Weekending...

Somehow, between 4pm and 6pm on Friday night, I ended up with a sore throat. That snowballed into a sinus thing that has lasted all weekend.  Thinking I could overpower it, I went to a spin class on Saturday morning and then to the grocery store. Then I sat on the couch for 9 hours and watched t.v.

I literally did nothing else.  I stared at my stack of papers to grade. I thought about writing blog posts....I watched New Girl for the second or third time instead.

Today, I met a coworker for breakfast (note: I was too sick to do this) and then sat around all day.  I could really use a sub tomorrow but the amount of time and energy it takes to put together plans for a Monday is too much.  I can't do it.  It's so tempting...but I can't.

I stopped at Walgreens to buy some Afrin (because it is the only thing making life bearable at this moment) and I couldn't get the child-proof lid off.  I tried forever on the drive home.  I thought about taking it back to the store.  Finally I went at it with a pair of scissors.  I think the lid was defective.

It looks like an ape opened it and then chewed on it for awhile.  But hey, at least it's open and I didn't slice any fingers off in the process.

"Cheers" to a sick Monday...I'm not sure what's worse: being sick on Monday or the Broncos winning today. A definite toss-up.

Is it really Thursday?

Hmmm...I really don't have anything to share.  Isn't that odd?

I'll leave you with a recommendation today.

I've been listening to every episode I can find of the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast. Being part of a podcast like that would probably be my dream job. (Hey, hire me! If Class Dojo itself commented on my Class Dojo post yesterday, I could probably at least try to get the attention of missedinhistory.com)

I really wish I had more to say.  I'm sick at the moment (congestion, etc), it's still 90 degrees in Colorado (which is almost more than I can handle here at the end of September), and Scott leaves for the field this weekend (yay...no).

Therefore, I'm going to bed before 9:30 and hoping for a productive day tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

Stuff and Things 3/26 (plus TWD semi-spoiler)

+I finally caught up on TWD.  My friend said, "Finally!" and sent me this:

Also, I'm hoping Carl will put down Deanna the way he put down Shane.  I almost thought it would happen there for a second.  There's always next week...

+Speaking of TWD, I say the words "stuff" and "things" a lot.  Like, if you charted my most-used words, those words would be near the top.  For example: Get all your things out of your backpack!  Why is there stuff all over the floor?  Pick those things up!

+Speaking of school, I opened up my closet behind my desk to get something the other day. A conversation ensued (there is always a conversation...).

Kid: I thought a teacher's closet would have hats and clothes in it.
Me: I have a closet at home.
Kid: No, but I thought it would be full of hats or something.
Me: What hats? What hats do I wear?
Kid: Oh, you know.
(I definitely don't know.)
Kid: Or you'd keep like shoes or scarves or makeup in it.

The other kids, who are watching this exchange:

Meanwhile, I'm thinking what kind of time do you think I spend at this school?  I show up at 7:45 on the dot and I leave at 3:35.

Then I gave in and mentioned that when I had a bigger desk with a wraparound front, I would keep flipflops or boots under it because if I wore heels, sometimes they'd hurt my feet.

Kid:  See! That's what I mean.  I knew it.

I feel like I spend all day doing this:

+I went to the dentist on Monday because, when I was at the dentist in December, this particular  hygienist had concerns.  At the time, I was on a medicine that made my gums sensitive.  Well, she took one look at my gums (that she'd just finished poking and prodding) and diagnosed me with end-stage gingivitis (or something like that).  She wanted me to come in for some kind of laser treatment that would leave me hundreds of dollars lighter and "after a few sessions", the problem would hopefully resolve.  I was skeptical. I've been to 4 dentists in the last 6 years and no one had noticed a problem but she was insistent on the fact that my gums were receding and my teeth were in grave danger.

So, I went in on Monday for this follow-up exam and they were ready to do a cleaning and pull out the laser (which I had already planned to refuse because, hey, they can't make me).  I asked that they please just check my gums first.  It was a different hygienist and after just a minute of poking around she determined that there was no problem.  The end.  

+The current status update is that it's spring break, I had what I believe to be the flu on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday, and I've accomplished very little.  Except that I've rewatched all five seasons of Breaking Bad.  That's actually accomplishment in my book because it was, sadly, on my list of things to do this month. I was having Carnival Cruise flashbacks though, because when we were stuck in our stateroom on that trip, we watched a couple of seasons of Breaking Bad.  I had taken the DVDs with us because I anticipated airport delays, and Scott had his laptop.  I truly don't know what we would've done without Walter and Jesse's company.  That will go down in history as the best decision I made in the latter half of 2012.  

Anyway, fever plus body aches plus headache plus sore throat is the flu, right?

I was definitely sick last year for spring break too, so I should've seen this coming. 

State of Affairs

+I have a cough that's just not going away.

+I did not make it to the post office yesterday so Christmas presents will be another couple of days behind.  I don't understand how people don't begin shopping until the end of December.  My shopping has been done for awhile.  I just hate the act of mailing things out.  So. much. effort.  If late shoppers had to mail their gifts…people wouldn't be getting Christmas presents.  

