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Bloom Where You Are Planted

Posted on July 20, 2010 by auburnchick

Bloom Where You are Planted.

That, my friends, is going to be the theme of my teaching career.

I think it goes along nicely with the color I selected for my walls.

I’ll go ahead and show you a final picture, because I know you’re going to scroll down and peek anyhow.

So, I present to you, my painted room!!

Because I bought Glidden paint (as opposed to the Sherwin-Williams, which I had looked at online), I had to select a similar color.

This shade is called Spring Green.

To fully appreciate the finished room, I must take you through the journey I made today.

I knew I needed help, so I enlisted the assistance of my church’s youth group.  Chicky’s schoolmate, Haley, stepped up to the task and rounded up several other girls.

Talk about responsible!!  She called me a couple of times to secure the time and place.  She even told me I could be expecting four helpers, including herself.

I was beside myself with joy.  I wish I could should you a picture of them, but you know me…protective Mama Bear and all.

Anyhoo.

I went in a couple of hours before the girls so that I could get things out of the room and lay out the supplies.

Here’s what I saw when I approached my door…

Oh

My

Gosh.

The view looked just as imposing from another angle…

Yeah.

Daunting, eh?

Good thing I brought some nourishment…

After sighing heavily, I pulled up my big girl shorts and got to work, dragging every desk, except for those of the teacher, into the hallway…

Every book, book case, and file cabinet was moved…

I single-handedly lined the only hallway in the school…

It was a good thing I got there early, because moving all of the stuff took me 2 HOURS!!!!

Fortunately, I was ready when the brigade of help arrived…not four girls, but SIX!!!  Woo Hoo!!

I was so glad I had brought the donuts and a cooler of water!

And, not only did the girls come to help, but so did my friend, Barbara.  Barb has been a friend of mine for a few years now, and she’s also become my mentor.  She is an incredible teacher.  The district agrees as well and bestowed upon her the Teacher of the Year Award in 2006.

The lady knows her stuff, and I was privileged to sub for her a few times.

So, she came by to help me figure out the best way to set up my room.  She also brought me a ‘prise (that’s surprise, in case you don’t speak English teacher non-correct speak)…

Once we pulled a few nails and staples from the walls, we quickly got down to business.

Here is a closeup of the unpainted wall…

This is “K”, painting the first strokes of my beautiful green paint.  We all took a moment to ooohhh and ahhhh…

Another girl kept herself busy doing the edging with my handy-dandy, fancy-schmancy edging tool…

The girls made quick work of the paint, and the entire job was finished in…

Get this…

ONE HOUR!!!!

I hope to add a few more touches here and there.  If I can find someone who can free-hand flowers, I’d like to have a few drawn/painted on the walls.  I would also like to have the words, “Bloom Where You Are Planted” artfully painted above my white board.

I got this phrase from my high school English teacher, who had this on a plaque in her room.

I want my students to remember that no matter where they are in life, they should make the most of themselves.  Sure, you may not always be lucky enough to get a certain class you want, or you could be flipping burgers in a greasy spoon, but you can still do your best.

It’s been the unspoken motto for my own life…after my main goal of glorifying God in the things I do.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: , | 6 Comments »

The Versatile Blogger

Posted on July 19, 2010 by auburnchick

Mary, my sweet bloggy and FB friend, bestowed another award on Your’s Truly…

The rules for this award are:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

Thanks, Mary!!!!  Muah!

2.  List 7 things that people may not know about you.

Hmmm…new things, eh?  This could be tough because I am such a blabbermouth and share just about everything!

Ok…here goes…

  1. I like to dip my potato chips in yellow mustard.  My mom did this, and Chicky does it as well.  I suspect there is a mustard gene that gets passed down through the females in the family.
  2. I often have days when I only eat one meal.  I am usually so busy that I do not make the time to eat.
  3. When I was in elementary school, shop was my favorite class (this probably doesn’t surprise you one bit!).
  4. Some of my childhood dreams of what I wanted to be when when I grew up were archaeologist, guidance counselor, child psychologist, and accountant.
  5. I heard the gunshot of a classmate who committed suicide.  Yeah.  Heavy, I know.  I was in the seventh or eighth grade, I think.  The gal lived across the street from the school, and although I won’t go into details, all of us believed (and still do, as far as I know) that it was accidental.
  6. That (referring to #5) was the first funeral I ever attended.
  7. Did you ever play the game “Angel or Devil?”  It’s where you put your hands on your hips and see if someone else can make your elbows touch.  Well, I, my friends, am an angel.  It’s a fact I am quite proud of.  Ahhh…don’tcha just love that angelic humor?  heehee

Ok, so now I get to nominate people for this award…

Coggie – She is living life on the fly and doing so many things…all while her hubby is deployed.

