CUTE necklace

My friend, Dawn, made this awesome necklace for me. I LOVE it! The Dorado is our school mascot, but she can put any team in there. She's selling them for $12 with bling and $10 without. Her business is Sassy Talk. Let me know if you'd like more info on these. How cute for a high schooler or sports fan, huh?

Seriously, no WAY to break this Jackie! :)

A little wonderment...

Question: How long does it take one's loving and wonderful mate to get rid of all the little, tiny, disgusting bits of soap left in the soap dish after one's loving and wonderful mate has opened a new bar of soap?

Answer: 17 days...so far

We're at a stand-off, my friends. Of course, the stand-off is only in my head because my loving and wonderful mate doesn't really care that the little bits are festering in the soap dish. I look at them every morning and think, "You, little bits, deserve a final resting place, a place where you no longer have to serve the bits and pieces of others."

Didn't there used to be some kind of miracle item from Ronco (is that the right name?) that you put all the bits in and they somehow melded into a big bar again? I need me one of them.

No paper...no patience...

I HATE grading papers. Kind of a bad thing to hate when you're a teacher, right? I've graded for hours at a time over the last week in order to provide feedback to my little scholars prior to the AIMS test next week. That, in conjunction with the issues of funding--"I'm sorry. What? I can't make copies anymore? OK. And there's no money for books. I see. What about paper? Ah. None of that either"--makes doing this job a tad difficult. Truth be told, it has not made for a happy Mrs. B of late.

One might think that it's all worth it when a young mind finally "gets it," that moment when the light clicks on, and you can see that all of your preparation, every lecture, every gentle little mark made by your red pen has made a difference.

Yeah. I'm still waiting for that moment. Been waitin' for 15 years.

Woo! Hoo!

Two more pounds gone. Down by a total of 12!

"Cauliflower" Mashed Potatos

This sounds so crazy, but it is delicious--good for WW gals and for getting some more veggies into your kids.

Steam or boil a head of cauliflower (cut up) until it is really soft (softer than you'd normally eat it). Strain off the water and beat with your hand-mixer. Put in a little fat free sour cream and/or margarine. We ate ours with a bit more sour cream on top and green onions for garnish.

The best part, you guys, is that it is virtually point free. I counted a point for sour cream, AND I got to eat a ton. Scott and the kids loved it; I should have made double.

Weigh-in tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

WW Update

After 4 delightful weeks on Weight Watchers, ten pounds have escaped my...ahem...generous frame. They have left for good. I understand they will be moving in with Gisele Budgen.

I hope they enjoy living in a thong, rather than a granny-panty.

This is really good...

“Your life is an occasion; rise to it.”
—Mr. Magorium, as played by Dustin Hoffman in Mr. Magorium

I get a nice little email on a (nearly) daily basis from The Foundation for a Better Life. I've been writing these quotes on the board in my classroom as they show up...more for my own benefit than anything. It's nice to keep something positive in my line of sight some days, you know? :) Well, it looks like the kids pay attention to them, too. We had a really good talk in 1st period today about making this a priority. We all (even 15 year olds) get bogged down in our obligations and responsibilities and forget how truly lucky we are. We think that we are defeated far too often. The kids realized that we can make our lives what we want them to be, what we dream them to be...what we deserve. I didn't hear about this boyfriend, or her iPod, or that one's car, or getting wasted. They know that they are capable of more and worthy of more.

It was a good day in English 10.