Horn Tooting

I was conducting a Shared Reading -Summer of Sharks, very intriguing- this morning when the Instructional Specialist Aicen came in to do a reading test on one of my new students. Apparently she had been there for a bit because later this afternoon when I went to discuss the results of the reading test she told me that she had been discussing me with the intern facilitator- telling her that they should have other 4th grade teachers come in to observe me. GOO! Super Kudos, but quite intimidating! This is from another time Aicen was passing by my room. She left this post it note for me to find:

It certainly feels good to be appreciated! I know that I made the right choice leaving Houston, because this is where I need to be for the moment. I love going to work everyday- in fact some days I cannot believe that they pay me to do this. (But that's probably to make up for the days that I wonder to myself, 'What am I doing??') Everyday is a new day- especially with the Smart Alec ones!

Fabulous Fall

Thought that I would share some views I get to currently enjoy on my way to and from work.

A photo of all the leaves that have been covering the pavement of my apartment parking lot. And this is just the first wave of them. So far there has been 3 waves of fallen Fall leaves. The only downside of it is when those leaves fall onto my windshield, get stuck in my new wiper blades, and then WILL NOT fly away when the rain begins to fall and I need an unobstructed view of the road by using said windshield wipers.

And the best Fall views of all

Certainly beats the views from this summer when I could only believe that I was dreaming when those same signs all had $4.00 a gallon for regular unleaded!

Horror of the Order of the Phoenix

At the end of every school day, the kids volunteer (as in I assign students) to do clean up jobs around the classroom before they get their backpacks and coats together to leave for the day. Well, one afternoon after most of the kids had waved good bye and practically bolted out the door, I had my one or two students still slowly getting packed up to go. These two can usually be counted on to be the last ones out the door, but no complaints from me- they are fun to chatter with. So on this particular afternoon- I was gazing around the room and noticed that we had NOT done a very good job picking up after ourselves today. I asked the two still in the room what they thought of what had been left behind...

One took a moment to consider the question and then took another moment to look out onto the classroom. Before he uttered "It looks like the Horror of the Order of the Phoenix." After I managed to stifle the laughter I remarked about what an interesting way to put that. But after he had left and I was taking a few pictures, I had to ask myself,

"Was he referring to the floor, or the condition of the inside of his desk?"

Election Day 2008 Results

So my vote has been cast. I watch as the states on the news turn either red or blue, and hold my breath waiting to hear the fortune told for my country's next 4 years' future. I resisted putting any political posts on my blog- until tonight. After I've seen the count come in and learn that Mr. Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States.


All I can say is that I hope I am wrong in feeling like we have just elected a man into one of the most powerful offices in the world who makes me feel as though he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I know very little about this man, but all that I have seen and read has made me think that I cannot trust him to represent me.


To the new President who refuses to Pledge Allegiance to the United States of America's flag...

"You can't consistently perform in a manner that is inconsistent to the way you see yourself."

Zig Ziglar

Election Day 2008

A historic event. Putting my feelings about the President Elects aside as best as possible, we discussed the election process and the United States government in Social Studies this week. All four of the 4th grade classes participated in an election of our own. After seeing their parents and other adults que up early that morning to vote themselves, they were eager to discuss "politics"- In ways that only 4th graders can.

Waiting at the polls

Our Voting Booths

The famous Ballot Box

Happy Halloween

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. Fall has the most perfect weather- crisp and chilled. There are also many activities for me to look forward to. Here in Utah, it is tradition for the elementary school kiddos to come to school on October 31st, dressed up in their costumes. Typically we have a costume parade to commemorate the day. While a normal "school day" is difficult to maintain, it is usually a day that kids are excited to come to school and participate in activities that we do not usually do. As for my class, we had been working hard in Writing Workshop to create haunted house stories with more details than "It was scary!" So on Halloween we did a large author's circle to share our publications with our classmates. I must say that some of them definitely have a flair with words and stories. A personal favorite was a gal describing the scary old woman in her haunted house as a 'pinched lipped old woman wearing an old tattered bath robe'. It was enjoyable! And on top of that, the kids had been looking forward to reading and hearing each others stories for at least a week.

Of the many ingenious costumes that I saw in the parade, here are a few of my favorites. Can you figure out who they were dressed up as?

(click on the pictures for the answers!)

So to the start of the Holiday Season...

A message from my 4th graders.

Oh...and in case you're wondering- the smart alec that smell my feet-ed- did so after I had made a big point of saying "Just say..."

