Got to read this book!

I read so many books meant for young adults because I want to be able to help the kiddies at school to pick out books.  What you say about a book means more if you actually read the book.  On Tuesday of last week, Maryn read from a book to her class.  I wasn't there to hear it.  I was there Wednesday.  The book sounded really good.  I already knew she was going to read it to the kiddies, so I had put a hold on it at the public library.  I was number 286 of 286 holds.  I figured I could wait.  Then she read the book again on Thursday and I realized I was missing some really important information.  I decided to ask Maryn if I could borrow her book over the weekend.  Later, my sweet girl and I went to Sam's Club to buy cat and dog food.  There was the book for $5.38 just waiting for me.  I bought it.  I started reading it at 3pm on Thursday and finished it at 5:30am on Saturday.  I had to be at Sandy's at 7am on Saturday so I got up a bit early to finish the book.  When I got around to cancelling my hold from the library on Sunday morning, I was 202 of 286 holds.  Not me!

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!

HUNGER GAMES BY SUZANNE COLLINS

Surprise!

I am becoming just a little frustrated with Blogger.  I can't seem to get off the centering option.

But, my story will be the same regardless of the alignment.

Saturday was my Block-of-the-Month with Quilter's Corner.  I left here at 6:40am, met Sandy at 7:10am and got to Quilter's Corner by 7:20am.   We had our class, made a few purchases and were back at Sandy's by 9:30am.  We quilted the entire day stopping only briefly for lunch.  Sandy had a dinner that night with friends and I had instructions to be home by 4:00pm.  See, my birthday is on Tuesday and my sweet girl had planned a dinner for the family at the Spaghetti Factory, I thought at 5pm.  I was so careful to be in the car and home on time.  I pulled up to the curb in front of the house at 4:03pm.  My sweet girl ran out of the house and shouted, "you have a surprise inside the house."  I just knew at that moment, that my sister had to be here somewhere.  Then I saw the tops of my niece's heads running back into the house.  I ran in saying, "I smell two little girls in my house," and found my darling Juliana and adorable Olivia.  After hugs and kisses (and presents because Aunt Julie ALWAYS has presents) we relaxed as one by one we took our showers and got dressed for dinner.  Mary gave me Super Cinnamon Bears from Cost Plus.  I have this cinnamon addiction.  I love cinnamon candy.  Got to admit they were really good and had great cinnamon flavor, but still no match for Unbearably Hot Cinnamon Bears from the Jelly Belly Factory.  I pretty much thought that was my entire surprise until Olivia let it slip that Aunt Pat was joining us for dinner.  We drove over to the restaurant with me suspecting nothing.

Imagine my surprise when there are people waiting for us.  My in-laws were there as was my friend, Leah,

Our dinner was being held upstairs and there was a special menu just for us.  I had a luscious margarita and the yummy spaghetti pictured below.

Garlic Mizithra

Spaghetti with brown butter and Mizithra cheese

tossed with garlic, bacon and mushrooms.

Heaven!



We had the best time.  Appetisers--creamy artichoke dip with toasts.  Olive Tapenade with  toasts.  Garlic bread... Yummm! 

We were home by 9:00pm.  The girls, Mary, my sweet girl and I made a stop at Macy's so Olivia could spend her gift card.  Her mother, ever the bargain hunter, had coupons that expired this day so off we went.

Dinner was scrumptious.  We were exhausted and fell into bed. 

This morning the girls had to go home--school tomorrow.  I got doughnuts and sent them off with a sugar high.  What a great and wonderful aunt I am!!!

Dinner

This is my margarita that I had last night at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  It was yummy!

I am having a birthday on Tuesday.  My sister and my daughter arranged a dinner with friends and family last night.  It was wonderful.  We had a lovely time and I was truly surprised.  My daughter could barely contain herself she was so excited.  I had the spaghetti in browned butter with Mizithra cheese, bacon and mushrooms.  Yummm!  The best part was seeing people who mean so much to me. 

What we cannot change.....

For some reason this got caught up in my drafts file (that I had no idea I had). This was written a year ago.

There is the cutest commercial for Target using the Free to be You and Me music. Three little girls go from wearing exactly the same outfit (a school uniform) to wearing 3 completely different outfits. Over time the girls go from drab to individuals--one in red, one in blue and one in yellow. I imagine you can buy each piece at the local Target store. The message being we need to be ourselves, while shopping and spending all our money at Target, of course. Today the kiddies in our school began their first day. We have a uniform policy that was very strict allowing only white and black with a bit of khaki. This year the kiddies are wearing a t-shirt in 6 different colors. It is so beautiful and colorful, allowing a bit of individuality and still keeping the uniformity of the school.

Today I came across two ideas that caught my attention.

1. What we cannot change, we must endure without bitterness.

2. Sometimes we cannot raise our chins and see eye to eye,

so we must bow our heads and have faith in one another.

Okay, it is Monday, August 22, 2011.  We are back to the present.  Funny thing is that I was thinking about changes and Target commercials today.  I love the one where the Asian teacher talks about what "your" kids will be learning and ends with a list of school supplies with glitter "so much glitter" at the last.  It did get me over to Target to see their school supplies....

