Analogy

There is a breeze that can be felt at sunset when the last bit of sunlight dips below the horizon.

That is the same easy breath of relief that comes when driving home to begin summer vacation.

The year ended in classic "can you believe this $hi! manner.  I went to the principals office for my yearly evaluation.

I decided to up my game and call myself "distinguished" which involves writing paragraphs containing evidence of such.  It an also involve sharing student work as proof of achievement.

I was playing examples of student work and my evaluator was talking over it (like it was a radio in the background) telling me about her tax issues.

She agreed with and wrote positive comments in all of my distinguished categories.  Because she did not double check the electronic form, I came out as "accomplished" (one step lower) on the paper instead. Oh irony of ironies.

On Wednesday last week she shared next years tentative schedule with the faculty so that we could point out problem areas and inconsistencies (of which there were many)  She thought she pop on over to her office to fix them which I, of course knew wouldn't happen.  The special ed teacher joined her as an extra set of eyes (at her request). It never got resolved and we moved on to the irrelevant math session.

The special ed teacher took what had been submitted home and spent 5 hours making it work. (the same thing I used to do.) When she handed it to the principal saying she believe that she fixed it, the principal disregarded it.  No surprise there.  Famous quote circa 2016 YOU WILL NEVEER DO THE SCHEDULE WHILE I'M PRINCIPAL.

The good news is that none of this is anything more to me than something to write about.  The exit breeze has been felt and nothing else matters.

And for the second Sunday in a row we have found ourselves stranded at the side of the road.  Last week the wheel ball joint came completely disconnected from the vehicle. We were able to make it to the home of the Aunt's but there was about 2 miles of traveling in Morgantown that were completed by divine intervention because when we went to tow it- it would not even move forward. We had our first uber ride. We were out of sorts until it made it to the local dealer via tow.  It was repaired and all was well.

Today on the way out we noticed that the air wasn't really working. Halfway home the lights were flashing and the reserve radiator was not delivering coolant.  We pulled over once, pulled over again and one of greathusbandbob's friends lived nearby and took us home.  We drove my car back to his and managed to get his to the dealer to see what's in store for it tomorrow.  It's so great that greathusbandbob has spent the last 15 years building relationships with the dealership.

Tomorrow- the first adventure of the summer brings a dentist appointment, an eye appointment and a trip to walmart with the aunt. and in spite of the scheduling of that she still managed a passive aggressive complaint about never getting out.

Oasis in the Desert Right Here.

I have a good tribe. I was the last one to arrive at a lunch I wasn’t expecting to go to and was so happy to be with them (instead of the crowd I had meetings with) that as soon as I walked in I insisted on a picture.and I love that everyone is looking at me for real.

Belligerent, that's me

A series of events between yesterday and today

1. a leadership team meeting where the only thing discussed was scheduling dates and times for make up evenings for early out during holidays for parent conferences, assigned book studies and how she will collect lesson plans next year.

2. A morning spent skim/reading a book called the BOLD school which is all about combining old practices with new and using technology only when appropriate

.

3. The high school band director came in and told me of the 30 kids in my appreciation class, two of them are students that I taught at elementary juvey school who regularly conflict with each other.  (see what happens when you're nice to the bad kids)

4. A presentation of next years schedule where her method of scheduling and fixing is like a kindergarten class trying to fix a circle at the beginning of the year- instead of moving in to close a gap, they just keep scooching around and around and moving the gap.  

5. The tech person presented the idea that there were 7 basic math competencies and I was put into a group with the art teacher and the physed teacher (who you may recall has moron like qualities.) and we were supposed to create a poster on math competency number 5- Utilizing tools strategically.

At this point a lost it in a big a$$ way.  Instructions weren't clear- it was a subject I didn't teach and I was partnered with two others who had no math teaching experience. I looked at the tech person and said (while everyone in the room stopped and stared) what am I supposed to be doing- I don't teach math.  Why am I being asked to explore math competencies that I know absolutely nothing about.  I don't get it. I don't teach math.