Aren't kids great :)

So what have I been up to?

I spent a busy day with Bone Junior a few weekends ago. It was one of those days that we really didn't have a specific plan in mind, but decided to see where things would take us. After the inevitable shopping, we got a few phone calls concerning a "Mustang Show that Bone Junior could not miss. Up in Park City." My oh my there were some beautiful sights and sounds to behold.

I especially liked the sparkly red mustang...year? Who knows. Model number? Engine size? All I know is that is was GorGEous, sitting there with the hood popped open, the sun sparkling off the impeccable paint job. As I continued walking down Main Street, I saw something that I had only seen in movies like The Fast and the Furious...

Too bad there would not be a showing of this. All in all, lots of money sat on the street that day. In the form of Mustangs. That is until I went into a coffee shop to get a drink of water. Then I had to dish out nearly $4.00 for a 10 oz bottle of water. Ridiculous no?

Anyway, as I was slowing sipping my water on the drive home were driving down University Avenue and came across Hispanic Days street fair. Of course Bone Junior, who could blend in with the crowd as long as she didn't attempt to speak Spanish back to anyone, was intrigued enough to stop and check it out. What I found interesting was happening in the center ring!

What are these men thinking coming out into public dressed like this??

Or doing things like this???

Well, I guess that it isn't too much, although I only pose for pictures like this for a few minutes. And I tend to only do these shows for a few of the other patrons in the lucky store.

'Ode de Scratch Subtle...I have found the perfect hat for you!

Mouse and the Motorcycle

Remember reading the story by Beverly Cleary about a mouse and a motorcycle? Well, I do. And I was recently reminded of this series and more particularly the main character. Lately I have been staying a tad later in the classroom preparing for the next day and (week). How late?

Fine.

It was 6:45 last night before I finally grabbed my purse, turned off my classroom lights, and locked the door. On my way out I stopped by the teacher's AV (Audio Visual) room to pick up a document that I had printed. Now I have heard rumors of furry little creatures making themselves comfortable in other teachers' classrooms. I have let this slide seeing as they were no where near my classroom, and I have yet had to dispose of a fully loaded mouse trap.

So I was able to ignore this mouse population- until last night. I open the door to the AV room, flip on the light, and take three steps into the room to get the printed document. And let me tell you something...if there is one thing that makes me squeamish, it is mice. Don't ask me why. I have good reason. To have not squealed was an accomplishment. To stand calmly as the furry bugger ran across the room and into the corner was quite another thing. So to simply say that I saw a mouse at my school is not enough. Rather I was introduced to the nightly activities of the smaller animals living there.

I've met my Ralph. Sans his motorcycle unfortunately.

For those poor unfortunate souls who have yet to be introduced to these books...some excepts...

"Look, Ryan," he said. "I'm in trouble and I don't have time to tell you about it. Just take me and my motorcycle with you, and don't ask questions."

"To school?" Ryan was surprised.

Ralph's pesky cousins are wrecking his motorcycle, and his janitor friend, Matt, is in trouble because there seem to be mice in the hotel. All in all things are not going well at the Mountain View Inn. So Ralph persuades his young pal Ryan to take him to school. Ralph is an instant hit with Ryan's classmates. But he doesn't like being forced to run through a maze or the threat of an exterminator coming to the school. Worst of all, Ryan gets into a fight with a classmate, and Ralph's precious motorcycle is broken. Is Ralph S. Mouse smart enough to steer this sad situation to a happy ending?

So the 2008 - 2009 school year is officially under way. I have been thoroughly impressed with my students so far this year- and I can't believe how nice it is to teach the same grade for a second year in a row. I actually have a vision of where we are going and what I can expect from these kiddos! This year's class has 23 students: 13 guys and 10 gals. So far we seem to work well together and they know who is boss :)

The Recess Bell...obviously.

Today we were prepping for a test on our weather unit. For 2 weeks we have been conducting experiments that prove that 1) Air is a Substance and 2) Air is related to many weather phenomena. My favorite discussion is the one concerning clouds. Something that I did not recall from the material I learned in elementary school or for that matter high school. How about you? Can you name each cloud? Possible answers: cumulus cloud, cirrus cloud, fog, and stratus cloud. Bonus Question- which is the only cloud to touch the surface of the earth?