+I did start mailing Christmas cards.

+Scott spent a whole morning working on my car and we're convinced that Larry H. Miller Toyota of Colorado Springs decided to screw with us by damaging wires and stuff when they realized we weren't going to pay them $2400 to replace a few wires.  

+At least the Christmas tree is up and decorated.

I like a good colorful tree.  Someday I will have those vintage lights that you see on A Christmas Story. 

+And if you like history, these are funny.  There's a whole list on my Pinterest page.

More historical memes here.

Stuff and Things 9/11

Sweater: Loft // Pants:  Gap

+I bought these pants online from the Gap clearance selection back in June or July.  I guessed at the size and they fit perfectly.  I'm pretty proud of this.  Modern Boot Fit.

+I was concentrating really hard in that picture on making sure that Jett didn't jump on me like he did last week.

+Last weekend was an absolute waste.  On Saturday, I came down with a sinus headache and spent most of the evening laying in bed.  I never get headaches.  Maybe once a month or every six weeks.  So when I do, I load up on medicine.  Tylenol wasn't even helping.  On Sunday, because we needed some things from the store, I went to SuperTarget and loaded up on Mucinex.  Other than that, I watched lots of reruns.  And I graded a lot of papers.

+Scott had a fabulously productive weekend.  He finished the living room floor and most of the fence.  I painted some trim.  And I steam-mopped.  I also read a terribly sad story about a dog and it seriously ruined my whole day.  I'm so glad the blogger wrote it because it was absolutely beautiful, but still…ruined my day.

+Do you know why I usually don't blog on Wednesdays?  I used to.  Now, I find that I don't have the time to crank out a quality post (yes, this right here is "quality") or enough to say to fill 5 days worth of posts.  Sometimes I do, but not usually.

+No Starbucks in September is going well enough.  Scott came home talking about the "best Americano EVER, Kristin!" and I was all, "Grrr…" because I've been meaning to try an Americano forever and I didn't get around to it.  October 1st.  Plus, our friends sent me a gift card to Starbucks.  (Okay, "us".  They sent it to us…)

+Last week, the powers that be of the State of Colorado granted me my Professional teaching license.  They took my previous experience into account.  Thank the Good Lord. Otherwise, I would've had an Initial license and then you have to complete classes and mentor programs and meetings (that I'd previously been scheduled to go to).  Again: ThanktheGood Lord.

+Speaking of…no matter what I do, I can't get ahead at school.  I've never had to bring so much stuff home before.  I'm hoping this gets better.  I tell myself that for the 3rd time in 5 years I'm a first-year-teacher again.  It'll get better, right?

+It's September 11th again.  It's really odd to teach elementary school on September 11th.  I know they call it Patriot Day now, but to spend the day with kids who weren't around in 2001 is odd. They always love to ask questions about it and it's really hard to know what to say. I don't want to draw any comparisons (so I won't) but our generation could never appreciate events that happened before our time, and the kids who were born in 2005 have a hard time understanding September 11th.  My 4th graders were born in 2005.  The "where were you/how old were you?" question usually comes up and I tell them I was in 10th grade, in drivers' ed class, just a few hours from where one of the planes crashed in Pennsylvania.  They always tell me their parents' renditions of what happened.  A few years ago, a girl told me her mom was at the hospital, having a baby appointment when she first saw it on the news and she (the girl) was born just a few days later.

Stuff and things. 3/20

+This is what I wore last week, when the weather was pleasant.

Dress: Ross // Sweater: Target // Boots: Report // Watch: Fossil

+I do not understand Missouri's fascination with St. Patrick's Day.  I find it interesting that schools celebrate such a day by setting leprechaun traps and adults celebrate by drinking.  And for those of you who brought out Elf on the Shelf to drop off St. Paddy's Day gifts?  Shame on you.

+On Saturday, since I was sick and all, I thought that if I did a What-I-Ate post, it'd look like this:

"Then, Scout and I split a cracker."

Because that's what lunch was.  I also had a swig of Pepsi.  He didn't.

+Speaking of, I was better on Monday, and on Tuesday, whatever nasty bug I have/had came back.  I had to leave school early.

This is what it looked like to prepare for a sub who would be there for 3 hours.

I subscribe to the "post-it note method" when it comes to sub-prep.  I hate typing up plans.  Unpictured: The giant orange sub binder with all the information about the school/class/demographics of a small town in northern Siberia/cure to cancer/etc.

I was back at it 6am the next morning…setting up for another substitute.  

+My diet consists of gatorade, pedialyte, dry cereal, rice cakes, and soup these days.  I haven't had coffee in a week.  The good news is that I think I'm on the upswing.  Maybe.  Finally.

+Onto happier thoughts.  The Walking Dead (or maybe not with the "happy thoughts" part).  Who watched on Sunday?  This was the first episode I really liked in a while.  I guess I should say it's the first episode that made my jaw drop, and it's really nice when I watch a show for thrills and it does actually thrill me.  I won't post any spoilers but this summary will wrap it all up for you, if you're so inclined.

+Also, The Following.  I WILL post a spoiler here, so…keep scrolling if you don't want to see it.