Come to find we had to copy what was on a web-site- to demonstrate the competency- make sure kids knew to use a measuring cup to measure milk instead of a ruler- which is what our poster essentially demonstrated.  Because clearly no one has figured that shit out yet. 

I worked like an adult, I apologized to her personally (she said it was really embarrassing for her WTF? Oh, you mean like being a music teacher talking about math competencies?) and to the group for the outburst.

6 hours of meaningless drivel.  And tomorrow I get to do the same thing with music teacher colleagues. Bring a breakfast item. I am taking a vow of silence with the hope that it will get me through the day- otherwise I will leave early.

I've told the new special ed teacher (who had the wedding to weeks ago) that I have a crush on her and will she be my girlfriend.  She drops the f bomb like a pirate and we share a higher expectation of humor which means everyone thinks we're both hilarious when we are barely trying.  I taught her when she was in kindergarten through sixth grade.  Same with her new husband.  The crush is because of this delayed present-

A gratitude journal for tired-ass women.  The plan was for them to write in it while I was home recovering.  Because that never transpired she gave it to me yesterday.  It will give us something to look forward to when school starts- a group journal that includes categories of Assholes of the day, People I managed not to harm, etc.  As it will be a shared written item, it required a brown paper wrapper that doesn't invite investigation.  Because I am the music teacher I often have to fix xylophone bars.  Also my girlfriend likes bars and saying the f bomb- hence the xylophone bar with an f.

Today I tried a new recipe- refreshing carrot apple salad carrots, apples, olive oil, lemon, salt, sugar and walnuts (except I forgot the walnuts). It was amazing.

Lots of adventures coming- perhaps something to write about.

Last Day of School

The rant/vent-

Today we had a leadership team meeting.  The intended purpose of these meetings is to make use of the knowledge of faculty to improve the school.  The previous principal, while he had many flaws, was more than ready to give up the reigns and anyone who wanted to take initiative was encouraged. The group dynamic of the teachers at that time was such that initiatives rarely happened.

Yesterday's meeting involved selecting dates (which were essentially pre-determined by tradition) to have parent conferences, meetings and staff development.  We were however invited to create a committee to plan the open house- another tradition with pretty clear guidelines as to structure.  No one volunteered for this.  I'm guessing because it felt like it would be too much of an exercise in "mommy can we do this? can we? can we?"

While our counselors and behavior specialists came with an outline of ideas written down to share, the only individuals who got to speak were ones complaining about the meeting dates because her son plays football and another complaining about planned book studies (all books picked by admin) because she doesn't read.

The dinner gang that is full of smart agreed with my coup attempt in that we will gather, hash out the details of the good idea the is brewing and present it once complete.  Normally this would be an above board process with a summer stipend to cover our time.  That involves the poor leadership dictating guidelines.  This way we can blow up the idea into reality and she can either take it or not.  If nothing else people who like each other and laugh together will get a chance to hang out in the summer.

I shared texts with a 5th grade teacher who wants to begin a recycling program with student leaders.  My role in the communication was to suggest ways of going about it without needing to ask for school-wide permission.  Start small and expand rather than beginning an entirely new initiative.

We finally have a staff that is energized and we have a leader who is defensive and defeatist.

Enough of the complaining rant- on to the last day.On this last day, the few kids I had got to play with scarves and puppets.

Normally I like to blur out the faces of kids before I post their pictures. I am making an exception today because the faces are what makes the pictures the best. (along with the scarf costumes and puppet baby carriers.)  What I notice the most about these picture is the confidence of their chosen look.  Kids asked to have their pictures taken and immediately wanted to see them.  I had them look up to better catch the lighting in the room.

And finally, I am attempting to crochet another Atlanticus.  It is an enormous beautiful mandala and I've had some inspiration regarding color choices and the use of yarn in my stash.  I hope I follow through on this.

Coming events- today is professional development at school. I will be knitting a sock to hide my resting bitch face.  The only thing worse than being ignored as a specialist is being given meaningless busy work.  Tomorrow it's to the big city with a similar day with music teacher colleagues and while the subject matter will improve, the feeling of been there, done that will not.  Friday is finish closing up the room day.  We received an email from our fearful leader indicating that while she will begin checking people out at 2:00 that day, we may not leave until 3:00 (normal quitting time being 4:00.) and no one should ask to do otherwise.