Anyway- to review the weather material, we played a version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" The kids thought it was 'so cool' and 'really cool' that we could listen to the 10 seconds of music every time we chose the correct answer. To be fair we had already written the homework down and packed our backpacks before we congregated on the carpet around my computer screen. So when my lil' Atokad* was sitting down, standing up, kneeling, leaning over to poke his neighbor to of course tell him something vital, standing back up and pacing to the other end of the room and back- was still partially listening to the questions (or music, to which one I am not sure...) and participating I was feeling somewhat effective by using the time to prep for the weather test. The majority of my students were riveted to what would happen after the next mouse click. We were nearly to the end of the game, when a semi-hush fell over the crowd...just in time for everyone to hear when Atokad pronounced with such enthusiasm-

"Holy Crap! We're almost to a million!"

...which of course is the whole point of the activity.

Ode de Olympics

Lone Star State eh?

Texas school district to let teachers carry guns

In what appears to be U.S. first, board cites remote location.

HOUSTON - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States. The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt. School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom. Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.

"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."

Board members estimate it would take first responders nearly 30 minutes to get to the rural school in an emergency.

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said. Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.

The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

(Armed teachers and students? Are you kidding me???)

Tis the Season

Teachers are back in the classroom, getting ready to begin the new school year. Me included :) I am guessing that teachers and parents view the upcoming 1st day of school a bit differently...

...15 days and counting...

You unnerstand the words that are comin' outta my mouth?

This to a former roommate (and any others who have ever had a difficult time understanding me)- One day as the two of us are finishing up washing and drying the dinner dishes (back in the days when there was no dishwasher!) I looked directly at her and asked,

"Can you hand me the reehg?"

All action slows, "Huh?" she looks at me with a curiously blank stare.

I point this time, hoping to make myself more clear, "The rrr-eeehhh-g."

Still no response. Apparently I am difficult to understand. To avoid further difficulties, I leaned over to grab the reehg myself. I have an accent. Who would have thought?

I should have realized and made some adjustments. But I remember my very first day of teaching 2nd grade. Very first ever(mind you). I was doing a tour of our classroom with the little kiddos, when I pointed out the Pledge of Allegience poster and begin explaining that we would be saying this pledge, with our right hands over our hearts...to our fleehg. I turn to move on to our next stop when I hear,

"Miss HPLuvr...Miss HPLuvr!! Don't you mean flag?"

I knew right then that I was going to spend the next 179 days trying to keep up with them.

Need further evidence? The results of said quiz:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The West
The Midland
Boston
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have">What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

So yes. If I had seen the movie Fargo, apparently I would have understood them without any difficulties.

Would you like paper or plastic beehgs for that?

Product Review Time...again

Product: Smart Taste Penne Rigate- cost $1.29

HPLuvr Review: A new recipe using this fiber enriched pasta. At first I was going for the new wheat pasta (which I have tried a few times and have loved), but then I saw this fancy packaging and I was a goner. It was an easy recipe to follow (calling for canned spaghetti sauce) and took no time at all to cook. Which is ideal because with the temperatures around here, I have not wanted the stove on for extended periods of time. I would recommend making your own spaghetti sauce, or me choosing a different brand. Other than that it is worth at least a try.

It is also probably a good idea to invite others over to share in new recipes...if the amount of leftovers in my fridge is any evidence. You can only eat so much of the same thing.

HPLuvr Recommendation * * *

Product: Drinkwell Pet Fountain & Aqua Garden- cost $34.99 + $9.99

Ronald Review: I'm not much of a drinker, of water that is. That pet bowl of water that sits all day getting stale. It just reminds me of Tantor from Disney's Tarzan...

...and that my friends is why they invented this fabulous product. I can play in the water, drink the water, relax to the sound of a gentle waterfall, and best of all because of the hydroponic wheat grass- "Aqua Garden" -I can eat in this baby too! My caution to others is this 'if you are too tempted to gnaw on those enticing electrical cords, I think the water bowl deal is best for you.' This treasure also came with a special deal- 3 filters and a 5 piece cleaning brush pack. To keep my water tasting fresh and wheat grass crisp.

The little blue basket clipped onto the left side of the drinking fountain contains the wheat grass seeds, that amazingly took only 3 days to grow. 3 Days!! And took me only 2 to eat.

+

=

Ronald Recommendation * * * * *

Product Review

I have recently begun trying some new products. After the 3rd or 4th new item, I decided that I was going to sprinkle some practical product reviews in this blog. Then thinking some more about this...lots of me time right now...I realized that Ronald was trying out some new items of his own as well, so...

