Busy and exhausting week

I had two days of school this week. We are on block scheduling so I met three of my classes on Thursday (one block was for planning) and two of my classes on Friday (the other two blocks on Friday were a duty and a common planning block with my freshman team members). We alternate days - Red and White Days. My honors classes are going to be fine. I have no major concerns with those kids. There are a few of kids that I question whether or not they should be in an Honors class but for the most part, they are pretty good kids. My college prep classes are a bit more of a concern. Two of the college preps, I have a SPED teacher and ELL teacher in the room with me because I have thirty kids in each of those classes. I need heavy support in those classes. Spanish is the prominent language for the ELL kids. I wanted diversity so I definitely got it! Overall, the kids are really nice. I haven't smiled a lot. I need to show them that I have the control of the classroom. I can always ease up in my classroom discipline. You can't go the other way - it's good to be tough now!

I've been trying to stay late and get my classroom somewhat organized and ready for the school year. I was told to not get to comfortable because after the holidays in December, all the freshman teams are being moved out to the modular classrooms (which are a nicer set-up). My current classroom has no windows, chalkboards instead of whiteboards, and the air quality is pretty stifling. I've already mentioned in a previous post that the technology is pretty much non-existent in this school. My previous school was die hard into technology so I feel like I've gone back in time about ten years. Email isn't even encouraged at this school so everything that is given to us is in paper format. It's such a waste of time and trees. Also, I have no LCD projector for my PowerPoints. I tried pricing them out but the cheapest I can find is one for $699! Way too much money for me to spend. I've been using my laptop (which still works). I bought it when I was working at Timberlane since they had no computers for teachers. I pretty much stopped using the laptop once I got to Newburyport.

Here are a few pictures of what my room looks like at this point:

I don't like my desks in rows (unless for testing) so I tend to change the desks quite a bit. Currently, they are in a semi-circle for discussions. I had to squish thirty desks in to a small space so I could have enough desks for all my classes.

This is my area -desk, personal stuff, filing cabinet, etc.

I currently have 120 students on my classload. The numbers may change a bit the next week - either up or down. I'm hoping down! That's a lot of correcting to get done! I haven't had this high of classload since my Timberlane days. I guess I got spoiled at my last teaching job! :-)

I just wanted to check in - as mentioned before, I will not have a ton of time this first month to blog so I thought I would just give a quick post to let everyone know that I'm surviving the school year so far.

Happy Birthday Mary Beth!

Just wanted to do a quick shout out to my friend, Mary Beth!

It's her b-day today!

Wishing you much love and happiness on this extra special day kiddo - :-)

Professional Day #2

It was a long and exhausting day at school. My classroom still isn't where it needs to be at this point. I'm trying not to stress out too much about since I'm only in this room until December.

We had the freshman come in today for orientation. I had to do four thirty minute presentations on the goals for the year. The kids are good so far. I have a few that could be potential problems but most of them are rather sweet and good. So far. :-)

I wasn't able to get as much work as I needed to get done today because of the freshman thing. Being in a new school takes some serious adjusting to my life.

Also, I just want to give everyone a heads up. If I'm not blogging or emailing right away it's because I'm buried in school stuff right now. So please forgive me. Plus, I'm going to be working at Paws a few days during the week and on weekends. The beginning of the school year tends to be rather overwhelming so until I get a grip on a routine, please know that I am thinking about all my fellow bloggers and friends!

My butt is seriously dragging right now and I still have more school stuff to do before I head to bed.

Pleasant dreams all -

Professional Day #1

It's been a very long day for M-Dawg!

I got to school around 7:00 am - I didn't have electricity in my classroom so I ended up stealing a construction safety light contraption so I could at least start cleaning my desks and classroom. I don't have windows in my classroom so my room is completely dark. I'm in the middle of the building so it was pretty dark.

We had a 2 1/2 hour faculty meeting. Went over major changes and concerns from the previous year. The building I'll be working in has just started (in June) a major construction project. The construction will take at least two years so the building is a little on the rough side. The good news is that I'll only be in this classroom until December. After that, the entire freshman team moves out into the modular units (which are VERY nice by the way). We will be out there for the next year and a half.

I had lunch with one of my new colleagues in the history dept and a new math teacher. We chatted away about our impressions so far.

I had to leave for a freshman team meeting at 1:00. The team consists of a history teacher, math teacher, science teacher, English teacher, and SPED teacher. We all share the same students. I have four freshman classes so these other teachers share those same students with me. All of the teachers have a common planning block too! We discussed common goals for the school year for the freshman. We have freshman orientation tomorrow so each team teacher has to prepare a 30 minute activity for each freshman class to prepare them for their goals for the school year. I'm in charge of organization! :-) So, I'm going to do a little skit - I'm going to come in all disorganized with my backpack open with papers flying out it and all disorganized. Then, I'm going to break them up into groups and ask them to brainstorm ways to keep themselves organized on a butcher sheet of paper. After they brainstorm, we'll discuss some of the suggestions. I'll then demonstrate some techniques to help them stay organized for the school year: binder with dividers, agenda book, etc.

Afterwards, I went back to my room and guess what???? I had electricity! So, I stayed until 5:00 pm tonight to get things organized for tomorrow. I'm still not where I want to be for Thursday when school officially opens.

Looks like another late night on Wednesday -

Anecdotes from Paws

I like my part-time job. It's a fun job. We sell products for dogs and cats. People bring in their dogs and we have little treats that we can give them. It's rare that we get a cat into the store but we do have little treats for them too. If you like dogs and cats, it's a great place to work.

