You know those days..

You know those days where you are running super late for work, even though you don't have to leave until 10:30, but you got caught up in cleaning the house and restoring your iPhone and then the outfit you planned to wear is still drying from being washed last night and you're running around trying to change at the last minute and when you finally make it out the door to your car you realize you forgot your glasses and can't drive without them so you book it back up 3 flights of stairs to retrieve them only to realize upon making it back to your car that you have almost no gas and have to stop and fill up and you are starting your 40 minute commute 20 minutes before your first class starts and so you drive like an absolute maniac and reach your classroom door literally the second the bell rings for 5th period and you are feeling like a champion for making it on time and then one of your students mentions how we are on that "weird assembly schedule" and your heart stops as you realize that on "weird assembly schedule" day, all the periods are shorter and in a weird order (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 5, 8, 3) so you realize that even though you are on time for 5th period, you actually have already missed TWO of your class periods and even though 6th period is your prep and 7th period is a class you co-teach, you realize that you suck at life so you email your principal and he laughs at you but now it's assembly time during 3rd period and you don't have a 3rd period because you only work in the afternoons and you have 2 hours of absolutely nothing and your life is just out of control and it's only Monday? Yeah, it was one of those days. So here are my random thoughts.

+ I feel like I need to teach Robin Thicke how to rhyme. I know the song is old now, but I've always had a terrible obsession with "Blurred Lines". But it drives me crazy when he says, "I feel so lucky, you wanna hug me. What rhymes with hug me?" I'm assuming he means something sexual, but nothing sexual rhymes with hug me. Bug, dug, jug, mug, lug... those all rhyme. Sorry Robin. Doesn't make sense.

+ When we have free time at the end of the day, one of my kids favorite games is to get out the dictionary and try to find words I don't know. Now I'm no genius, you should see what happens when my kids ask for help with their math homework, but I do have a pretty big vocabulary. They have stumped me a couple times, but I almost always win. It's really funny to see them get frustrated.

+ I really love the people I work with. From meeting with other schools and other teacher friends outside my school, I've discovered that what happens at South Hills Middle School is actually pretty rare. Now we're not all BFF, but there is not a single mean person in the school. And the teachers who have become my BFFs, are just the grandest people in the world! They make me laugh. They cry with me. There are a lot of weird group text messages. I just couldn't ask for a better work family. (Case-in-point, one of my dear friends, Rodger, just sent out an email to all the teachers asking to borrow something and signed it "Loving each one of you more and more obsessively than I did yesterday, Rodger." Come on. I love this place).

+ This morning while Lady was in her usual position, staring out the window, when a giant grasshopper jumped on the outside of the window. I have never seen her so freaked out and nervous and excited all at the same time.

+ Have you guys heard of the Target app Cartwheel? Because it's the best! It's a place for all target coupons and you choose which ones you want and it creates your own special coupon so you only have to scan one! You should download it. That, combined with my Target Red Card, means trouble. But at least I'm saving money! Kinda.

+ Today for lunch I had a sandwich, a plum, and carrots and I was like, "Who am I?"

+ Speaking of that, we are eating a lot healthier these days, though not near where we probably should be, haha, but we have made some simple changes. No microwaveable foods. No "instant" meals. No sugar cereals (that was Nathan's addiction, not mine). Fast food only once a week. (This one is sometimes hard to keep but we're working on it). No ice cream kept in the house. And we've increased the amount of fruits and vegetables a TON. We are cutting out "snack" foods like chips and crackers and candy and eating grapes and carrots instead. So no, we're not clean eating (hahaha), but for us this is good! It's not necessarily to lose weight, especially in Nathan's case, but more that we just want to be healthier.

+ Nathan is so busy all the dang time! We love the money he is making, but boy is he working hard for it. Throwing school on top of it, and I know he gets overwhelmed sometimes. He's so patient though. He will finish up with his associates degree in April, and then we are looking into a few different options. I'll discuss those more as more serious decisions are made, but it's exciting!

+ For people who keep subtly making hints and asking questions that beat around the bush and making assumptions and telling other people, I want you to know that no, I am not pregnant. I don't really feel like I should need to say this, but people keep bugging me and my friends for information or just assuming that I am. It's nice to have people care about me, but it would help a lot if you didn't talk about me being pregnant, until it is confirmed, by me, that I am pregnant. Just makes it even harder to think about the fact that I am not.

+ Sorry to get serious on you, just felt like it needed to be said.

+I've kinda become a city snob in some ways. Well, mostly one way. Drivers. There are very specific rules and ways of driving in a city. It becomes quite clear when you are driving behind someone who is not a local. And it's super annoying. Salt Lake isn't even a huge city and it's definitely not confusing to navigate, but these Utah folk drive around like they're lost in a snow storm. I would love to see them try to drive around LA or New York City.

+ We just finished 30 Rock. People have been telling me to watch it for years, but I could never get into it. We finally pushed through the first season and I fell IN LOVE!! I am already going through withdrawals. Pretty sure I am Liz Lemon. I have a huge crush on Jack. And I wish Kenneth was my BFF.

+ I can't believe this week is the end of the first quarter of the school year! It has gone so fast.

+ I really should go start planning my unit on argumentative writing. I have a feeling it's gonna kick my kids' butts. And when their butts are kicked, they are usually huge whiners. Which means this unit is gonna kick my butt too. Horrah!

+ Oh wait, I didn't go get started on that. Because that sounds like ZERO fun.

+ For two years, I have this one student, whom I love with all my heart, who flicks my lights on and off every time he leaves my classroom. When he does this he yells, "Just kidding!" I still cannot understand how turning lights on and off is something that you can kid about. 

+ I wish it was still appropriate to go trick or treating. I feel more justified in eating a whole bag of candy if it was free and I did a lot of walking.

+ Nothing meaningful has been said in this blog post.

+ I have to pee. Maybe I'll take a nice, long walk to the bathrooms on the other end of the school just to waste time and procrastinate lesson planning.

+Yep, that's what I'm gonna do.