I am so happy that Claire is back.  I mean, thrilled.  I adore Natalie Zea and she drew me into Justified and she pulled me into The Following.  After the first episode of season 2, I couldn't believe she was gone.  Anyway, now that show is truly worth my time.  We don't need Emma as a leading lady.  She's a crazy. 






















Okay.  Now our link-up.  Any stuff to share?

A long list of accomplishments (not really)

For the weekend to-do list, I had signed up for a 5K on base and had a few errands planned.  Also, I had wanted to take Scout for a long walk and/or go to the dog park.

Didn't happen.

I always feel enormous guilt when I don't play with Scout enough.  That almost makes me as bad as our neighbors:  one collects dogs and has 6 chained up to doghouses year round.  Another ties theirs to the deck all day and we get to listen to him bark.

Well, maybe not quite as bad.  Most of you probably don't feel for Scout; he just lays on the couch when I won't play with him. 

Anyway.  

Friday night, I couldn't sleep.  I was cold.  Really really cold.  I piled on all the blankets.  I double-checked all the windows.  I had to get up once or twice to take Scout out and that was awful.  By morning, I was incredibly nauseated. A horrible headache.  Dizzy.  We had no ginger ale, water made it worse, and so I just slept.  Until about 1pm, on and off.  Scout was not a fan.  It was particularly beautiful out and we were missing it.  

We (me and the dog) watched Friday Night Lights all day long.  We made a trip to Wal-Mart.  I wanted to give him a bath, but didn't have the energy.  I've been slacking on the dog-bathing lately. 

Of course, by evening, I was having Carnival Cruise ship flashbacks.  Only on a white carpet instead of a bathroom.  And there was no maid to clean it up.  Just me, with a curious Scout looking on.  

Onto Sunday…

I cleaned the floors.  And watched more Friday Night Lights. And Scout got his bath.

75 degrees on Saturday and then this on Sunday.

And now it's Monday and the only accomplishment I have to my name is 25 episodes of Friday Night Lights.

Cheers to a 3-day week though!  My spring break starts Thursday. 

Food poisoning in the state of Maine

This is a guest post that I wrote for Amanda last week.  
I don't think I've shared it here (alright, I can't remember), so here you are...

In the fall of 2011, Scott and I went to Maine as part of a two-week east coast vacation.  We were wanted to see New England (Boston!), as well as visit our families in PA, before he deployed again.

My favorite part of Maine was shopping at the outlets in Kittery because, being stuck in Alaska, I rarely got a chance to outlet-shop.  However, all I can really think of when I think about Maine is food poisoning.  

While I was shopping, Scott wanted a snack.  He walked across the street to Bob's Clam Hut.

source

It was only about 11am, but he was trying to get as much of that east coast seafood as he could (I think we ate our way up the coast).  Scott said this place was running a special: Buy an order of fried clams and get a free side of ....fried clams.  Later, he said that should've been a sign.

By evening he was sick and we stopped in Kennebunk because we needed to get to a hotel for the night.  It wasn't "I think I'm gonna throw up" sick.  This was fever, chills, sweating, tingling, near-hallucinations, and numbness.  Essentially, it seemed to be Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, which we were familiar with because we'd been clamming in Alaska for a couple of years.

It was a long night. By morning, he had improved enough that I wasn't trying to haul him out to the car to take him to the hospital anymore.  While he attempted to recover before we hit the road, I walked around outside and took pictures like this:

What a sweet little church, right?  

Anyway, to this day, I tell him, "You're a survivor!  You made it through PSP! That, like, never happens!"  Whether he truly had a mild case of PSP or not, he had something (which is why you should stay away from roadside seafood at all costs, my friends).

I totally wish I could say the story ends there, but we both ended up with food poisoning on a cruise just a year later.  We think it was the stuffed mushrooms..but it could've been the lobster or the calamari.

We're so weak.  Vacations are rough on us.

I think...

...it is heartbreakingly ironic that every time I get sick, it starts on a Thursday.  Just in time to ruin the weekend.  I've spent the last few days in a loopy daze, courtesy of Tylenol Cold.

...that antibiotics are overrated.  Why is it that, as soon as you tell someone you feel sick, they assume you need to be on an antibiotic?  I agree that they have their purpose, but you do not need a "Z-pak" every time you have the sniffles.
Antibiotics lead to a whole other set of problems in my body, including the sense of feeling like I've been hit by a truck.

I think...

...that I am also in need of giving up cereal.  The Lenten season is a good time to try, right?

...that Nicholas Sparks writes some of the worst books ever.  Second only to E.L. James.

...that this article about why teachers quit their jobs is pretty spot on.

..that I am so over teaching Alaska geography. I find it disturbing that I know so much about this state.

I think...that we really know how to have a good time around here.  Watching 2 seasons of Homeland in one week?  Yep.

This is getting out of control.

Source: so-relatable.tumblr.com via Kristin on Pinterest

For the record, we really enjoyed it.

How was your weekend?  Do anything that didn't involve snow, tissues, Homeland, or grading papers?

(Just kidding.  I didn't grade any papers.)

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