However, customers say the darndest things and they crack me up! I thought I would share a few funny stories:

*Phone Call - "Do you sell stuff for birds, lizards, hamsters, fish etc." - Is there a reason why we have the word PAWS in the store name? And, last I checked, these animals DO NOT have paws!
*If you have ever been in the store, you know it's very small. We have a closet in the back that we keep extra inventory and our personal stuff (coats, purses, etc.). Customers DO NOT believe me when I tell them the closet is not a bathroom. Today, a customer told me she didn't believe me that there was no bathroom in the store (according to her logic: It's a state law that every business needs to have a bathroom - this is NOT true by the way!). She proceeded to open up the closet door. I stood there with this "I told you" look. She walked out of the store. Oh, FYI, she didn't apologize to me.
*Woman walks into the store holding her female puppy out in front of her like it's wet. "Do you carry feminine products for dogs?" Her dog is "in heat" and is bleeding all over the place. I had to call the owner of the store at home because I had no idea what to do because NO we don't carry that product. The owner tells me on the phone that she could order some product for the customer's dog but it will take a few days. I'm absolutely horrified because I never realized that they even make such a product for female dogs. Learn something new everyday! FYI: the woman acted like this incident was this HUGE surprise - HELLO! You buy a female dog and don't get it fixed and what else should you expect to happen? DUH! When I asked the owner of the dog if she planned on breeding the dog (I thought that's why she was allowing the dog to be in heat so she could breed it) - her reply: "Why would I want to breed her? I didn't think that female dogs had periods." Do you feel bad for the dog yet?
*Male customer comes into the store to ask me the following question (quietly whispers): "Do you sell leather collars with spikes in them for humans to wear?" - need I say more?
*Overheard in the store. A conversation between two customers as they walk into the store. 1st woman - "I really like those flags of the dogs - they carry so many different breeds." 2nd woman: "I really don't like those flags. It tells the doggie kidnappers what your dog looks like if you have one of those flags in your yard." - Doggie kidnappers?????????

These are just a few interesting stories that have taken place at my part-time job. When I first started working there, lots of things surprised me. Not anymore!

Not much to report today

Nothing new today.

I work today at Paws 3-9.

Sounds like an exciting day, doesn't it?

Trip into Boston - Freedom Trail Part 1

I thought I would finally get around to posting some pictures of my trip into Boston and walking the Freedom Trail.

I took the commuter rail into North Station because it's so much easier to ride the train verses dealing with Boston traffic and parking. My friend Sarah and I headed to Boston Common once we got off the train. Sarah told me that the week before her and a bunch of her friends checked out the Cow Parade in Boston. There are 117 cows all over Boston and each one has a theme to it. All day long as we walked the Freedom Trail, we saw cows so I took a few pictures of them. Here are a few of my favorite cows:

Map of Boston Cow in Boston Commons.

State House Cow behind the State House in Boston.

T Cow in Boston Commons.

As we walked the trail, you stop at various historical points in Boston. The first stop is the State House. Across from the State House is the Robert Gould Shaw memorial (If you've seen the movie Glory, Shaw was the guy that was in charge of the 54th Regiment - the first African American regiment organized in the northern states during the Civil War).

State House in Boston.

Memorial to Shaw of the 54th Regiment.

We then headed over to the Park Street Church. I've never been inside the church. They had a nice 12 minute video on the history of the church. Some big happenings in this church: The hymn "America" was first sung here, and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison gave his first antislavery speech here in 1829. Afterwards, we walked over to the Granary Burying Ground. Some famous folks are buried here such as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock.

Grave of Paul Revere.

Grave of Samuel Adams.

We then walked to King's Chapel and Burying Ground. This is another building I've never been in. Some big facts: Because it was a stronghold of Loyalist opposition, most of the congregation left for England and Nova Scotia in 1776. In 1787 those remaining organized the first Unitarian congregation in America. The burying ground next to the chapel contains the remains of John Winthrop, the colony's first governor, as well as the gravestone that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write The Scarlet Letter.

Our next stop was the marker for the first school, the Boston Latin School- the site of the oldest public school in America, which Franklin, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock once attended. Puritan settlers established the Latin School here on School Street in 1635.

Marker for Boston Latin School.

We grooved our way over to the Old South Meeting House. Again, another building I have never been in before. Most of the buildings we toured were free because we had our teacher union card. Lots of history in this building too: When the Old South Meeting House was built in 1729, its Puritan congregation could not foresee the role it would play in American history. In colonial times, statesman Benjamin Franklin was baptized here. Phillis Wheatley, the first published black poet, was a member, as were patriots James Otis, Thomas Cushing, and William Dawes. This museum had nice exhibits and a wonderful gift store if you have plenty of money to buy teaching supplies.

We then moved our way to the Boston Massacre sight. A cobblestone circle marks the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre when British soldiers fired into a crowd of Bostonians. Fugitive slave Crispus Attucks was among the five victims who died that day.

The marker of the Boston Massacre across from the Old State House.

My favorite place of the Freedom Trail - Faneuil Hall! Lunch time! We walked through Quincy Market to find some lunch. As we sat and ate our lunch, you can watch street performers - everything from dancing or juggling or comedy acts. Great people watching!

We then made our way over to the North End. We had to make a stop at Mike's Pastry - the best pastries in the world! I had to have my cannoli - I'm so addicted to it! Yummy!

Paul Revere's house is the next stop. The Paul Revere House is the oldest in downtown Boston. Built in 1680, it was owned and occupied by Paul Revere and his family most of the time from 1770 to 1800.

Front of Paul Revere House in the North End.

The next stop was Old North Church. I adore Old North Church. I always thought that I would I love to get married in that church - in the evening with the candle chandeliers. Very romantic and historical! :-) Built in 1723, Christ Church is better known as "Old North". It is Boston's oldest church building and still an active Episcopal Church. On the night of April 18, 1775, sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns in the steeple to warn Charlestown patriots of the advance of British soldiers.

Inside Old North Church.

Trip into Boston - Freedom Trail - Part II

A cat hanging out in front of Old North Church.

Front of Old North Church.

We then crossed over into Charlestown to see the USS Constitution. We walked onboard the ship - the Navy sailors were just leaving so we got to see them line up at the end of day. They look so cute in their whites! Afterwards, we checked out the museum - it's very hands-on and was a ton of fun!

Side of the USS Constitution.

Looking up on the USS Constitution.

The Bunker Hill Monument was closed for the summer for renovations so we didn't check it out. We took the ferry back to Boston which was a very scenic 15 minute boat trip that drops you off in front of the New England Aquarium.

View of Boston from the water trolley.

As you can see from the pictures, it was an absolutely beautiful day to go into Boston and enjoy a little history. I highly recommend that folks check out the Freedom Trail. Most of the stops are free or a request for donations.