Not really giving a shit any more, I immediately went to see her and informed her that I would be taking a 1/2 day on Friday as I have a dr. appt. at 3:00 pm.  She grimaced.  I considered having the dr. office send a note with the appointment listed on it but thought better of it.  I'll get a dr. slip when I am finished that day.

In #irony category.  There are two categories above "mediocre" in the teacher evaluations.  They are "accomplished" and "distinguished."  Accomplished allows you to pass go and collect $200.  Distinguished is the highest category but requires paragraph descriptors and documentation.  The activities the 5th grade students did for the six weeks I was out this year lend themselves to consideration for distinguished.  Yes, you read that right.  My evaluation will be higher this year because I did less actual engaging.  Welcome to the world of WV education. sigh.

on tonights menu

I'll start with this- Its called Iskiate and originate with the Mexican Tarahumara Indians.  It's contributes to endurance energy.  Good to drink pre or post- workout.  Another advantage is that it looks like frog eggs.  Ingredients are water, chia seeds and lime. Chill and drink The recipe can be found here.  As I drink I realize that I forgot the sweetening agent but I like it without anyway.

For dinner tonight some haluski-

While the recipe called for 2 sticks of butter- I stopped at one.  Some onion powder, garlic powder and lots of pepper.  I've made it before when I had an electric frying pan and 14" cabbages from the neighbors garden.  A smaller head of grocery store cabbage made it much more manageable.  Also, a gift from the internet- after combining it I baked it at 300° for 30 minutes which allegedly combines the flavors, cooks off some butter and makes it a little crispy on top.

I can't remember for sure- my grandma must have cooked cabbage when we were there.  I'm pretty sure I never ate it then but the smell of it cooked is like entering a time machine.

In response to the bipolar nature of those two foods there is this.  We get an extra check in the mail (secret savings sort of) right before Christmas and summer break.  Today's check just about covered the cost of 10 50-minute individual training sessions at the gym beginning June 3.  It's time to get real.

Yesterday's cousin adventure.  We went to a local clothing overstock store in the same plaza where we usually get Chinese food.  Also in this plaza is a new Italian café that I suggested we try. I surprised her with dinner because if you tell her she'll ask about it all week.  I took her clothes purchase to the car and pointed her in the direction of the cafe (a few stores up.)  She walks slowly so I thought we'd get there at the same time. I turned around and she was nowhere to be seen.  Either she walked fast or was abducted.  I check in the cafe- not there.  I check in the stores between the clothes store and the cafe in case she didn't realize they weren't restaurants.  Finally I realize what happened and there she was having already ordered a pepsi and anticipating the sweet and sour pork.

And finally- Aunt's tomorrow, a free day on Monday- kids at school on Tuesday, one day of closing shop, two days of stupid staff development and summer begins on June 3.

16 years a festival

I remember the first one. SouthAfricaAnna came to visit from Philadelphia having just recovered from two knee replacements and gastric bypass surgery.  We bought needles and railroad track yarn and really had little idea about what we were doing.  It was the worst possible fiber to start with- but then again it made everything else feel easy.

I like to take a canvas bag for my purchases rather than carry around multiple bags.  I had to remove yarn from a canvas bag to find one.  This gave me pause about actually buying any yarn. (which I did not do.)  Instead I bought hand sewn bags for yarn, stitch markers, a handleless coffee mug, some soap and lotion, and some silver jewelry and buttons.

The lady with the silver jewelry (made from vintage silverware) was my most favorite.

It is absolutely the ring I've been looking for.  And it's made of silverware. In the center are buttons that will be used on a sweater I will knit someday.

So while I refrained from fiber, I did my best to encourage quality vendors to return by not going for the cheapest item and paying in cash.  

Last weekends wedding on the mountain in the rain left me with some bronchial distress- that combined with a morning of retail therapy requires a hearty nap.

