Oh what a difference...

24 degrees make!  Because that's how much cooler it is today than Tuesday (when we went to the pool and it was so hot the workers were just letting hoses run onto the ground so the patrons wouldn't burn the bottoms of their feet).  It does seem strange that I am calling today cool because it is still 83 degrees out, but that is still a far cry from 107 (before heat index).  We are still under a heat advisory, but that's mostly because the humidity is around 90% today (evidenced by my super curls).  Now I'm off to do some laundry that I have been avoiding in an effort not to overtax my air conditioner.

Sing my Life

Earlier this year, my former :( supercolleagues and I were enjoying a "leisurely" lunch in the teachers' lounge.  The talk over one another topic turned to a thing my fellow Gleek had heard on the radio asking, "If you had to choose one song to represent your life...what would it be?"  I couldn't really think of one right then.  My RGP had strolled into the lounge, and was at the microwave while the discussion continued.  I couldn't even tell she was listening.  But on her way out she deadpanned, "Mine would be Fancy," as she continued out the door (her truly wicked sense of humor is one of the things I will miss the most).  So, the other day I heard a song that truly fits...

So what would yours be?  I'm hosting a linky party to find out (I hope it works anyway).  If not, just leave a comment :), and I will try again.

It's all about perspective

In a week or two (or more if you teach in a district that starts...gasp!... after Labor Day) we'll be up to our armpits in alligators.  Last year, at a reading conference I attended, Lester Laminack (I think because that page isn't labeled in my Writer's Notebook, but it is right next to a page of things he did say) said, "Once the year begins you can't see the forest for the trees." That's how I feel right now.  I have a pretty good picture of the forest.  I have read all my IEP's, anecdotal records for each student and more books on ASD than I care to count (I am so, so, so glad that I live near my alma mater and the good folks in circulation allow alumni to check out from the research library).  Still, I know even though I am prepared, I am not actually in it.  That's the part that I lose sleep over.  There are things in this new adventure that I don't have real-life experience with (but I probably read about it).  I just hope my learning curve is steep.

How Not to Finish Your Classroom

by Frau M.

There are three ways to avoid working in your classroom.  First, you could do other important errands in another town from where you teach (I had to check my parent's mail as they are out of the country doing missions work).  It seems a little wasteful in this economy to drive 10 miles the opposite direction of school and turn around to go the other way 15 miles (round trip from my house, to my mom's, to school and back home is 50 miles).  Second, you could clean your own home.  This is not fun, but it is necessary unless you like living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)  Last, you could take a three-day vacay with your DH and monkeys to a state park 2 hours away (totally fun, btw...even the part when we had to sleep the first night without air conditioning because a mud dauber had made its home inside our A/C unit...thank you Mr. Cometoyourcampsitetofixit).  These are the ways you can still not be done with your classroom (by you, I mean I, and don't worry...it will get done with a few looooooooooong days and plenty of Tums).


P.S.  The Heat Advisory is entering its bazillionth day in a row.  Today it is 101 and tomorrow's high is 105, so we are going to the pool instead of working.  I just looked and the heat index is 115.  Yuck.