2nd Day of Orientation

Today, I have the second day of orientation. On the schedule:
*Meet administrators
*Given an overview of teaching the English Language Learner (formerly known as ESL)
*Take tour of building
*Review rules and regulations
*Meet with Head teachers to discuss classes
*9th grade team meeting (I'm going to be working with a team of teachers that share the same 9th grade students)

I'm hoping to start working on my classroom. I may go into school tomorrow as well to get myself organized. Officially, the rest of the faculty comes back to school next Tuesday. I'm sure the condition of the building being in major construction may bring folks into the building earlier to get started on the major task of cleaning and organizing their classrooms.

So I guess I should get out my cleaning supplies and start cleaning! :-)

1st Day of Teacher Orientation

OK, this cartoon could possibly be me. Minus the playground duty. High School teachers don't have to worry about playground duty. :-)

Today, I have new teacher orientation at my new school.

Wish me luck!

UPDATE:

1st day went well. Met teachers from all over the community. I met one of the social studies teacher from my department. There was another one hired but we couldn't figure out who that person was at the orientation. There were over 50 new teachers in the city. The gift bags were nice - it's a HUGE book bag (like the canvas LL Bean type) that was filled with supplies for school, some munchie food, new teacher info, professional development binder, and a book on how to survive your first year.

The trolley tour was fun. It was rainy and cold but the tour was nice. I saw parts of the community that I didn't even knew existed and they showed us all the schools in the city. I need to go back to the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM). They showed us a quick tour of the museum to encourage us to come back with our classes.

Tomorrow, I'm at the high school. We are in meetings most of the day. I'm hoping to be able to set up my classroom in the afternoon. I guess the building is still declared a hard hat area until Thursday so we have to wear hard hats while in the building.

Working Gal!

I pretty much worked at Paws all weekend.

Friday: Worked 1-5. Meet Annette for dinner at Applebees in Epping, NH. I saw one of my former colleagues from Newburyport there. She works as a waitress for Applebees for extra money. Annette and I then proceeded up to the Lakes Region in NH to go see a musical that her son Darryl is doing up there. This is the second summer that Darryl has worked for the Lakes Region Summer Theatre company. He's the technical director for all the shows. We saw Oklahoma! - I've never seen it before but I thought it was a great musical. The actors and actresses did an amazing job! This theatre company has one famous actor come out of it's program - Tye Diggs! I am so very proud of Darryl - he's one of my babies from the Class of 2003!

Saturday: Worked at Paws 10-3. We had one psycho customer come in and yell at one of the employees about our return policy. MA State law requires each store to post it and print it out on receipts. The store follows that policy. However, people get upset when they try and return something and the store only gives out store credit. I did not make the policy. I only follow it. But, some folks get upset over it.

Sunday: Worked at Paws 11-3. I had a psycho customer come in and yell at me about a return. This woman yelled at me for over 20 minutes! She threatened to call the state on us and she is going to fight her credit card company on paying the bill. The entire time she yelled at me, all I could think of was I really don't get paid enough to deal with this! :-) Remember, this is a part-time job for me. It's a job that I tend to like doing most days because of the interaction I get with the dogs. The woman came back an hour later with her digital camera to take pictures of the store so I think she may try and make a huge issue of this. We did call the owner to give her a heads up about what happened (the owner is down in N. Carolina with her sick father). I really didn't want to bother her with this until the woman came back with the camera.

Other news: As of tomorrow, I go back to school! I'm a little nervous and scared all rolled into one! Starting my teaching career over again isn't exactly what I wanted to be doing at my age but I'm hoping for the best.

They have an exciting agenda planned for us on Tuesday:
8:00 am Continental Breakfast - meet with other new teachers
8:30 am Trolley Tour of Salem
9:45 am Peabody Essex Museum (PEM)
11:00 am Welcome w/ administrators and community members
11:30 am Lunch
12:30 pm Gift bags for new members and Mentor/Mentee Program overview

I'm really looking forward to the trolley tour and PEM. I wonder what's in the gift bags????? :-)

Mandy's Goo Goo Dolls Concert Pics

That's John in the middle. My sister is the second from the right - greenish shirt with jean skirt!

Those of you that know me - know that my sister is a DIE HARD GOO fan.

She emailed me some photos from the concert at the Illinois State Fair.

So, here are a few pics from Mandy and a new friend that she met at the concert.

John is one HOT man!!!!

It's Friday!

I survived my lovely day in Boston yesterday. The weather turned out rather nice. I was afraid it might rain but the day was perfect! Not too hot! I walked the entire Freedom Trail (2.5 miles). If you are not familiar with Boston, the city is hilly. And, because of the Big Dig, the trail has been moved a few times. It was a very long day. I took a ton of pictures that I will post at some point. My friend Sarah went with me - I used to work with her at Newburyport HS. One of her friends invited us to a film viewing in Somerville for the evening. The viewing was in this cute little park in Somerville. Sarah's friends brought picnic fixings and drinks and blankets and we hung out and watched short films. All the films were done by women in New England. Some were rather scary but a few of them were funny and good.

Sarah's boyfriend drove us home afterwards since it was so late - I didn't get home until 11:30. That's late for me!

Today, I work at Paws 1-5. When I worked on Wednesday, there were so many boxes of stuff that it was overwhelming! There is no room in that store and we have to put all the new stuff out so it makes it a bit challenging. Plus, we are already getting Christmas stuff in! Can you believe it? Christmas stockings for cats and dogs, stuffed Santa toys that play music, Christmas costumes for dogs with reindeer hats, etc. I hope that the boxes are done but I have a sneaky suspicion that are still there - waiting for me to finish them up.

I meet with Annette tonight. We are driving up to Meredith, NH to see a play that her son is doing. Her son, Darryl, was one of my kids in the Class of 2003 that I advised at Timberlane HS. Darryl is going to school for tech in theatre. I haven't seen him since the winter when he performed in a play at UNH (Into the Woods). It will be good to catch up with Annette - we don't see each other that often due to our crazy schedules.

Enjoy your Friday all!!!

Off to Boston for the day!