Rebecca – Oh my, but this gal is Wonder Woman!  She works full-time, mentors the youth in her church, runs (for FUN), and is a devoted wife!!!

Sue – A very honest, put-herself-out-there kind of gal with a beautiful blog!!

Lynn – She goes with the flow, even changing up Sunday School lesson plans when she feels the need to do so…right on the spot!  Talk about versatile!!!

I hope I haven’t made anyone feel left out!  All of my blogging buds are worthy of this award, so please…if you read my blog but don’t see your name listed, consider yourself nominated and awarded!

After all, I only read the best blogs in the entire internet world!!

Filed under: This-n-That | 5 Comments »

AuburnChick is Ready to Color Her World

Posted on July 18, 2010 by auburnchick

Look what I picked up at Home Depot today…

So, I’ll bet you’re wondering which color I decided on.

Well, because I’m such a tease, you are just going to have to wait to find out.

I am going to try to paint on Tuesday and will, of course, take pictures of the entire process.

Until then…well…you’ll just have to stay tuned.

But, rest assured that I have now come up with a theme for my room, and the color will play into that.

To say I am psyched is an understatement.

Chicky would change a few letters and say I’m psycho, but what does she know?

Folks, hold onto your horses.  This is going to be a wild ride!

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Which Color Should AuburnChick Paint Her Classroom?

Posted on July 16, 2010 by auburnchick

Ok y’all.

I need your help.

Today, I found out that I am allowed to paint my new classroom.

Woo Hoo!!

I found a neat tool on the Sherwin-Williams website.

You can upload a photo of the space you want to paint, select the wall areas and colors for each, and then virtually paint those areas!  So, you can see what your room will look like!

Here’s what my room looks like right now (try to picture this without the other teacher’s stuff in it…she’s moving it out even as I type this)…

And here’s a different view…

I used the first picture as my template and selected three different colors to “dress up” the room…

Rhumba Orange

Lemon Twist

Lime Rickey

So, which one do you like the best?  Please take the poll and let me know!  I’m buying the paint this weekend and plan to paint mid-week!

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: , , | 6 Comments »

Things That Make Me Smile

Posted on July 16, 2010 by auburnchick

Hearing Rooster tell me that he only likes the sweet tea that I make…

Roses blooming in the middle of a HOT summer…

A fresh salad…

Followed by indulging in to a chocolate craving…

Followed a couple of days later by a Reese’s Cup Blizzard – one that Rooster treated me to out of his lifeguard earnings…

Filed under: This-n-That | 5 Comments »

When Nature Calls…

Posted on July 15, 2010 by auburnchick

…you fight Daddy for the potty.

Allow me to explain.

My day was rudely interrupted when I discovered the following…

Yeah.

A crack in the kids’ toilet tank.

Thank goodness I got Vanish Drop-Ins on sale this week, because when I was in the kids’ bathroom trying on clothes a friend had given me, I happened to notice blue water on the floor.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the crack is quite long…spanning almost the entire length of the tank…

It was like standing in front of a dam when the first pebble hits.

What started as a very small trickle worked its way into a full-fledged draining…on my floor, with some of the water going into the bucket I hurriedly placed underneath it…

The best that I can figure is that when I was putting in the Vanish Drop-In, I set the tank cover down too too hard, resulting in the crack.

Ugh.

I called the Mr. who told me the obvious…call the plumber.

I did, hating every moment of it.  They don’t come cheap.

Someone assured me they would have a technician on the way ASAP, and I hopped on Google.

I had to do my homework.

I hunted for videos on how to fix the toilet myself.  You know how I loathe paying others to do something I can take care of myself.

But, after I realized that the job would probably involve begging making the Mr. help, I decided to go with whatever the plumber said.  Plus, anything that involves water and leakage makes me nervous. Plus, toilets are just plain gross.

The plumber came.

What a strange man he was.

Very Redneck Southern.

But, he was nice and knew his stuff.

“Yeah, that there is probably a 703, but it could be a 706.  I think the 703’s were discontinued a while back…”

Oh my gosh.

I got the Gomer Pyle of toilet repairmen.

Whatever, whatever.  Just please order me a toilet tank, and could you hurry up with that, I wanted to say.  I have teenagers…one of whom is a girl.  She needs her bathroom!

I won’t tell you what the repair is costing.  I will only say that I gasped, knowing that most of the cost is for the labor, which I am quite capable of doing.

Grrr.

I signed away the rest of my life and saw the guy to the door.