Life's Wheels

A little more than 25 years ago there was a kindergarten student who decided that I mostly walked on water.  I got a huge hug every single morning (all the way through 6th grade).  When she was in 2nd grade she made me a puppet from what appeared to be a mattress cover pad shaped like an oven mitt without the thumb.  It was two pieces sewn together with yarn.  Mismatched buttons for eyes and a mouth made with magic marker.

It is no accident that she was selected to wear the uniform when I was connected with the guest musicians presenting at our school. She got to be the conductor of the brass quintet.  This is as close to playing favorites as teachers can get.

When she was little and asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would (from as early as 2nd grade) reply "I want to be a doctor. An oncologist."

Fast forward x number of years.  She's an RN, her sister is a drug addict who has had 3 children in the last 5 years and she, a single girl with the heart of an angel is now the gaurdian of all three (and a couple of dogs, well, because dogs.)

Greathusbandbob had to visit a pain management clinic in the cancer center for his knee pain.  If he has knee pain he can't walk.  If he can't walk, he gets short of breath. He was dreading this visit- fearing they might look at him as another guy trying to get easy access to drugs.  He went there armed with the above crux of the issue but never needed it because this adorable angel was his nurse.

In spite of the casualness of the conversations the normal everyday business, it was all just beyond the realm of the mundane. To me it was magical.  Every time I think about Megs taking care of greathusbandbob there is a wave of well-being that surges through me.

What a wonderful world.  Now it is she who is doing the water-walking.

Just Say No

Here is a list of advantages to a Zumba glow party-

It's dance.

It runs for an extra half hour.

It raises money for a good cause.

Here are the reasons a Zumba Glow Party might not be for you.

It's dark.

There are swirling disco lights.

There are three times as many people there.

It's loud and you forgot your ear plug.

I went.  I wore my glow stick bracelets.  I made jokes with zumbafriend Amy about paying attention to personal space.  We laughed at the girl who always takes selfies in front of the mirror before each class. She had clearly spent some time decking herself out in glow.  We tried to follow the guest instructor even though it was too dark to really see anything.  Then we followed our regular instructor. And though we mostly knew those moves, it was much more difficult in the dark.  Then I went home.  After 1/2 an hour.

I like childlike fun as much as the next person.  In fact, possibly more, but this was a contrived version of someone's version of childlike fun- in a "I wish my glow sticks were as cool as hers" king of way.

When I looked at it abstractly, there we were, 40+ adult women standing around in the dark trying to copy the dance moves we couldn't see and yelling and cheering on command.  I just couldn't buy into it.

Suffice it to say that my next birthday party will not be a glow party.

Wake up Wake up

or not.

I took the day off for a 3:00 doctors appointment in Morgantown today.  I fell asleep at 11:45 and didn't wake up until 2:45- too late to make the drive to the appointment.  Ugh.

I did get my car inspected this morning- it must have worn me out.

Last week I gave the bride-to-be her champagne mini-bottles and knitted wedding dress.  I'm going to try to leave something for her to laugh at this week.  Also if I were getting married, I'd want people to be excited for me at work too.

Here is Monday's something blue (also her wedding colors are Tiffany blue and gray.)

It reads- "Calm UR Tits."  It's from the get well coloring book that I am certain she picked out for me.

When you look in the cupboard

And you see a cheese grater smiling at you.

Crack me up

My friend CC- from music teaching long ago- bought me a get well Svengoolie long sleeved t-shirt.  It is my shirt of choice on the weekends. Last night I turned off the lights to go upstairs to bed and was briefly startled/terrified to find that it glows in the dark.  Eep!

There are 28 days left with students.  Within those days there are many field trips, testing for grades 3-5 and special events.  These occasions naturally require decision making on the part of our leader.  With leaders past, my input and reminders were welcomed and attended to because said leader usually didn't think ahead.  Current leader, while she looks ahead and sees what's coming is often overwhelmed by what is in the present and fails to attend to said decisions.  She has also, of late been making decisions that leave many a co-worker disgruntled. (far be it from me to call them poor decisions- that would be judgey,)

In the spirit of "school is almost out but not quite" morale, I have suggested a guessing game.  Which number will be higher- The number of poor decisions made or the number of school days remaining?