We have so many changes at work this year.  On Wednesday of last week, my friend Jane was crying because there were so many changes.  On Friday, I cried.  It was just such a stark comparison to what had occurred--all the transfers.  This new group is really outdoorsy and likes sports.  I like quilting.  Lord, how I felt really old saying I liked quilting and embroidery when all around me people were going on and on about camping, river rafting, snow, hiking, etc.  Somehow they entire staff seems to bike--except the "new guy" who likes taking chances and rides a Harley.  Today I asked him what to call him and got 5 different choices.  I am choosing his first name.  I am not comfortable calling someone by their last name.  It seems not right.

Change has come to roost here at school.  Wish us luck!

Was it me or was it the guy???

Today I went to Walmart.  The idea was to pick up some lemon pepper panko bread crumbs, which I realize now, I forgot.  While I was making me way casually through the store, I happened upon the beer aisle.  Now, I am not a beer drinker, but my darling husband is and I like to pay as little as possible for it.  We drink Budweiser here.  Definitely not me!  But there I was in the beer aisle staring at the end cap with a mountain of 36 packs of Budweiser beer with a coupon giving you $3.00 off with a purchase.  The coupon I saw mentioned buying meat (such a broad category) which is a bit of a stretch for me.  I just can't bring myself to buy meat from Walmart.  I don't know why--(see me shaking my head here).  It occurred to me that pork was meat and I will buy Johnsonville sausages.  So I put a big box of beer in my cart and off I go--with the wrong coupon.
A bit later I am in the check out line.  As usual, I pick the wrong line and spend 30 seconds wondering why the people in front of me are so slow and then help myself to a trashy magazine--usually People.  I figure that if I am not in the 20 items or less line, then I am going to be waiting somewhere. ( I actually waited in line for some issue from the people in front of me.)  So, when it was discovered that my coupon gave you that precious $3.00 for a purchase of water not meat, I called my daughter on her cell phone as she was close to the beer end cap to tell her to stop and get a coupon.  She didn't answer and popped up just then.  The clerk, Nadyia, knew full well that I was sending  to get that coupon.  She never once suggested that I step aside and suspend my purchase and let the guy behind me go or even that I should just pay for my groceries and then get the beer in the self checkout line later.  In fact, the clerk was going to get me a package of water.  That would have taken time too.  As soon as the daughter leaves to get a coupon, this guy who was two people in line behind me starts ranting on and on in a very loud voice about people who hold up the line.  HE called me rude and annoying.  He NEVER shut his mouth.  I did ask him to stop being rude, but otherwise did my best to ignore him.  He did say that everyone around me was thinking what he had the courage to actually say.  No one seemed that bothered.  I did start praying that the daughter was CRAWLING to the register.  At one point he decided to move to the next line and said to whoever was listening that "the fat lady got her way".  Okay, to be fair, I am fat, but it is not okay to resort to name calling.  I could have made comments about his stupid tattoos, but did I???  Of course not. Right as my daughter came back without a coupon, I decided to not buy the beer after all--at which the guy says, "Good, you didn't need that."  He wasn't being supportive.

I am not a person who likes to hold people up.  I was letting the clerk direct me.  The whole time passed was really only five minutes.  We can't wait five minutes?  In the future I would handle the transaction differently, but that guy will be a jerk for the rest of his life.

I missed Kim today.....

I had an idea of something I wanted to say today and I don't know where I left the piece of paper.  I am still a pencil/pen and paper girl.

So, until that paper materializes, something funny happened yesterday.  I unexpectedly had time off.  I thought I needed to go to some professional development thing for school, but turns out it was redundant and I was off the hook.  My original plan was to travel down to East Sac and Sandy at 3:30pm and then head over to Fabric Garden an meet up with Irene.  In real life, I saw Sandy at 10:30am and then went to the movies to see the Help with Imelda at 3:00pm.  Imelda and I went to Fabric Garden and met up with Irene.  Since Shirley is one of the owners of the shop, we saw her too.  The only one I didn't see was Kim!  I missed you, Kim!

At 8pm (very late for me) I went to B.J.'s to eat dinner.  They have a special going that is a two for twenty thing.  For $19.99 you get a soup of salad, medium pizza and a dessert.  A huge deal.  That pizza was the best.

If you haven't read The Help by Kathryn Stockett, you NEED to read it!  Then go see the movie.

Hope you day was as good as mine.

Back To Work

Yesterday I went back to work and spent the day in a  training.  I was supposed to learn how to co-teach and collaborate with the teachers at my school.  What I learned (or rather had a revelation about) was how it went so terribly wrong last year with Melissa.  I can truthfully say that Melissa disliked me.  I never really understood it.  How can you dislike someone who you don't know???  Turns out it is very possible.  I stepped on her toes (figuratively).  I was put in her classroom in the middle of the quarter.  We never had a time to say anything to each other and while I knew things about her, she had no idea who I was until I appeared one day at the back of the room.  The students were doing a scrapbook project in connection with the story, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.  Having spent the previous year with her students, I was well aware that most of them were not artistically bent, creative or brimming with art supplies.  I read the story and got the gist of it.  In response to one of the boys, I went out and made up kits for the my students (special ed) that had pieces of the fabric for her dress, the lace mentioned in the story, stickers, paper, etc.  I handed them out and never once spoke to Melissa.  She wanted the students to find the items on their own.  Wasn't going to happen, but I could have done it in a much nicer way, with communicating with Melissa instead of bypassing her and ignoring her.  I wish I knew where she moved to in Virginia so I could send her a note of apology.  I will take this lesson and use it for the next two teachers I am working with this year.  I just an grateful they already know me and won't be so judgemental.