Note: 'It's my thing. I love it. Let it go.'

HPLuvr Review #1: Chicken-Bacon-Artichoke Pizza a la Papa Murphy & Pizza Cutter

Review: I for one have not been a regular patron of Papa Murphy's for quite a long time. My Dad loves their calzones (which I must admit are tasty!) But when I usually think of pizza, I think of places that actually cook them before sending them home with me. So when the idea was suggested for my recent girls night, we decided to check out what they had to offer. Well, I was thoroughly impressed with the prices and then saw this little number on the menu - I haven't looked back since. This pizza is one of their deLite crusts (thin crust) and the ingredients were as fresh as you could probably get. The wait was short and the cooking of the pizza made my entire apartment smell deLicious. Plus, I was able to buy the most efficient pizza cutter that I have had the pleasure to use. But if you already have one of those cutters- I still say you should make a trip to your local Papa Murphys to try this pizza.

Recommendation * * * * *

Ronald Review #1: Pet Window

Review: For a price of...free...you too can enjoy front row window seating. Thanks to family back in Seattle, I am now able to appreciate "Neighbor Spying" from the comfort of a cushy seat. This is especially good when I am on my own in the morning (ie only one awake) and the window I am sitting next to is open...and it is still cool air blowing in. So if you really want one, I'm pretty sure PetSmart or Petco is selling them for around $30. The only issue is that one has to always move the pet window around in order to open/shut the window, because it hooks onto the window frame- other than that -Have fun!

Recommendation * * * *

spoof@paypal.com

The other day I received this in my inbox:

---------------------------------------------------

Your case ID for this reason is PP-423-132-206
From: accounts@paypaI.com (accounts@paypaI.com)
Sent:Fri 7/11/08 4:13 PM
Reply-to:donotreply@paypaI.com

To: HPLuvr

Dear Customer,

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.

We requested information from you for the following reason:

We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. We have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features in case your account has been accessed by an unauthorised third party. We understand that having limited access can be an inconvenience, but protecting your account is our primary concern.

Reference Number: PP-423-132-206

Due to this, you are requested to follow the provided steps and update your informations details for the safety of your Account.
Please Click Here To Start

(Your case ID for this reason is PP-423-132-206.)

In accordance with PayPal's User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

---------------------------------------------

It did not go to my junk box which peaked my interest...but it made me suspicious because I had not previously received any emails from them, AND the donotreply email address- odd. So being cautious, I went to my paypal account (which by the way I rarely use anyway) and followed their instructions to contact them with any suspicious emails. I got this reply within 10 minutes:

---------------------------------------------

RE: - Your recent report to Paypal
From: spoof@paypal.com
Sent:Fri 7/11/08 5:45 PM
Reply-to:spoof@paypal.com
To: HPLuvr

Dear HPLuvr,

Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails. The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team is working to disable it.

------What is a phishing email?------

Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal will never ask for your password over the phone or in an email and will always address you by your first and last name. Take our Fight Phishing Challenge at https://www.paypal.com/fightphishing to learn 5 things you should know about phishing. You'll also see what we're doing to help fight fraud every day.

------You've made a difference.------

Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from identity theft.

Thanks,
The PayPal Team

-------------------------------------------
Note: if something seems odd; it probably is.

Smokey the Bear says...

Happy 4th of July! During my girls weekend, Yanaj and I watched the Stadium of Fire, fireworks display from her back porch. The cheap seats one might say. I was amazed at how big the fireworks were and was enjoying the peaceful evening.

I wonder why we celebrate our nation's birthday with fireworks?

...here comes the Smokey the Bear part...

Only we can prevent 'forest' fires!

With Love, From Hawai'i Day 8

So this is it folks. At least for this particular trip. Mom and I dropped Lisa off at the airport around 11am. Which meant that we had nearly 7 hours to kill before we had to be back. Too bad there was not much beach in this part of the island. But we made do. We did some more shopping. Found our way to a Barnes & Noble to pick up a few books and read for awhile. And before heading to the movie theater...(Get Smart is a funny and entertaining movie)...I happened to notice a like-minded vehicle owner that would have gotten along well with the Dad.

Who needs a front seat when you've got a surf board?

And what is it with flights and pick-up...lines?

My mom and I were actually sitting together for our flight home. No finagling required :) And as we headed back to our seats...and by back I mean the 2nd to last row from the back tail...we were thinking out loud and to ourselves,

"Hey, we might get this entire row to ourselves. How nice would that be? Make sure to spread out our stuff strategically...I mean this is a red eye, so hopefully we will be able to get comfortable enough to sleep. Oh yes, grab another pillow and blan..."

