AuburnChick's Adventures

Denial – It ain’t just a river in Egypt.

Oh Summer, how can you be over already?

Wednesday, I had to attend District in-service training, which meant that I was up at the butt crack of dawn.

Because I still can’t work out, I had plenty of time on my hands – a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

I used it to do some baking.

Oh yeah.  I had those things in the oven at 6am, which I can prove with the InstaStory I posted.

I was showered and made up by 7 – the earliest I’d been up in a long time.

A bit bleary-eyed still

Thank goodness for Snapchat filters.  They make me look like I actually know how to apply makeup.

The dogs were a bit sleepy, but they didn’t mind that they got to eat two hours earlier.

As I left, I faced a bleary drive; the weather was supposed to be bad.  Traffic was heavy as I made my way to the college, where my training was being held.

I love this flag.  It is HUGE, and I get a lump in my throat every time I see it.

I had signed up for the Khan Academy session, which I use to help my students to prepare for the SAT.

I actually enjoyed the training.  Getting together with other educators across the district who have the same prep was akin to a family reunion.  We got to celebrate each others’ successes, which were incredible last year.

We broke for lunch, and I headed toward the beach to a little cafe that Chicky had found when she dog sat for us in June.

Take a look at the menu – a vegan’s dream!

I ordered the Power Wrap, and boy was it tasty!  I saved half of my meal and took it home for dinner.

I was impressed that the box was paper – not Styrofoam.  The fork was some sort of thin wood material, kind of like a tongue depressor.  It was a little strange to eat with, but I totally respected the care given to the environment.

They got us out of there on time, thank goodness, because this girl was a little tired.  It was POURING when I left, so I went straight home, much to the joy of my pups.

I spent the rest of the afternoon resting.  The Mr. and I ate leftovers, I watched Big Brother, and I headed to bed early.

The dogs were funny.  They always race to the bedroom because they want to snag the dog bed closest to mine.

Gambit lost out – a rarity.  He wasn’t pleased.

Pele, on the other hand, wasn’t going anywhere.

Gambit tried to trick Pele off of the bed by running into the hallway.  Pele stayed put, so Gambit snuck onto the bed anyway.

It was really hard turning all of my alarms on that night.  As I thankfully found out earlier that afternoon, I had work the next day.  I’m glad that God stepped in and helped me figure out that tidbit.  I would have been in bed sleeping on Thursday.

Ahem.

I usually have three or four of them, just in case I don’t hear one go off.

Y’all, De Nile is a very big river around these parts these days.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: teaching | 1 Comment »

The nightmares have begun – in earnest.

If you’re a teacher, you know exactly what I mean.

If you’re not a teacher but a mom, you’ll be able to identify with the phenomenon known as back to school nightmares.

When you’re an expectant mom, you have those dreams of leaving the baby in the car (so scary nowadays with all of the children dying of heatstroke in vehicles).

My teacher nightmares usually start up a couple of weeks prior to pre-planning; however, this year, I began having these dreams in June.

For freaking sake, can my subconscious please give me a break?

I’ve had about three dreams where I’m at school, and I discover that my classroom has been been changed – without anybody notifying me.  I actually told my principal about this when I happened to be at the school the morning after the first dream with a “Ha, ha.  Don’t you dare think of moving me.”

I need this shirt.  Seriously.

Y’all, this will be my seventh year in my room.  I love it.  It’s large, spacious, and mine.  Yes, I have laid claim to it.  It’s perfect for conducting reading stations.  My students do not sit in desks; they sit around long tables to better facilitate collaborative learning.  I had desks my first year at this school, and putting them together into groups was a royal pain in the rump.

Last week, I had a dream where I thought I had first period planning then realized, a little late, that I actually had a class.  Every teacher has made the dreaded run down the hallway when mischievous children are left to their own devices.  It doesn’t matter how old the kids are; they wreak havoc at any age.

A few nights ago, I dreamed that it was the first day of class, and my students – high school, mind you – would NOT SIT DOWN.  They were so, so, so bad.  I have good classroom management, y’all, but in that dream, I remember thinking that I had not planned well enough for the first day of school.  Maybe the dream was a warning that I needed to get on the ball with that.

Ahem.

I hope that one day, when I’m fortunate enough to retire, I won’t have these dreams any more.  I suspect that I will – at least the first year – when I’m establishing a new routine for myself.

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