I considered offering it up as a pool (each entrant pays $5- the one closes to the actual number of ridiculous decisions wins the pot- I would refrain from participating to have an unbiased judge of what may be considered foolish.  And while it seems like fun, I think the only enthusiastic participants will be the secretary, the guidance counselor and myself.  Everyone else is too professional to consider such an activity.

In other "I can't believe how hilarious I am" findings-  I'm sure I've told the story of greathusbandbob's dog Claudia.  She ran away from her caretaker (in Bridgeport, OH) while the family was on vacation only to be found across the river on Wheeling Island by greathusbandbob as he was driving city bus on the island.

While planning for music appreciation class this week, I found that I had taken the tune to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and written The Ballad of Claudia as an example of an assignment for last year's students.  Behold.

The Ballad of Claudia

They were headed to the beach twas to be such a treat
And they had a good friend watching Claudia.
The bright summer sky shined the lights in her eyes
And she couldn’t believe she wasn’t going.

They went down the road with the kids all in tow
Excited to visit the ocean.
But back here at home friend was answering the phone
And that good dog went springing in motion.

She went to the park and she stayed until dark.
She thought that’s where they’d go on vacation.
When they didn’t show up she was one lonely pup
And she went out in search of relations.

When the family returned they saw what had occurred
And the kids, they couldn’t stop crying
Dad said “Claudia’d be found, we’ll go look at the pound
But the family all felt he was lyin.

He went across the bridge where the West Virginians live
He had bus passengers who were waiting.
He hit the last stop and he felt his jaw drop
Because there he saw Claudia sitting

THe passengers swore as she went through the door.
That dog better pay her full fare.
He said “don’t worrying none,  I’m paying for this one”
And he drove home that night in a tear.

Don’t let it be said that your dog must be dead
If she runs away while on vacation.
Claudia’s living proof that that isn’t the truth
Now go spread this great tale ‘cross the nation.

These

Are my favorite spring colors- gray sky and forsythia.

It's time to Pay the Piper-

Or at least let her teach what she was trained to teach.

I am sure this topic is wearing and tedious but there was a petty victory today and I must feel good about it.

The most demoralizing aspect of that principal- she turned me into a half-time computer teacher to kindergarteners that don't know their letters yet- deeming this more essential than music education.

Today was the showdown.  I was ready for tense negotiations.  I called the h.s. principal ahead of time (to confirm the meeting place).  I also wanted to let him know my position on working 10 hours a day.  Then I suggested that creating two sections of the same class would solve some problems.  I also offered some suggestions to the elementary school principal with ways to keep me there and not at all at the high school. For me there are advantages and disadvantages to both situations.

There was a conference call with the assistant superintendent.  She asked if anything had been decided.  The high school principal jumped in  with my reservations and ideas-not ever suggesting that they were my ideas.

(as a side note, we were in several principal school classes together- he was masterful at taking my analyses of any given group assignment and sharing them as if they were his own.  And while it was annoying as students together, if he's my principal and takes my idea- I don't care who gets credit for it.) 

The elementary principal remained mute.  She said absolutely nothing.  Even after the assistant super double checked to make sure everyone was o.k. with it.

 The final result is that my daily schedule will change from 8:15-4:00 to 7:15-3:00 and I will be at the high school twice as long as I was there this year and last- (90 minutes a day- the additional minutes are, ironically enough,  almost the exact amount of time a week I spend teaching computer to the little ones.)
 
Hooray for afternoon dr. appointments!

Hooray home in time for cool classes at the gym!

Hooray for the high school principal was willing to say "we really need you- we have 27 kids signed up for music appreciation and they love you." (and given our past experiences, he knows I'm no fool)

Hooray for the assistant superintendent who said, "Becky, is there a different course she'd like to offer instead of  two sections  of the same course?"

Sorry about your karma elementary school principal who regularly disregards my (and others') skills.

and yet another reminder

So it's not my intention to turn this blog into a "hooray for me" blog but it is my hope that I can visit these pages to feel good about things that happen.

