Monday, November 29, 2010

The Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (My apologies to Alexander!)

We went back to work today. Going back to work after a little vacation is always hard, but I can't remember one that was quite as bad as today. Why? Well, since you asked...
  • I came down with a stomach bug this weekend. It decided to get REALLY bad last night. So that I was awake and asleep several times, beginning around 6:00 yesterday. Actually, I was in bed beginning at 6:00, but I couldn't sleep because my stomach was burning and I had a splitting headache.
  • I overslept this morning because my brain finally went on vacation and now it thinks I should sleep until 7:00 instead of 5:00. When I finally woke up I still felt rotten, but less rotten than last night.
  • When I was finally ready to go, I couldn't find my keys for fifteen minutes. Turns out they were right next to the first place I looked, but they had fallen off the bedside table. Probably when I hit snooze.
  • It was LITERALLY freezing, and my car was covered in ice. When I finally got outside, I had to spend another ten minutes scraping ice off the windows while the engine warmed up.
  • When I got to work, I realized that I had to make copies. I got stuck behind the CAHSEE prep teacher, who was making multiple big packets. Then the bell rang, so I went to the little machine we're not supposed to use and tried to make copies, but it took five minutes to make 20. I took enough for period one, and then rushed to class where all my students were waiting outside in the freezing cold because I forgot to leave the door unlocked.
  • I couldn't eat at all this morning because I was a afraid my stomach would start again.
  • It took two hours for the heater to warm my bungalow enough for our teeth to stop chattering.
BUT one of my wonderful students had made me a WHOLE INSULATED PITCHER of shaah (Somali tea). As soon as my prep started, I drank two cups. It was so wonderful and hot!! And then, after I drank it, I felt so much better! And then, after school I had some more and shared it with Scott and another frozen teacher. YAY!

So the next time you (or Alexander) have a no good, very bad day, just have Mariam make you some shaah. It makes everything better.

May you have a very happy Tuesday. I intend to.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am thankful for so many things because I have been so very blessed, but here is a list of little things for which I am grateful today.
  • Scott lets me put my cold feet on him at night when we get into bed. And he doesn't complain when I start a new book, even though he knows that it means that nothing is going to get done until I'm finished.
  • Mom cooks ALL of the Thanksgiving dinner, and she's teaching Nikki how to do the same. I will probably never in my life have to cook one.
  • Caleb still says "mowk" instead of milk.
  • Nikki was able to sleep all night in her brace.
  • Emma went to bed happy. Junior is home!
  • Gloria thinks I am the best thing since sliced bread, even when I give her a bath.
  • Three more days of vacation.
  • At the end of vacation, I get to go back to a job which enables me to work with amazing young people.
  • YOU! Because if you took the time to read this, you care about our family.
Happy Thanksgiving! May the Lord bless you and those you love this holiday season!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

What We've Been Up To

I haven't blogged in a very long time. There's a good reason for that: grades. Quarter 1 grades just came out and I am just now digging myself out from under a pile of essays and précis. All of this grading makes it far less exciting to read or write anything. Which is probably not a good thing.

So anyway, here is a list of things we have been up to in no particular order:
  • Caleb lost his first tooth! On Friday. He was playing basketball with Scott and missed a pass. It smacked him in the face and the tooth was history. The Tooth Fairy brought him a dollar in exchange for the tooth and guess what he wanted to buy with that dollar? Yep, a Death Star.
  • Nikki ran her last cross-country meet of the season yesterday. She has improved tremendously and still loves it. She's planning on running all four years. In the meantime, she plans to dedicate her extra time after school to the drama department.
  • Emma withdrew from her calculus class, which she was failing in spite of all her efforts to get help. As it turns out, she doesn't need that class anyway. She will take statistics in the spring. She admits that she is relieved, but I'm sure the fact that the class beat her isn't settling well with her.
  • Scott is about to embark on a week of federal jury duty. Thankfully, he doesn't have to report on Monday. His ASB students also have a festival and a leadership conference this week, so it's going to be a touchy week if he's out. We have our fingers crossed!
  • ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING BREAK!! If Scott has his way, we won't go anywhere or do anything. If I have my way, we will. We'll see who wins. Most likely, the kids and I will go somewhere and he will not.
Yep, that's about it for the Pages. Hope all is well with you!