Meanwhile, I put this note on the toilet…to remind the kids not to use it…

Folks, we’ve decided that we have been spoiled.

We have always had at least two bathrooms in our homes.  Once, we even had three.  Oh the luxury of all but one of us being able to tinkle whenever the urge hit.  And oh the satisfaction of beating the fourth person in the race to get there…

Yeah.  I know.  We find humor in strange things.

So, four people will be using one bathroom for…gasp…five days…

It’s going to be a long week!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Honey on the Lips

Posted on July 15, 2010 by auburnchick

Do any of you watch the series The Next Food Network Star?

The show comes on Sunday nights on The Food Network, and it is a competition to see who will be the network’s next star.

I love watching how the contestants interact with each other and deal with the challenges they are presented.  Plus, the food doesn’t look half bad either!

Well, on this past Sunday’s episode, I caught a phrase in a conversation that really struck me.

First, a bit of background.

There are two females who do not like each other.  No surprise there, eh?  Women can be so catty.

Serena is a gal who hails from Italy.  She speaks very quickly, and when she’s mad, look out!

Then, there’s Brianna, who was floundering but seems to be gaining confidence and finding her cooking voice, which doesn’t put up with much, let me tell you…

So, these two ladies do not get along.

Serena’s voice is annoying.  She talks all the time.  Brianna is extremely bossy, which annoys Serena.

Together, they are fire and ice.

During the first of Sunday’s challenges, both women came in the bottom two.  So, for the next challenge, the contestants were put into pairs, and Serena and Brianna were put together.

Yeah.

The challenge was that each team had a cooking trailer on Venice Beach, and they had to create dishes to serve to those coming by on the boardwalk.  They also had to create a name for their stand and work together, in a very narrow galley.

It was the perfect setting for a throw-down, and I’m not talking the Bobby Flay kind (if you watch this network very often, you’re understanding the language I speaketh).

Part of these types of “reality” shows is that contestants are interviewed away from everyone else.  It makes for good TV, I guess, to hear all of the stuff they say behind everyone’s backs.

Naturally, Serena and Brianna were livid that they were going to have to work as a team, and neither of them were shy to tell that to the audience.

Now, here’s the part that caught my attention…so much so that I reached over for a pen and wrote this down.

Serena, while talking about how much she disliked Brianna, said, “There will be honey on my lips but bitterness in my heart.”

Oh my gosh!!

Didn’t that just make your heart sad for her?

This phrase has been repeating itself inside my head over the last few days.

We are taught to put on a smile…be polite…no matter how we feel.  It’s the socially-accepted way of doing things.

I am not very good at this, I will admit.

I am the kind of person who wears my feelings on my sleeve, and if I’m not feeling something, I’m sure not going to fake it and pretend like things are okay.

Case in point:

There is a young gal…a sort-of-friend of Chicky’s who hurt her terribly the last two years of high school.  What this girl did to my precious baby was enough to make the Mama Bear in me come out.

Although I did nothing publicly, I stewed.

There is much bitterness in my heart.

However, unlike Serena, I do not have honey on my lips.

While I have not been rude to this girl, I do my best to avoid situations where I am around her.  If I see her, I avoid eye contact.

I just can’t be fake.

I’m not sure this is any better than saying nice things while harboring anger in my heart.

But still, Serena’s words have stuck with me and continue to make me think.

For one thing, I am no better than she is.  I am working on getting through the anger that often remains in my heart long after an offense (or supposed one) has taken place.

I long for there to be honey on my lips and love in my heart for the people I do not particularly care for.

That, my friends, is a sign of maturity and growth in the Lord.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

What Am I Worth?

Posted on July 14, 2010 by auburnchick

Yesterday, when I was trying to figure out what was going on with my unemployment benefits, I pulled out the folder where I keep my documentation.

It was in the same place where I keep my paycheck stubs.

Real organized, eh?

But, it makes sense in a warped sort of way.

What can I say?  I am AuburnChick.

So, while I was trying to find that all-important number that would allow me to not be on hold for forever and a day (I couldn’t find it, by the way…refer to the last post for more on that), but I did see a stack of paycheck stubs that dated way back to 2007.

After hanging up with the unemployment office, I decided it was time to purge those old papers, but first I took a look at them…just to make sure I wasn’t getting rid of something important.

Oh my gosh.

What an eye-opener…and a bit of a downer.

I had about a year’s worth of stubs from when I was a computer tech (aka paraprofessional) at a middle school in town.  My salary was a lot higher than what I made the last two years as a substitute teacher with a bachelor’s degree and a letter of eligibility to teach from the state of Florida.

