November 14, 2014

Half Baked

Say it ain't so! The Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro, was arrested for drunk driving. Apparently his yellow Corvette was swerving around Manhattan. While being arrested, he told police that, "you can't arrest me, I'm the Cake Boss!" I'd say his ego might have risen over the bowl. I went to see him a few years ago when he was at the Paramount Theatre and when he made his entrance you would have thought that Jesus had arrived due to the way the crowd behaved. I remember thinking, "um..doesn't he just bake cakes on TV?" I guess when you have such a fan base you tend to get puffed up and filled with importance. I certainly don't want to glaze over the fact that Paige and I did stalk the alley behind his bakery in Hoboken and got a glimpse of his brothers in law and got to meet his mama! However, I don't want to sugar coat the situation- he shouldn't have been driving impaired, although I would need more than one piece of rum cake of courage to drive in New York City! Hopefully he ate his piece of Humble Pie and learned his lesson so he won't fritter away his talent on crummy things like this anymore! 

November 13, 2014

Presents

Today was like Christmas morning. My site technician and I got to hand out school ipads to 4th grade students. All the time and effort put into getting the devices ready was worth it to see how excited these kids were. For the past three years this group of students have witnessed the lower grades receiving iPads and have been patiently waiting for when it would be their turn. Well today was that day. The best part is that on Monday and Tuesday we get to do it again with the 5th and 6th grade students. By the end of next week, every student in our school will have their own iPad to use. I  am as excited as the kids because of all the doors we are opening for learning. Finally, I can move on from setting them up to actually fostering their use. Yes there have been major, stress inducing glitches that we have had to overcome and yes I still have some annoying problems to solve but in the long run I think we have some awesome adventures ahead of us! I can't wait!

November 12, 2014

Baby It's Cold Outside

At 6am I was waiting for it....the announcement that it was too cold for school. Well, it never came. The bus garage must have used electric blankets or something. So we all slip slided to work in weather only a polar bear could love. This was day 3 of students not getting to go outside to play. In our district it has to be 20 degrees before students are allowed outside for recess. Last year I was curious to see what the requirements in other states were so I researched it.In a northern area of Minnesota the cutoff is 15 degrees below zero! In Alaska it is 20 below zero. I think Colorado should toughen up and at least go down to zero. Of course this would mean that kids would have to wear some warmer clothes. Some of us adults were talking about staying in for recess when we were in grade school. I don't remember that it was an often occurance but  I do remember that the popular game to play was Heads Up 7Up. I think now they have a politically correct, nutritional name for it- Heads Up Sparkling Water or something like that....

I recall we also had to walk to and from school, uphill with no shoes. Kids sure are soft these days. Excuse me while I go fill out my AARP application...

November 11, 2014

Creature Features

There is a mouse in my house. I hate mice and quite frankly I'm afraid of them. I know it doesn't make sense because I am a hundred times bigger than them and I haven't heard of any human being attacked by a mouse. Maybe it's because they're quiet and can sneak up on you or maybe it's their tail. What if  mice had bushy tails? Would I then think they were cute? If a bunny snuck into my house I would think it was cute. But not a mouse. My children learned from a young age that when there was a mouse involved they were on their own. It was every man for themselves and mama was a mile away and on high ground! I would possibly be willing to coexist with these unpleasant creatures if they would agree to stay out of sight and be housebroken. The fact that they leave a trail of pee and poop wherever they go is just bad mouse parenting in my opinion. If mice would just go outside to do their business, I would be willing to ignore their existence and have a truce. But, sadly, this is not the case so I have called in the heat (Don and Maggie) to hopefully solve the mouse problem. RIP rodent!

L

November 10, 2014

Strengths and Weaknesses

Some days my weaknesses are more recognizable than my strengths. Today was that day. Our school district does not have enough substitutes, so often times when a teacher is sick, the school has to scramble to fill the classrooms. Usually I fly under the radar but my blip was picked up and I was drafted into service today. The class that I was in charge of was a sixth grade class. I have known these kids since they were were in first grade so we weren't strangers to each other but maybe that would have been easier. I had to teach most of the day but I was the most nervous teaching math. Hopefully this is one lesson they won't retain or their dreams of MIT have been dashed! One math problem I did learn today was: The drastic change in temperature + no outdoor recess + hormones + a substitute = a negative! Halfway through the morning, the PE teacher took pity on me and hand delivered a Starbucks latte to sustain me! The moral of this story is that there is a reason I am a Teacher Librarian. My talents lie with having a flexible schedule, teaching all things technology and books and seeing all grade levels only 45 minutes at a time! I salute all classroom teachers and substitutes who are in the trenches every day!

November 9, 2014

Shopping Frenzy

I did a crazy thing this morning. I decided to go to Costco and King Soopers. Why was this crazy? Well, two reasons: 

1.  This is precisely what all the Bronco fans were doing before the afternoon game. It is a known fact that the only way to truly prove that you are a tried and true Bronco fan is to be on the couch by kickoff. However, all my previous football viewing did come in handy when trying to push the shopping cart through the openings in the crowded aisles and defending my spot in the checkout lane.

2. There is cold weather coming. All native Coloradoans know that as soon as the forecast predicts snow or cold temperatures, we feel the need to pack the pantries. Not having the kidney beans for chili or chicken for the noodle soup during bad weather is against the Colorado Constitution - or it should be. 

It was pure havoc inside the stores and out but I survived to tell the tale. From now on I will be staying away from Bronco Sundays and checking the forecast before my next shopping spree!

 

November 8, 2014

Brrr...

We attended an evening CSU game tonight against the Hawaiian Warriors. We've been to a few games this year but tonight something was different....oh yes...it was cold! We have been so spoiled this year with the weather at game time - basically sweatshirts at the most. That is why I just wasn't prepared. Granted it only got down to around 46 degrees but at Hughes Stadium it felt like 23 degrees! I didn't wear the right clothes so the whole time I was going through my closet in my head thinking about all the clothes I should have worn instead. On the plus side, the Rams knocked the flip flops off the Warriors and won 49-22! I think the Warriors were cold too!

Thank goodness for hot chocolate!