I'm off to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail today. The weather isn't exactly nice up in my neck of the woods so I hope it's a little bit better in the city. I decided on taking the commuter rail in because 1) It's cheaper, and 2) Convenience.

I'm planning on taking photos today. I'll post them at some point.

Enjoy your Thursday!

How scary is this?

Just read about this online. Now, you are probably thinking that ONLY a NEW teacher would do something this ridiculous. NO! He's been teaching since 1979!

How Massachusetts Are You?????

Dude! You're 92% from Massachusetts!

Dude! Me and Sully and Fitzie and Sean are gonna hit Landsdowne tonight after the game, hang out at the Beerworks. I'll pick you up at the Coop at 6.

How Massachusetts are you?

OK, I know I was born and raised in IL. BUT, I couldn't resist doing this quiz. Not bad for a gal that has lived in MA since 1994! :-)

Hump Day!

It's Hump Day! Joy!

Carla's appt went well. She came back to my place and slept for a few hours. Thank goodness I have the futon in the 2nd bedroom. The drugs they gave her to knock her out were not that strong. Later in the afternoon, she was up for taking a walk so we went to Plum Island and walked on the beach. Carla wanted to eat something so we eat dinner at Not Your Average Joe's. She ate soft food! :-) Afterwards, we went to Hodgies for ice cream. This is only the beginning of the dental work but I'm so proud of her! She's deathly afraid of the dentist so this is a huge deal for her. She still has more procedures to go but she's a trooper!

I was asked to work today at Paws. The owner's father isn't doing very well so I'm covering her shift for her today.

I'm debating about going into Boston tomorrow to do the Freedom Trail. We shall see . . . . . .

Tuesday Tidbits

I spent my Monday evening with Janet and Lauren. We hung out, ate pizza, and had a great vent session about life. Isn't great to have such great gal pals in your life? Had a wonderful time ladies - the Pumpkin Pie was amazing!!!!

As I drove home last night, I decided to call my sister. She's in San Francisco for the week on business. We had a nice chat. She's a little disappointed in San Francisco though. She said the homeless and crack dealers are just overwhelming there. We were in San Fran in the summer of 1988 and I don't remember it being like that. Mandy really doesn't feel very safe there. It's too bad because San Fran is a wonderful city with some great history and culture. Mandy even made the comment she thought the homeless population was worse in San Fran compared to Seattle. She told me she's been ordering room service because she doesn't feel safe enough to venture out into the city. Being that Mandy lives near Chicago, she doesn't feel that way at home. My parents are all stressed out because they think that something bad can happen to her (mostly Dad is stressed out).

This morning, I drove Carla to the dentist to start the first round of surgical work on her teeth and gums. I have to pick her up this afternoon. She'll be staying with me until tomorrow because she can't be by herself for 24 hours.

So, I'm hanging out here doing school work and laundry. Oh, and blogging! :-)

Enjoy your Tuesday! :-)

Random Thoughts for a Monday . . . .

*Mom and Dad had a garage sale (they have garage sales in IL) on Friday and Saturday. They were able to get rid of quite a bit of stuff. And, make a little extra money. They are starting to get ready to sell the house soon and travel full-time in a RV.
*My sister went to see the Goo-Goo Dolls over the weekend. She's a member of the fan club and won a meet and greet. Yes, she met the Goo in person! She called me on Saturday from her cell phone so I could hear the concert - well, one song anyway! She was so excited!
*I got an email from Traci. She's back from her honeymoon and they had a wonderful time in Aruba. Once little incident of a stolen wallet but overall it sounds like she had a wonderful time. I can't wait to see some pictures.
*A week from Tuesday, I go back to school. Still have all sorts of mixed feelings. Excited. Scared. Etc. Having to start over again at a new school isn't exactly where I saw myself six months ago. But, life throws you a curve ball and you have to go with it. I'm trying to stay positive and upbeat about this starting over thing but it's tough.
*I'm meeting Janet and Lauren tonight for a birthday celebration dinner. It's always so nice to get together with my girls! :-)
*Weekend was pretty low key. I worked on Friday and Saturday.
*I've come to the conclusion that my life is pretty boring. Lonely. This not having a male in my life is starting to bother me. At 35, I thought I would be married by now. I'm so scared to meet someone. I'm soooo not normal!

That's it for my random thoughts.

Any random thoughts that you want to share?????

Happy Birthday Jacob!!!!

Corey is on the left and Jacob is on the right of Spongebob!

Happy Birthday to Jacob! Jacob is the son of my friend Cheryl - Cheryl is a friend from those crazy days at Hall High School! Cheryl is a great Mom! Her boys are amazing!

Wishing Jacob a very happy birthday and lots of hugs!

It's almost time to go back to school . . . . .

It's so hard to believe that in 11 days, I'll be back in school again. My last day of school was June 26th. It was so nice having the month of July off. Usually by August, I'm very ready to go back to school.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been working on my new curriculum for my honors US History class. It's been a little more challenging than I originally thought. I haven't taught an honors class in four years so I really need to be on my toes!

I am planning on going into Boston next week and walk the Freedom Trail. I want to take pictures and take tours so that I can incorporate the material into my lessons. I'm hoping for a nice weather day next week. I lucked out with my road trip to Concord and Lexington. I've done the Freedom Trail a few times in the past but never took pictures.

I've also been doing some cleaning around the condo. Personal stuff and school stuff. This is my 8th year in teaching and it's amazing how much material you accumulate after a short amount of time in education.

Today, I work at Paws 1-5. Short day. Not that I want to jinx myself but I think the tourists are slowly going away. A sure sign to the end of summer. We had two customers that came into the store yesterday from Texas. They both commented on how much cooler it is here in New England compared to Texas (one was from the Austin area and the other was from Dallas). I told them they should've been here a few weeks ago! :-)

Birthday Shout Outs!!!!

I just wanted to give a shout-out to a few folks that have birthdays today:
Aunt Jenence and Sherri N.

Unfortunately, I have no recent pictures to post of them (Well, maybe they will be happy that I didn't have a picture to post).

But, it's their extra special day!

Aunt J is my Mom's sister. Some of you that read this blog know her.

