walk around helping I have to get them to use the correct side of the ruler. They measure with the inches side...and while this might be understandable if the ruler WASN'T labeled...IT IS LABELED!!!

I am supposed to assume that they learned science last year and a simple review will be enough. It isn't. End of story.

I am also realizing just how much of a perfectionist I am. I always worry that I am not doing good enough. Turns out I am doing more than most teachers even pretend to attempt. I know I know...everyone else has realized this and be telling me as much since I started teaching....but only now am I starting to realize just how true this is. Problem is...it doesn't make me change my over-acheiving, perfectionist ways.

All this adds up to NEW ulcer pain. I was in the middle of 5th period the other day when the stabbing pain returned. I had just eaten lunch and had probably given my body just enough time to get some of my stomach acid into my colon (where my 3 ulcers are located). It was grad school all over again. Except that this time I know I am not dieing and I know that I don't have some kind of Colon cancer or something. Also I can't lay down until it ubsides I just have to keep teaching. My tollerance of pain greatly increases when I know I don't have any choice but to suck it up!

Let's see...what else can I gripe about????

I haven't done anything wedding related in weeks. Of course we got most of the details planned before school started. I think I will start wedding dress shopping in September. Then I can pick bride's maids dresses and decide for sure on colors and then I can start making the invitations. :) That is happy!

Oh yeah...I can gripe about the heat! I do miss that part of Virginia. I know it was never 105 degrees there in the time I lived there. It has been DAMN hot and I am so sick of it. Of course. I do live in Texas.

Maybe when we go on our honeymoon to the far far northeast (Maine, New Hamshire, Vermont, and maybe into Canda) it will be so perfect that Nathan will be convinced to move there! LOL....not likely. He hates the heat and the cold...can't figure out where we could live where it is neither hot nor cold. LOL

Enjoy the heat...I am going to grade papers.

400 Thread Count Heaven

Yesterday we went to Target. I had a $65 gift certificate from my birthday to use and I needed new sheets. I gave my "broken in" white ones to Carole when they were in Colorado because the sheets at their apartment were horrible. So...I was in need of new white ones.

Now, Nathan could really care less about the kind of sheets we have. But I care. I don't want to feel like I am sleeping on sand paper. I have NEVER bought 400 thread count sheets before. Usually I settle for something less and break them in by washing them alot.

But I had a free $65 to use...and Nathan said that we had plenty of money left this month for me to splurge on awesome sheets. Of course, since he wasn't REALLY paying attention to me he didn't realize just how much extra we were talking. I figure that is HIS fault!

I decided to splurge because of a magazine article I read once in Real Simple (my favorite magazine). It talked about having a mini-vacation every day and one way to do that was to buy really great sheets. I decided that now is the time. I mean, how often do you really NEED to buy new sheets...AND....next summer after we get married we are seriously thinking about beginning our family....and once we get pregnant and then have the baby I sure won't be aloud to spend almost $100 on sheets for the bed....SO...I have my sheets!

And let me just say...that 400 Thread Count is WONDERFUL!!! They are so soft...like I have washed them a million times. So...even though I spent a fortune for them...I really think it is worth it. Therefore, I plan to enjoy every wonderful moment in my sheets and not feel one bit guilty!!!

The Most Unexpected Surprise

It has been forever since I have posted. First we were busy moving and then district inservices started and neither Nathan or I have had time to do anything for fun. It is Saturday...school starts Monday. I am about to go to the school in the hopes of finishing my room so that on Monday it will look good. Keep your fingers crossed.

This really isn't what this blog entry is supposed to be about...so moving on.

My mom's birthday is July 30th. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday the 31st. Nathan and I were the last to get to the house. When we got there mom immediately took me to show me what Bob got her for her birthday. He was sitting in the chair in the living room and I couldn't really see him...but as I rounded the chair I saw the best birthday present ever. HE HAD SHAVED!!! Now...for those of you who don't know my brother...he had been growing a gotee for years now. It was long...it was scragaldy...and disliked by just about everyone in the family. But he loved it and he refused to trim it, shape it, or cut it off. So on the saga went. Mom HATED it. We had already started begging him to shave it off or at least trim it up and make it look "kept" for my wedding NEXT year. He refused saying that he beard would not ruin my wedding...but oh the pictures...I didn't want that in my beautiful highly expensive wedding pictures to look at forever and ever more.

But...he cut it. He had been planning it for a month. It was going to be mom's birthday present and later he told me mine too. That is fine with me. Everyone is happy. Mom cried. And he promises to keep it off for a year. So I would like to announce to the world that I have the BEST brother in the world! Love you Bob!

Here is a picture of us at Christmas. Bob is on the far left. You can see how long his beard was then...he cut it at the end of July...so add another inch or so to the length. Now you can see why mom and I are so so so happy!