Mikayla saw me in the grocery store and came running for a giant hug.  This wouldn't seem unusual, except Mikayla is a high school sophomore and while squeezing said "I'm taking your class next year!"  It was just like she was when she was five.  I want to remember that.

It remains to be seen how that scheduled class is going to work out.  The high school and middle school are going to block scheduling.  This means 90 minute class periods (ugh) every other day. Some weeks it's M-W-F, others it's T-TH.  It is scheduled for first period at the high school which will run from 7:30 am - 9:00 am.  Kids arrive at the elementary school at 8:30 and begin their day around 9:00.  If my day begins at 7:30 (which I'm thinking it would actually have to be 7:15 to give me time to get situated), my day is finished by 3:00-3:15ish.

The elementary principal is opposed to this because she doesn't know how to schedule and believes she needs me there longer. I am not at all opposed to this because it means I can actually schedule appointments before 4:00pm

Rumor has it  that they are going to try to get me to take an extra duty contract to cover the extra hours, report to the high school and stay until 4:00pm at the elementary school.  Twenty years ago, that money would have been worth the time.  With cancer and congestive heart failure running its route through my life, I am not one bit interested in the extra money.  Additionally, there is not one sub that will cover a day like that.

 This extra duty contract will be refused.  Especially since the solution is that I take over the beginning band classes and the h.s. teacher (who is fine with an extra duty contract) can show up 2 days a week for some string classes (which can easily be cancelled due to absence).  Of course this means I would no longer be at the high school (which the elementary principal wants and the high school principal is opposed to.) But keeping the high school teacher in the high school schedule and the elementary teacher in the elementary school schedule is not something they have thus far considered.

Tomorrow we meet at the O.K. Corral to hash it all out. 12:30 pm.  My guess is that I will start and finish earlier and the elementary principal will have to work on her scheduling skills.  I can say one thing for sure, she won't be asking me for help.  She made that very clear from day 1.

Also in the news, there is finally a zumba friend. She had always seemed really familiar to me.  Turns out she's Liza Jane's vet.  She's the one who will crawl on the floor with her when Liza is freaking out. And she knits. And, of course, she likes dogs.  And I am a dork and one day after zumba said  "we should be outside of the gym friends."  Except she agreed and has apparently said equally awkward things to people at the gym in an attempt at getting to know them.  More to come.  But it doesn't matter how old you are, it's always really great to make a new friend.   I just have to hope she's a democrat.

And finally dinner tonight.  Instead of buying a seafood sub from subway with witly cucumbers, scary tomatoes that I won't order and a choice between white cheese and yellow cheese, I made my own.  Mayonnaise added to fake crab, sliced cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber and some feta cheese in a wrap was better than anything from subway.  Add a small bag of microwave popcorn, an orange juice with a slip of tequila and you have a hella value meal!

Today's meal

What it lacked in flavor, it made up in texture and healthiness.

In no particular order, in no particular quantities- broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, a fried egg/cut up, quinoa, feta cheese, cottage cheese, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, fried tofu, garlic powder, ginger, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon.  It could have used some chickpeas.

Last week I told music appreciation that I had "senioritis" and Beth informed me that I had "senior citizenitis."  Those kids.

Last week I brought a large bag of beef jerky from Sam's.  Said bag was empty in 30 seconds.  Who knew.  While a little more expensive, I would have gladly gone that route had I known.  It's got to be healthier than oreos and pringles.

Cousin had a migraine on Friday and couldn't go shopping.  I called our helping assistant to come to the rescue because I would resent giving up a Saturday.  Instead I got my nails done and got my hair cut and de-grayed (not completely- that would look ridiculous.)

I also went to the library to be fingerprinted so that I may work with the local high school/middle school bands this summer (a PA requirement)  My left hand ring finger was declared as having "wear and tear" because of being a musician.  My left hand pinkie was declared "too small to print."  It was electronic and could not roll properly on the device.  Their initial offer included two weeks of 5 hours an evening and two full weeks at an away band camp.  I replied "too old for overnight band camps" but I'd be available and would be glad to do the evening rehearsals and so an adventure for the summer.