Sherri N. is a friend from high school. Her nickname was Mooner. You can guess on why that was her nickname. She's been a great friend and I'm so happy that we've kept in touch again after all these years.

Ladies - enjoy your day! You both deserve it!

Go Rolling Stone Magazine!!!!

I read a ton of blogs in the morning. Some blogs are written by friends, some blogs are about education or History, and others are just blogs that I enjoy reading for the hell of it. I found this article on this blog.

Is President Bush the worst President in history????

Any thoughts or comments??????

Happy reading folks!

Not much new to write about . . . .

Not too much to write about today.

I haven't really been doing too much lately. I worked all weekend. Besides that, nothing is going on with me.

Just wanted to let ya all know that I'm here. I'm alive. I'm kicking.

I just have nothing exciting to write about -

Congratulations to Mark and Traci!

Today, Mark and Traci are getting married!

Congratulations!

I wish that I could be in IL with you on your special day.

I wish you both much love and happiness in your lives together -

Enjoy that wonderful honeymoon!!!

Love Ya's!!!!!

My Day in Concord and Lexington

You couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day for my little educational field trip. The weather was perfect!
I started out in Concord. I visited the Concord Museum to brush up on the town history. Because I'm a member of the MTA (Massachusetts Teacher Association) I didn't have to pay the entrance fee to get into the museum. They has some nice exhibits on the early colonial period. They also claim to have one of the lanterns that hung in the church steeple on the night of Paul Revere's ride.

Afterwards, I checked out the Louisa May Alcott house - Orchard House. I've done the tour of the house a million times so I just took a photo of the house.

Picture of Orchard House in Concord.

I then made my journey to the Old North Bridge - the shot heard around the world. There have been some changes since the last time I've been here. First, the path that leads to the bridge from the parking lot is now fenced off. Second, the bridge was just recently rebuilt. I noticed that someone put fresh flowers at the graves of British soldiers.

Picture of the grave of British soldiers.

Picture of Old North Bridge.

It was so peaceful and serene here. Since I went during the week, there were not a lot of tourists so it was pretty quiet. I even found a nice spot under a tree near the bridge and read my book 1776. I figured that this was probably the most appropriate places to read this book. As a visual learner, I try and imagine what it must have been like on April 19, 1775 at this spot. These men died for our freedom and for that I will always be grateful.

I also checked out the Old Manse. Again, I was able to take a free tour because of my MTA card. The house was owned by the Emerson family. Nanthaniel Hawthorne lived here for a period of time as well.

Picture of the Old Manse.

I started to make my way over to Lexington. I parked at the visitor's center at Minuteman National Park and walked a few miles of the Battle Road. It's a great trail that has various plagues and memorials along the way.

This is a picture of the trail from the Battle Road.

This picture is the site where Paul Revere was captured.

A picture of a British soldiers grave.

Overall, I really enjoyed my day. It was educational yet fun. I was able to get some exercise in by walking some of the Battle Road. I took a ton of pictures so I'll be able to incorporate the pictures into my PowerPoint's for school.

Happy Birthday Mark!

This is a picture of Mark and his son Jeffrey. Mark is going to marry my friend Traci on Saturday. I'll post their engagement photo on Saturday.

Happy Birthday Mark!

To a great daddy!

Enjoy your day with your family!

Hugs!

:-)

Top Ten List

I will post my pics and adventures from Lexington and Concord later on but here's a top ten list.

Top ten list of favorite movies:
10) Grease (the first one)
9) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Actually, any John Hughes films from the 80's)
8) Chicago
7) Fever Pitch
6) Schindler's List (World War II/Holocaust)
5) Bridget Jones's Diary (1st and 2nd)
4) Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl
3) Glory (Civil War)
2) Saving Private Ryan (World War II)
1) The Band of Brother's Series (World War II)

OK, I know this selection seems rather eclectic and strange. You are correct.

What are some of your favorite movies of all time?????

Plan of attack for today ....

Well, I'm getting ready to head out to Concord and Lexington for the day. I want to take some photos of some of the historical stuff for my US History class. I figured that I could use the pictures in my PowerPoint presentations for class.

I have my digital camera and a notebook to take some notes.

It's a beautiful day today in New England. Sunny. Temps in the high 70's. A perfect day for being a tourist!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday -

Happy Birthday Dorky Paul!

My Mom and Dorky Paul at a club at WIU. All my friends and family went out the night before graduation and had "a little fun."

Happy Birthday Dorky Paul!

Paul and I have been friends since 1992 - it's an interesting story of how we became friends. We met at Western Illinois University (for those of you that don't know WIU - it's where I got my BA in History). We were both living in Tanner Hall - an upperclassmen dorm. Paul lived on the floor above me. He used to bounce a basketball at all times of the day and night. Do you see where I'm going with this story? I finally got fed up with this asshole bouncing a ball over my head ever night so I finally went upstairs and confronted him. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship! :-)

Eventually, Paul moved to the fifth floor (the same floor as me). I could harass him anytime I wanted now (and vice versa)! I have so many memories from our days in Tanner Hall and WIU:

*My mom used to buy me macaroni and cheese (I was addicted to it and it was a VERY cheap meal). We had a kitchen on my floor so sometimes a bunch of us would cook group dinners. Paul used to come down to my room all the time because I always had food in my room. My mom was excellent about making sure I always had care packages and food. Paul used to prepare the mac and cheese without the milk and butter. He added water to the sauce. It used to totally gross me out.

*We used to call Paul Dorky Paul because sometimes he acted like a dork! And, it was easier to distinguish between my friend Dorky Paul and my boyfriend Paul (I later will become engaged to him).

*Our late night chats about life, love, and what the hell do we want to be when we grow up?

*Politics - Paul was a republican back in the day so we used to get into these heated discussions. I'm a devoted democrat and VERY liberal!

*When Paul got his apartment off campus, I would hang out with him and his friends. We had some great parties!!!!!

*Dorky Paul was so supportive when my then boyfriend Paul studied in England for a semester. DP listened to me cry and vent.

*When Dorky Paul dated Little Lorie. Yes, we had names for everyone in college.

*The night before graduation, Dorky Paul and his folks, my folks, and friends all partied together! Dorky Paul danced on stage with the band at one of the clubs. Have another drink?