"Yeah, I think that's my seat."

Says the young, dark, and curly haired guy while taking out his earphones.

Well, we began to move, making a couple of light jokes while my Mom moved to the center seat and tried getting comfortable. What was a relief was that the guy started making jokes back. Hello Friendly Guy. This flight wasn't going to be half bad if he was willing to see the comedy in our being stuffed in with strangers reclining into our laps on the way home.

By the end of this vacation, I had forgone all makeup and hair products...in a good way :) Note: Salt Water does amazing things to your hair! I was dressed in pj's and looking forward to putting on some headphones and watching the in-flight movie and then getting some sleep. But apparently my look said, "Talk to me". So he did. Chatted and joked with me in that when Mom got up to stretch her legs, he introduced himself, asked my name...and my age.

What the heck??

But all in all, it was for the best. Because I knew he was young, but I nearly pulled my first Yanaj: he was 16...almost.

And when I told him my age? He convincingly sounded shocked. He thought we had been born in the same decade. No Sir: I am not 18. I remember waiting for the original Nintendo to come out. But I will say, Friendly Guy certainly made my flight home much more entertaining (especially considering that the in-flight movie was Fool's Gold).

Thanks Young Guy. And Good Luck on taking your Driver's License Test.

With Love, From Hawai'i Day 7

The Road to Hana. I had been told by many who have visited Maui, that this was not something to miss. Saving this for our last full day on the island, we made sure to pack food, water, and put in the Road to Hana tour CD. All necessary items. It was yet another beautiful day, and driving with our windows down and adventure in our brains, hit the road.

To tell you the truth, the road that we took to get to the beginning of the Road to Hana, almost had me turning back. It was the skinniest, unpaved and unguard railed, rockiest, cliff riddled drive that I have ever had the experience to drive. Our car was hugging the side of the cliff and if I were to have tried looking out the opposite window, I would not have been able to see where the roadside ended and empty air began. But all things come to end, thank goodness. We made it to the beginning, only a little apprehensive about the drive ahead.

This is one flat palm tree! Instead of growing out in all directions, the fraunds (leaves) grew out creating a fan-like pattern.

According to our lovely (CD) guide the Road to Hana has 59 bridges. This may not seem like a very large number, until you calculate that the Hana Highway from start to Hana is only 52 miles! That's alotta bridges.

Then consider that all of the bridges were one lane bridges. With traffic wanting to go both ways. Talk about a lesson in sharing and taking turns! I was amazed to learn that all but 1 of these bridges, dating back to 1910, is still in use.

The Road to Hana drives through the East Maui Rain forest. This made our drive cooler (temperature and well, awesome-ness). The vegetation and flowers were unreal.

At one stop, we had the fresh Banana Bread and the famous Hawai'ian Shaved Ice. The only thing I can compare it to is a luxury sno-cone, and even then I would tell people that although you may not care much for sno-cones, there is no excuse to not give Shaved Ice a try.

So while enjoying our Ice from Heaven on the Road to Heaven, we were able to listen to waves, and soon after see one of the most beautiful sights I have yet seen.

The turquoise water, the white surf, and the black rocks.

Heavenly Father certainly has an aesthetic talent.

... yes ... one more picture.

And if I had any doubts that I was driving in a Rain Forest, they were cleared up around the 4th rain storm. It had just stopped raining and I took a picture of the water cycle at work, the humidity just skyrocketed!! And all those green leaves and plants...whew!

I know that this isn't the best picture (the lighting is all off) but I continued to see trees like this one. An otherwise healthy tree, covered up to its canopy with a gigantic cousin of ivy.

Not cloud cover, but branch cover.

We were astounded when our CD tour guide pointed out that we were actually driving through the Bamboo forest section. My lucky bamboo doesn't look like this...

An Africa Tulip (which actually grow at the tops of large trees) I just happened to be on the highway above this particular tulip tree.

And after 600 curves, feeling like I was driving in a Nintendo game, we were welcomed...

Note: If you are interested in reaching the 7 Sacred Pools, it is not actually in Hana, but rather another 45 minutes past Hana. Due to the lateness of our arrival in Hana, and wanting to avoid driving this highway at night...sans street lights...well you get the picture...we turned around to make the 600 curves and 59 one lane bridges back.