30 day challenge

While the lasagne was a major cheat in the 30 day veggie challenge, yesterdays roasted asparagus over chia and brown rice was not.  McCormick spices recommended 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp red pepper mixed in olive oil.  The pre-packaged Uncle Ben's garlic seasoned quinoa and brown rice (ready in 90 seconds) made for a great meal.

Then today... from Dave Hurry the Food Up website comes a Spanish Omelet- 3 ingredients. Potatoes, onions, and eggs fresh from the chicken (my friend Maegan has chickens) plus a little salt and directions from a spanish chef on you tube resulted in this.  Greathusbandbob approved (that's two in one week for anyone that's counting.

And a moment in music appreciation to appreciate.  Today's assignment was to look at the Wikipedia article on country music and list the various subcategories of the genre. Boy complained "I don't see any subcategories."  I had him come up with his chrome book to show him.  Instead of looking up "country music" he had looked up "country."

Epic Meatlover's Lasagne- because he can't eat fast food every day.

I did a recipe!

First I would like to say- the only thing I had to look up was how long to cook it.

9 lasagne noodles

1 carrot sliced in small pieces
1 small container of baby bella mushrooms (chopped)
2 small onions chopped
3 cloves garlic- minced
3 dashes of Italian Seasoning
olive oil
2 jars of Classico spaghetti sauce
(I used traditional and tomato basil)

1/2 lb ground sausage
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 lb pepperoni

12 oz fresh belgioso mozzarella
(1/2 shredded, 1/2 sliced thinly)
1 small container fresh parmesan
1 small container of ricotta

Preheat oven to 375°

Cook lasagne noodles according to package.- lay them out on a cookie sheet lightly covered with cooking spray to cool.

Slice and sauté in this order- carrot, onions, garlic, mushrooms until they're done

While vegetables are cooking, shred 1/2 of the mozzarella.

Stir in the Italian seasoning, move vegetables to outer edge of the skillet.  Break up and brown the sausage and ground beef.

While the meat is cooking, mix mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan and egg. Thinly slice the remaining mozzarella.

When meat is fully cooked, add 1 1/2 jars of sauce.

Assemble lasagne- plain sauce on the bottom (save enough for the top)
sauce
3 noodles
cheese mixture (I did this by hand rather than spoon- flattened it like hamburger patties to get full coverage)
meat mixture-
pepperoni layer
3 noodles
cheese
meat
pepperoni layer
3 noodles
remaining sauce
thinly sliced mozzarella

Spray aluminum foil with cooking spray (to prevent cheese from sticking) and cover.
Bake for 25 minutes
Remove foil
Bake for 5 more minutes
Allow to cool 10 minutes
Slice and eat.

It tasted like Melon's in Uniontown.  It was amazing.

Today’s inspiration- microscopic ant

I kind of rushed it at the end.

Fridays at Walmart

Nearly the exact opposite of Tuesdays with Morrie. It will become "a thing" as appropriate.

One time when she wanted to add a haircut to her weekly shopping trip, she waited at the salon for an hour and then went grocery shopping.  I mentioned that the next time that happened she might consider grocery shopping first and coming back to see if they were less busy.

This has become complicated.  Sometimes I feel like she needs black and white rules in order to make decisions.  Once she has them, she never forgets them.

Example- she used to stop 4 feet away from the trunk of the car when it came time to put her groceries in.  I finally figured it out and asked her if she had ever made mom mad by bumping too close to her car.  There was my answer.  It took about a year for her to realize that closer was easier but now we've got that figured out.

Yesterday we were walking out behind some slower people blocking any other path.  I had to remind her not to get too close to their heels- we're still working on that one.

Rules for hair salon:  If there are 1-2 people waiting, go ahead and wait.  If there are 4-5 people waiting, come back later.  If there are 3 people waiting but two of them are men, go ahead and wait.  If all three are women, maybe check back later.  That became too confusing. (duh) So then we decided I'd go with her to figure it out.  But that was ridiculous.  So I sent her on her way to make that decision on her own and she finished everything at the same time I finished my Subway sandwich. I'm calling it a definite win.