*Graduation day - May 1994. Both us in our cap and gowns. So hopeful of what our future would/could be for both of us.

We've had some amazing times together. I am so grateful and blessed to have you in my life. We are always there for each other - through illnesses of parents, relationships, career changes, etc. You are in Chicago and I am here in Boston. But we still are together -

I love Ya Dorky!

I survived Yankee Homecoming!

YES!

I did it!

My body is killing me from standing on my feet all day, heavy lifting, and being out in the sun. It was a busy week.

Today is the official last day of Yankee Homecoming. No, I will not be anywhere near Newburyport today. The parade happens at 12:30 pm. Yesterday, when I was driving into Newburyport, people already had their chairs lined up along the parade route. What's so funny about this is that no one touches or moves the chairs. It's like this sacred tradition. People line up the chairs and attach rope or string from chair to chair to let folks know that that "spot" is taken. It's the funniest sight to see.

Life goes back to normal. At least summer normal anyway.

Today, the plan is to relax. I may run out to do a few errands. Overall, I'm keeping my day low key.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend -

Happy Birthday Traci!

Happy Birthday Traci!

Traci and I have been friends since high school. She's one of the very few folks that still keeps in touch with me. We've been through quite a bit throughout the years.

Traci - I am so blessed to have you in my life. Your support and love means the world to me. I'm so happy for you that you have "your boys" in your life. Thank you for your friendship.

Hugs and love!!!!

The pic above is Traci and her handsome son Jeffrey!

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Go over and wish Lauren a very happy birthday!

Lauren - You've been a great friend. It seems like forever since we first met at Pagenet. Remember those days???? Eating lunch in the lunchroom???? Chatting with Janet.

You've been there for me through everything and I'm so grateful to have you in my life. Thank you for being such a huge support to me.

Enjoy your day -

Love Ya!!!!!!

Exhausted!

Not much to write about today.

I'm so exhausted from working that I'm taking the day off. Well, it was a planned day off.

I need to rest because I work tomorrow -

I have Sunday off - thank goodness!

My back and legs are killing me - I've been standing on my feet for over eight hours. And, on cement. Plus heavy lifting.

It finally cooled down in the afternoon yesterday. Today, it's raining. But much cooler than it's been for days!

So, I'm still in my PJ's and watching old DVD's.

Hope everyone has a nice Friday and a good weekend-

Dreadful heat and humidity in New England

It's all over the news here. I'm officially tired of the heat and humidity. Make it go away please.

I have to work 2-9 today in this crazy weather. It's Yankee Homecoming week in Newburyport and the entire downtown area will become a tent city. It's sidewalk sales. So, part of my shift will be in a tent on a nice humid day. Joy!

Someone check to see if I'm passed out from the heat at some point today, OK?????? You have my permission to hose me down too! :-)

Goals for the upcoming school year

I am a very goal orientated kind of person. As a teacher, I need to plan everything I do in my classroom. The federal and state governments tell me that I need to teach the curriculum from this point in history to the next point in history. So in a sense, my goals in teaching my curriculum are already set for me by the higher powers (government). But, there are goals that I can work on as a teacher and as a person.

I always have professional goals:
*Work on pacing in my curriculum.
*Attend a few workshops or seminars.
*Work on my organizational skills.
*Keep up with my correcting (This one is hard to do!)

This year, I want to focus on some personal goals:
*I don't want my job to control my life. For seven years, my life has revolved around my job. This is not a healthy thing and after what happened last school year, I need to focus on getting a life outside of school.
*I need to get out there more. What exactly does this mean? It means that M-Dawg needs to start meeting men! Dating! I haven't been on a date in almost seven years!
*To not take life so seriously. Laugh about the ups and downs of life.
*Get involved in something outside of education. I don't know what that is yet but I would like to maybe volunteer at a shelter or something like that.
*Build up my savings. Emergencies happen.

I know. This seems like a lot of goals. I feel that by working on these goals, M-Dawg will become a better human being and teacher.

Do you have goals? What are those goals and do they change as you grow as a person?

1st day of School Work

Today I started working on some school stuff.

I've been reading 1776 by David McCullough to brush up on my American Revolution History. So far, I'm enjoying the book. I really like how McCullough writes his books - I've read John Adams a few years and really enjoyed that as well. He shares more personal insight and stories on each individual person so you feel like you actually know that historical figure.

I spent the morning doing research on the Internet and typing up some activities and lessons.

I'm very strong in World History - I've been teaching World History for eight years! It's hard to believe that I'm entering into my eighth year in teaching. I'm not too worried or concerned about the curriculum for that course.

My weakness, as I have mentioned in previous posts, is the material prior to the Civil War. This time period in US History tends to be rather boring (in my personal opinion). I feel like I'm at an advantage on some level because a lot of the history I'll be teaching is right here in New England. I'm hoping maybe I can jazz up some of the material by either taking a few field trips (money is always an issue) or if I take some photos of some of this historical stuff and incorporate it into a PowerPoint so that it might help make the material more interesting. I was thinking that next week, I may take a road trip to Concord and Lexington and take some pictures of some of the historical stuff (I'm working crazy hours at the doggie place this week and the humidity is way too high to be outside taking photographs).

I remember three summers ago my former department chair at Timberlane asked me to come with him to Salem, MA to help him videotape the maritime history. We took turns holding the video camera and adding commentary at various historical sites. He teaches AP US History and wanted to add to his curriculum. He knew the school didn't have the money to do field trips so he figured he'd bring the field trip to the students! I don't have a video camera but I figured my digital camera will work just as good! And, I can incorporate all the pics into PowerPoints.

It's almost that time of the year again . . . . .

You know it's back to school time when . . . . . . . . . .

1) The Staples commercial is being broadcasted over and over again - you know the one. Parents are dancing in the isles because their kids are going back to school. "It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . . ."

2) The ads in the Sunday Boston Globe contain back to school sale flyers.

3) Your to-do list for the summer is still sitting there unfinished. Maybe I overplanned? Again?

4) Even Ellie the Cat is sick of looking at me and having me around the house.