My pay stubs from mid-2007 through 2008 were LOVELY.  I longingly looked at the amounts of them and cried a few tears, on the inside, as I recalled days of not stressing over the bills…of having the extra money to write checks for school t-shirts, club dues, and other non-necessary splurges.

And then I saw my paychecks from 2009 to the present.

Paltry in comparison to their predecessors.

Minimum wage.

Chicky made more money babysitting than I did subbing/teaching.

As I thumbed through these financial relics, I thought about the link we make between the figures on our paychecks with what we, as humans, are worth.

Why is it that I felt my emotions soar with the law firm salary and then dive when I saw my school pay.

I am so totally not about money, my friends.

I mean, I have chosen a career that will not result in my wearing Prada or Jimmy Choo.

And I am okay with that.  My thrills come when, and this is going to sound totally nerdy, I see kids understand why you have to make nouns and verbs agree or when I take them through history so they’ll understand why Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, played an important role in the move for our country’s independence from England.

Why do we think the bottom line of what we’re worth is tied into how much bacon we can bring home at the end of the day?

I do not know.

All I can say is that I choose NOT to fall into this way of thinking, for I know that my worth lies in being a daughter of the King.

God chose me before I was formed.

I would never trade this assurance for even a tenth of Lebron James’ paycheck.

No way, no how.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Say What You Will

Posted on July 13, 2010 by auburnchick

We all make jokes about the government and all the red tape involved with doing anything; however, I’d beg to differ when talking about the Unemployment Office.

As you know, I was laid off almost two years ago.  Collecting unemployment didn’t cross my mind until three months later when it looked like it was going to take me a while to find a job, and it was getting tough to make ends meet.

So, I applied, feeling bad about it but having no other option.  Unlike the guys in the following cartoon, I was working on my career…subbing whenever the schools called…

Things went well until that first summer, when my payments stopped suddenly.  I don’t remember if I blogged about it…probably.

Regardless, I called and got hold of a person who was extremely helpful and apologetic, and my payments resumed.

And so I moseyed along…trying to find a job, not getting one, and collecting my unemployment whenever my earnings from subbing were less than my checks from the government.

In January of this year, my benefits were automatically extended another year without me having to complete any paperwork at all.  Yeah, I was surprised too.  No jumping through hoops, for a change.

And so I subbed, applied for jobs, interviewed for a few, didn’t get them, and repeated the process month after month.

Enter in the summer, when my earnings went down to zero.  With school out and teenagers competing with adults for summer jobs, things are slim pickings around here.

Meanwhile, I kept waiting for my unemployment payments.

If you’re not familiar with the process, recipients of unemployment must claim their “weeks” twice a month.  The money is paid the week following.  The unemployment office asks questions to ensure that people aren’t turning down jobs, are still applying, and haven’t earned more than their weekly payments.  This process is done every month until a person either finds a job or runs out of benefits…around two years.

Well, I haven’t been receiving my benefits since the middle of May.  Being my naive self, I assumed that things had backlogged from the end of the school year.

It is only through the Lord’s provision that I have been paying my bills during this time.  Thank goodness for the lessons I’ve learned in how to be frugal.

However, when I needed to pay a bill this morning, I realized that I couldn’t, and that led me to investigate my bank account.

Good grief, but my heart just fell, and I dreaded calling the 800 number to get things straightened out.  There are so many people out of work that the lines stay tied up.

But, call I did, and hold, I did.

And held…

And held…

And held.

Finally, I reached a gentleman who actually sounded happy to be doing his job.  After pulling up my account, he saw that a flag had been put on my benefits.  Apparently, when a claimant files one week in which he/she earns too much for their benefits and then claims a second week of less earnings, a flag is placed requiring further investigation into the matter.

But, and get this…the claimant has no way of knowing this unless something hinky leads that person to make a call.

Seriously!

And this is what happened to me.

That flag led to all of my payments over the last two months being withheld.

I guess with my oh so exciting life…World Cup and job hunting…I had not noticed.

Plus, there’s nothing in the invisible “unemployment manual” that told me to watch for this.

The gentleman was very nice and gently told me that I would have to call the same 800 number again (lovely) and gave instructions for how to get to a live person in the claims department.

Another forever and a half of holding.

But, it was so worth it.

The woman who answered was, once again, pleasant and actually sounded happy to assist me.  No stereotypical grumpy state employee there!

She asked a lot of questions, hit some buttons on her computer (I’m guessing, since I couldn’t see her, but that’s what I’d be doing), tolerated the crunching noises coming from me eating my lunch, and finally announced that the flag had been cleared, and I should be receiving a cumulative payment by tomorrow afternoon.

Praise the Lord for fast service and smiles you can hear over the phone!