After I brought her groceries into her house, I called Greathusbandbob to see if he needed anything.  He was on the phone and didn't answer.  No biggie.  He called back but I had already left.  He said "Becky called, did she need anything?"  She said "No, she'll call you when she gets home."

Now that's hilarious.

I got her to laugh for real twice during the trip.  I'm in a much better mood on a Friday afternoon than I am on a Saturday morning.  Mostly because I know that Saturday will be all mine. Once was when I told her about Bob telling our cat he was going to "kick her cat-ass" if she got in his way.  The other was the cock-a-doo rooster idea.  I managed to lay down a few lines of rap using the cock-a-doo and it is now required that that is our official good-by greeting.

Other news- not Friday related.  Greathusbanbob does not read my blog.  I share it with him now and again.  He likes the way I write- especially since it was such a struggle for him when he first started writing about the family geneology.  He has a bazillion funny stories from various adventures in his life (some of which I've shared on this blog.)  He's great at telling them.  In spite of the suggestion he do so, he is too self-conscious to write them. In a flash of inspiration I realized that I could do them justice. I knew as soon as an introduction popped into my head that this was a thing.

Meanwhile son of Greathusbandbob was sorting through saved garage items and sending photographs. (e.g. His membership to the Krishna palace where he did the electric wiring, a pencil from when he ran for mayor of Bridgeport Oh.)  It has become a thing.  I spent my last day of relaxing turning the stories I knew into consumable hilarity.

I share with you the introduction of Knows No Strangers©

Stories. My husband has them.  A lot of them. He’s like the old grandpa that repeats them over and over. Except you don’t notice because there are so many of them.  In the 90’s the show Seinfeldhad a character (Kramer) who “sold” his stories to someone with a boring life.  Then there was the movie, Forrest Gump, with a character who always found himself in the right place at the right time.  Robert Haddon Terry and his stories embody these characters. And while it’s great to hear them in person, the next best thing is having them collected in this book.

·     He grew up on a block in Brooklyn, NY that had 360 families. (where he once thought the city had made a mistake when they forgot to remove some dirt and grass he spotted in the cracks of the sidewalk) He was orphaned at 13 but his drive to survive led him to Huntington Beach CA with many stories along the way. He eventually returned east to Bridgeport, OH to raise a family.  Unemployment in the 80’s (due to Reagan’s railroad policies) brought another set of life experiences to what can only be called a charmed life.

·     Each new life change brings another collection of believable and unbelievable stories- all true- he has witnesses.  I will remind the reader that many of these events occurred at the height of the “turn on tune in drop out” era and drug use was the norm of the day.

·     It is common for wives of story-tellers like him to roll their eyes and groan each time they know one’s coming.  In his case I usually recognize which one to expect after the first sentence, laugh and wait for the uninitiated listener to wonder in disbelief.  And after 15 years he can still surprise me with one I haven’t heard yet. ©2019

When you’re a teacher...

Most people face desks with stacks of unfinished work on their desks when the return after an extended leave.  

Not me.

I went to my mailbox and found this from my Office-loving counselor friend.

                             

I got to my door and saw this- a decorated door full of love.

And as I opened the door I saw this- welcome back cards lining the entrance-

I walked a little further and saw this-

And when I got to my desk, I saw this from the sub-

I thought I was done and then the secretary asked me if I saw the cards lining the hall. I thought she meant the ones that I saw coming in.  She said no, come out here.  Where I saw this-

The one on the right is longer than the blue one and wraps around the wall.

I thought I couldn’t feel better and then the buses unloaded and those little kindergartener’s faces lit up and they came running full speed for giant hugs.

Again-I assumed that was the last of it but as the high school kids were leaving the resident artist and his friend stopped to give me this-

             

It is a caricature of one of the more annoying students who regularly whines the statement on the front of the card with that exact gesture.  The inside shows his lunch box filled with snacks he’s taken from my room. To the left it reads “I had nothing to do with this,” just in case I didn’t laugh.

Here’s what it looked like from the window of my car leaving today-

But it was all sunshine in my heart.