5) I'm bored! Yes, you heard me. I'm bored! I guess I'm ready to go back to the crazy work schedule again.

I don't go back to school until the end of August. I told myself that I would take the month of July off to rest and relax and focus on ME. I've been trying to get stuff done around the condo that I normally don't have time to complete during the school year.

So, starting tomorrow, August 1st, I will start doing some school work every day. I really need to get myself organized and focused.

Do you think I'll overplan? Again? :-)

Sick of Heat and Humidity!

Make it go away!

No more humidity or heat!

Sick of it!

Dreading getting my electric bill - the A/C has been running every day. I turn it off at night to save money.

OK, I'm done venting. Thanks for listening!

Pics from Newport trip

Newport, Rhode Island is such a beautiful place to visit. You have the mansions, miles and miles of scenic coastline with amazing walking paths, cobblestone streets with quaint shops, and you could even charter a yacht for the day.

I really wanted to do a tour of the Newport Mansions. Most of the mansions are located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. After much discussion, we decided on a tour of The Breakers. The Breakers was the summer "cottage" of the Cornelius Vanderbilt family. The photo to the left is the back of The Breakers. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the house so all I was able to get was photos from the outside. I just couldn't get over how this 70 room house was a summer cottage! The Breakers overlooks Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean so the view is one of the most spectacular views you'll see on your trip here. Today, the mansion is a museum - no one lives in it. The Breakers was bought by The Preservation Society of Newport County in 1972 from the Vanderbilt family.

Carla wanted to check out the casino so we headed here. She went in with $20 and left with $35. I'm not much of a gambler but I enjoyed watching Carla play the slots!

We then decided to go back and shower and change and get ready for a night out on the town and some dinner.

We ate here for dinner. Yummy! I had seafood alfredo and Carla had lobster quesadilla.

We walked around a bit - we were going to stop in here for a drink but I was really tired! They had a live band and it looked like fun but it had been a long day.

The next day, we got up early to do the Cliff Walk. The walk was so beautiful! It was very warm and sunny so I got a little sunburned! Here are a few of the pictures from the walk.

Carla had an appointment to get a tattoo at Noon at this place so we had to get back to downtown Newport. Carla wanted to get her Mom and Dad's name on her wrist - sorta like a bracelet. Her parents died when she was young so I thought it was a nice way to memorialize them. It came out great! I couldn't take a picture because it needs to be covered up with a bandage for a while.

Afterwards, we ate lunch here. I had a very yummy Thai Chicken Wrap with Irish Peanut Sauce and Carla had the Shrimp Wrap.

It was a fun trip but Carla had to head back to Maine. Newport is only 2 hours away from where I live so I would love to go back for another visit! Anyone up for it???

Fun time in Newport, Rhode Island!

Well, I spent a few days in the land of the rich! My friend Carla and I decided to do a road trip down to Newport.

I just got back from Newport, Rhode Island. What an amazing place!

I got a little sunburned from walking around. I did put sunscreen on myself but the sun found my lovely pale- glow- in- the- dark- skin attractive. The joy of not being able to tan.

I'll post pics soon!

I'm a little tired tonight so I'll write more tomorrow - just wanted to say hi!

Working Girl!

OK, the title of this post has the potential to be X-rated. It's not - I promise!

I had a very busy weekend at my part-time job. I was scheduled to work on Friday and Saturday. The owner called me in early on Friday - she had an appointment so she had to leave early and asked me to cover part of her shift. Weekends tend to be extremely busy in downtown Newburyport. And, the rude tourists are out of control. One of the gals that I alternate with on Sundays called in sick so I had to open the store and work until 3:00.

So, I was a busy working gal! And, my patience dealing with rude tourists has officially reached capacity!

A special sorry goes out to my friend Annette. I was supposed to meet her for lunch at Sunday and had to cancel at the last minute. Sorry A -

Friday's List of Happies

I haven't done this in awhile because to be perfectly honest, there wasn't really a lot to be happy about.

So, here is my happy/grateful list:

1) For Ellie the Cat - can I just say how much this cat cracks me up? Her personality brightens my day and for that, I adore my little baby girl!

2) The support of my friends. With all the ups and downs that life can bring, my friends definitely brighten my day!

3) A new job. I'm feeling both excited and scared at the same time about starting my new teaching position at Salem High School. I know I'll be fine but I can't help feel this up and down going around feeling in my stomach.

4) The summer. A break from all the craziness that ended at the end of the school year. A time to ponder and relax. A time to reflect about why I'm a teacher. A time to stay up late and sleep in! :-)

5) The love of my family. As much as I piss them off, they still love me! I hope! :-)

What is your list of happies?

Anti- Bush Anyone????

My sister just emailed me this link.

Check it out!

It cooled down! Yeah!

Thank God!

The weather has officially cooled down a bit here in New England.

I wonder if I'm getting old or too sensitive about the weather. When I grew up in Illinois, the summers were always hot, humid and gross.

What's happened to me?

I just can't deal with the heat and humidity anymore -

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous - went for a walk along the waterfront in Newburyport.

Here's hoping for more days like that -

On a side note: I've been reading up on my pre-colonial US History. I'm going to be teaching a US History class this year that begins with pre-colonial and ends at Reconstruction. Pre-colonial is my weakness in US History. I've always taught the Civil War to the Present in US History.

It's good for me to be challenged, right?

Hanging out by the pool!

Yesterday, I got invited by one of my friends (Pat) to hang out by her inground pool for the day -let me tell ya, it was such a hot day so it was so worth it! Pat also invited our friend Jane too! Let me tell ya, it's so relaxing to hang out in a pool with great company.

The temps reached 100 degrees! Ughy!

I got to her place around 1:00 and didn't leave until 7:00 than evening. The water felt great!

The heat finally let up today, thank goodness! I'm must be getting old because I can't deal with heat and humidity.

Also, last night, I spoke with one of my Timberlane babies - Kerri Ann! It's great to hear from her! When I was at Timberlane, I sorta adopted her as my child. She's had some bumps in the road the past year but she's bouncing back and I'm so very proud of her!

Good times with good friends!

Last night I met up with Janet and Lauren at the Cheesecake Factory in Burlington, MA. Yummy food! I had the Chinese Chicken Salad - I highly recommend it!