Thankfully, I will be receiving a reliable salary where I won’t have to go through this any more, but I’ll always be thankful for the wonderful people who spend hours upon hours each day helping others, less fortunate, with what can be the only financial lifeline available to them.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

Gagging over GaGa

Posted on July 12, 2010 by auburnchick

Oh you guys…it’s Monday, and although I am not in a bad mood, I feel like ranting.

So, please bear with me while I stand atop of my soapbox this morning.

It all started last Thursday morning.

I am not a huge fan of daytime TV.  Heaven knows I spend enough quality time on the couch watching the thing in the evenings with my addiction to such shows as So You Think You Can Dance, Chopped, and Next Food Network Star (to mention a few).

But, I do like watching the Today Show.

Or rather, I DID.

I have watched this show, on and off, for years.

I remember the days of Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley.

How many of you remember the whole Deborah Norville controversy?  She sure did not last long as an anchor!

Then there was Katie Couric who finally quelled the bitter aftertaste left by Ms. Norville (although she is a knitter, so I like her better now).

I cheered when Matt Lauer was promoted from the news desk to the couch as Katie’s co-host.

And now, Meredith Vieira reigns on the Today Throne with Matt.

Now that you’re up on the Today Show history (I am, as always, a teacher on my blog), let’s proceed.

A few years ago, the show started a Summer Concert Series.  Every Friday, a famous recording artist puts on a concert outside of the studio.  Streets are blocked off, and fans start lining up a day two in advance as the hype is built up over the week.

Well, on Thursday, I saw a promo for Lady Gaga, who would be showing up the next day.

Meredith and Ann Curry (current news desk anchor) sat on the studio’s couch, chit-chatting about the upcoming concert.

And then NBC showed a longgggggggggggggg clip of one of Ms. GagGag’s videos.

I have no idea what the song was, but all I can say is that my jaw dropped to the floor as I watched a girl posse dance around in less-than-full-coverage underwear.

Folks, these girls were twirling around, so as to reveal skin that should never be revealed in public, much less on MORNING TV!!!

Oh my gosh.

I was livid!!!

How is it that NBC had to choose THIS clip of THIS video?

Such poor judgment.

And then the monitors turned back to Meredith and Ann, who were gushing over said singer.

Blech.

I think I turned off the TV at this point, mentally firing up a blog post as I hit the remote control buttons.

But wait…I had other things to blog about.  The delay gave me the opportunity to find more fodder for my rant.

Friday morning started, and out of habit, I turned on the TV.  This is what summer is all about, after all, even if I don’t turn it on until 9am because I’ve slept in.

But I digress.

Of course, my timing was good, as usual.

Said sarcastically, of course.

Guess who was on the TV?

Yep.

Not-a-Lady GagGag

In attire that should be worn under clothing, not as the main ensemble.

Ugh.

It started raining, and she still kept singing.

Never mind the fact that there were electronics all around her.

Forget the fact that there were other people on stage dancing and playing instruments who could have been ELECTOCUTED because she had to have the attention.

Honestly, I think she’s just a Madonna-Wannabe…so desiring of attention that she’ll do anything shock-worthy to get it.

Mercifully, there was a commercial break.

And then the show returned, to find icky girl doing her thing in an outfit that was the final straw for me…

She was wearing a white bra ensemble with…

Get this…

Silver rhinestones that made out the shape of crosses!!!

Oh

My

Gosh.

I have no idea what in the world she was singing, because I had the TV muted.  I wasn’t even really watching it but happened to glance over and see that.

Ugh.  Ugh.  Ugh.

This is probably the one thing that really bugs me the most – people who wear crosses as some sort of fashion statement when their lives are so diametrically opposed to what the symbol stands for.

Case in point:  When I was in sixth or seventh grade, my parents gave me a Star of David necklace for Christmas.  I did not really understand what the symbol stood for, so I wore it to school one day.  Someone asked me if I was Jewish, and I said no.  I was very self-conscious the rest of the day.

See, it wasn’t bad that I had worn it, but I felt like I was misrepresenting myself by doing so.

I am particularly sensitive to crosses and the Ichthys, the Christian symbol of a fish.  I have a necklace and ring with an Ichthus, and people automatically assume I am a promoting the fact that I am a Pisces.

Um, no!  I do not read horoscopes.

Ugh.

So, I am annoyed…duh.

I would love to see NBC (or other stations) invite Christian singers to perform concerts out on the Plaza.

What a true shocker that would be, eh?  Can’t you see Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, or Casting Crowns belting out songs that talk about things more eternal that telephones?

That would be something I wouldn’t have to gag over!!

Filed under: Christian, This-n-That | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

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