Running through my brain...

 

Sorry, kids. I haven’t felt like blogging lately.

But here I am.

Actually, I haven’t felt like I’ve had anything to blog about. Life seems blah. I think I’m stuck in the winter blues. This time of year is rough. Too many cold and gloomy days with gross inversion and inside recesses can really grate on a teacher. Hopefully February will help to clear out my mind.

In order to get back on the blogging wagon, here are a few things rolling around in my brain today.

1.            Ken has two auditions for Doctorate programs scheduled for this month. One is in Texas and the other is in Kansas. We’ll be flying out on a “jumbo trip” for him to audition and scope out the area. We’re doing both cities in one trip. I’m going. That’s all I’m saying about that. We’re at a crossroad right now with the future. I don’t like crossroads. This whole thing has been taking up a lot of brain/emotional space in my head for quite a while and probably will continue to.

2.            I made two first graders cry yesterday in regards to Groundhog Day. I’m not really sure what happened, actually. We were doing a fun Groundhog Day activity and I told the class that the groundhog had not seen his shadow. I had one student suddenly burst into tears. No clue why. I never got an answer out of him. The other crying student told me that his mom had told him that the groundhog had seen his shadow. He started crying because he felt like I had called his mom a liar. With two kids in tears, clearly it was a rough Groundhog Day. I may want to rethink celebrating it next year.

3.            On that note, I’m wondering if a different career might be better for me. I think most teachers feel that way this time of year. I told Ken that I might be successful selling candy from the side of the road. You know, like a lemonade stand but with Snickers and Skittles. I could also go back to school. I might like to learn to play the organ. Ha! Actually if I were ever to go back to school I’d like to go into law/social work/child advocacy. Is there even a degree for all of that rolled into one? A social worker who moonlights as a lawyer fighting out the rights for some abused 8 year old. I would be a real life superhero. I’m there! God blessed me with a strong and loud set of lungs. I think they’d be useful for this very thing.

4.            My family is awesome. And by awesome I mean I am constantly in awe of how much I love them. We all went to the baptism of my nephew, Wyatt, on Saturday. Well… almost all. Ken was teaching organ lessons so I went alone. I was a little nervous about seeing my former sister-in-law and her mom and sisters since my brother’s divorce but everything went fine. It was actually good to see her and be in her home again. I have a lot of memories in her house. I love my family more than I think I will ever be able express. I was glad everyone was able to be together again. I think those moments with everyone who shares my maiden name are going to be few and far between. I’m glad it happened.

5.            I have always loved chocolate covered pretzels but have recently discovered that I have a mild addiction to them. I only like the Snyder’s kind. It’s not a good thing to know that Costco sells a jillion pound bag of them. And by the way… a jillion pounds of chococlate covered pretzels doesn’t really last longer than a single serving. I know that from experience. Just sayin…

6.            I’m on my third, soon to be fourth - hopefully, smart phone since Christmas. Yep. I said third, soon to be fourth, hopefully. Read on. I finally moved into the technological ranks of awesomeness and it’s evidently not for me. The cell phone Gods do not want me to have a smart phone. My first smart phone is somewhere in Orem. Ken took my strep infested body to the Instacare one afternoon. I had the phone in the car on the way there and then it was gone. I’m pretty sure it fell out of the car when I went in to the Instacare and someone picked it up.  It was brand new so I’m sure they got at least $250.00 for it from listing it in the classifieds. My brother Clint was able to hook me up with a new Galaxy S3 phone for no cost. Sold! I’ve had that one for about 2 ½ weeks but the reception is awful and everyone complains about an echo. So, FedEx delivered my "new" phone today (3^rd phone here, people) that that I was supposed to take to the store to activate today. When I opened the box, it was a “Certified Like New” replacement phone. Translation: It’s someone else’s piece of junk/broken phone that has been refurbished to become my "new" phone. No way! I called Verizon today and complained explained the situation. I see their side and I think they see mine. My phone is only 2 ½ weeks old. I can understand a refurbished phone if I had had it for 10 months. 2 ½ weeks doesn’t qualify for refurbishment in my world. After being on the phone for 45 minutes with a really nice Verizon representative named Nicole we have no verdict. I have to talk to someone a little higher up in the world of cell phones. Friendly little Nicole will be calling me tomorrow for round 2. I may have to use my loud set of lungs. Stay tuned…