Thank you ladies for a fun night! And, let's hope that we survive all of our dysfunctional relationships in our lives! :-)

Weekend Summary

Well, so far I'm surviving this heat wave. It's tough to move, talk, and even breathe in this crazy humid weather. We still have a few more days of the hot and humid stuff before it finally cools down.

Friday: I worked at Pawsitively Best Friends during the day. Pam, the owner of the store, is working on the new web site. It's still under construction but eventually she will have products that you can purchase online and newsletters and other cool stuff. The store was pretty busy - mostly demanding and rude tourists. I decided to stay at home for the night and watch DVD's. I went to my public library and checked out a few movies. I felt like relaxing for the night.

Saturday: I hung out with my friend and former roommate Chris for the day. We decided to go to the beach. We ate lobsters for an early dinner. Yummy! Afterwards, we drove up to Portsmouth, NH. We walked around the downtown area - it's so beautiful. We ended up at Prescott Park. This place is so gorgeous. It's an outdoor theatre right on the water. They have beautiful gardens with quaint little pathways around the area. The musical that is being performed is Oliver! We didn't stay for the musical - they had these barber shop groups perform called the Yankee Clipper Chorus (male) & Sounds of the Seacoast (female). We stayed for about an hour listening to the music. It started to rain so we left. I really want to go back at some point this summer and check out the musical.

Sunday: I worked at Paws for the day. In the evening, I met up with my friend Aileen. We went to the Screening Room in Newburyport to see this. It's a Robert Altman film. I thought it was hysterical! Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline, and Meryl Streep are just a few of the big names that perform in the film. The Screening Room is known to play independent and foreign films.

So, overall, it was a busy yet relaxing and fun weekend.

What did you do this weekend?

Heat Wave in New England!

The humidity here is around 70 - ughy! Icky! Disgusting! Makes me feel like I'm back in IL!

I'm supposed to meet my former roommate, Chris, today. The plan is to go to the beach and eat lobster for dinner! This is the joy of only living 10 minutes away from the beach and ocean.

Yummy! LOBSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that the beach isn't that crowded - huh! It's the height of tourist season M-Dawg - what the hell are you thinking???? Yes, the beach will be crowded with annoying tourists!

Stay cool everyone - it's going to be hot and humid until at least Tuesday of next week. Ughy!

Happy Belated B-Day Joann!

Happy Birthday Joann!

This photo was taken back in April when Joann and Lea came out here for a visit (Plum Island, Newburyport, MA).

Thank Jo for your friendship and support - we've been through so much all these years! Lots of ups and downs in our relationships with men. I guess I need to thank your cousin Joe for bringing us together as friends. Although my relationship with Joe didn't last, our friendship did last. For that, I will always be grateful.

I hope you enjoyed your special day - you deserve so much happiness!

Love Ya Kiddo! :-)

Saw the new Pirates movie last night -

Last night, Carla and saw this at The Loop in Methuen, MA.

I liked it. There were a few scenes that scared the *&%$ out me. Overall, I thought it was a good movie.

They even set up the ending for the third movie.

Of course, looking at Johnny Depp on the big screen is always an added bonus!

Summer is in full swing in New England

OK, here in New England, a lot of us were bitching that we were sick of the rain and the colder weather. Sick of this unseasonable crap! Where's the sun? Where's the heat?

Well, it's official! Summer is here. Humidity and all!

I'm very fortunate that my condo is in the lower level. Sorta like the basement. So, it stays reasonable cool most of the time. However, every once in a while, I have to turn on my A/C.

Lots of reasons to be happy for summer. One: no correcting or grading papers for at least two months. Don't get me wrong, I adore my job but the correcting gets to be rather tedious at times. Second: I can sleep in on some days. Well, I am working a part-time job - I'm not totally being a lazy bum this summer. Third: I'm starting to get excited about my new teaching new job. Ok, not summer related but I had to share the fact that I'm excited about something in a long time!

Oh -Mom and Mandy came out for a visit - they were here from June 30th to July 4th. I felt bad for them because they had a horrible experience flying out here. Long story but let me offer this advice: Avoid LaGuardia Airport! I took them to Hull, MA on Saturday. It is so beautiful down there but they agreed it could get quite lonely and isolating down there after a while. We ate lunch at this place. Yummy seafood! As we drove back north, we stopped at a few shopping places. My sister loves to shop! :-) We stopped here. We didn't find any good deals. On Sunday, I drove them up to the Tilton Outlets in NH. We ate lunch at the Tilton Diner. This place is so cool - it's an old diner that serves cheap but great food! Mom enjoyed it because they play music from the 1950's and 1960's. On Monday, we met Carla up in Portland, Maine. I love hanging out in Old Port. They have these amazing shops and restaurants. We ate lunch here. The restaurant was converted from a car ferry. The restaurant is right on the water and we ate outside. I had a yummy lobster roll - so did Mandy! Her first! We had a fun but busy visit. I forgot to take my camera so no pics. I felt bad for them because their flight left at 6:00 am out of Boston on July 4th. Going back to Chicago - no problems or delays this time. They had a non-stop flight going back.

So, this has been my excitement. I've also been working at Pawsitively Best Friends.

What have you been doing this summer?

Where will M-Dawg be teaching at in the fall?

Drum role please??????

Salem High School in Salem, MA. Home of the Witches!

This journey has been an up and down battle on so many levels for me. Thank you to all my family and friends who stuck by me and supported me during this crazy time. I know it wasn't easy to be near me or to listen to me cry, rant and rave, or just vent. I do appreciate everyone just being there for me.

Teaching at Salem will allow me to stay in Amesbury. At least for now.

I will be teaching (4) World Studies (Middle Ages to the Present in World History) and (1) US History (Early Colonial to Reconstruction). I'll have one honors class in World Studies and US History. It's been a long time since I've taught an honors class. The rest of the courses are college prep. Teaching World Studies, I'll be working on a freshman team. The team consists of a Math, English, and Science teacher. We will have common planning time to work on interdisciplinary units. The team approach also allows for joint parents meetings when necessary.

I pick up my teaching materials on Monday -