PK''s meme

Everyone is doing this and I wanted to too. Blogger seemed to not want me to but with thanks to PK I think is going to work.

1. What is your occupation?

I don’t have an occupation. I am trying to teach/tutor.

2. What color are your socks right now?

I am not wearing socks I have on my rose colored, quilted bedroom slippers.

3. What are you listening to right now?

I have my ipod on the Boise player .

4. Last thing you ate?

A dish of ice cream

5. Can you drive a stick shift?

Yes! In fact I once stole a straight drive car!

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Pink or rose.

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?

A lady from the church called to talk to Tom, but we visited a while.

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?

Oh yes, I think she is delightful!

9. How old are you?

Physically I feel about 90 these days, mentally and emotional somewhere around 30, technically 67.

10. Favorite drink?

Many things but ice tea is always good.

11. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Why would I want to watch a sport?

12. Have you ever dyed your hair?

Yes but not now.

13. Pets?

Three lovely cats.

14. Favorite food?

I like comfort food.

15. What was the last movie you watched?

The Queen

16. What was the last book you read?

Put Me in the Zoo ( I have to talk to adults more)

17. What do you do to vent anger?

I don’t understand. Ladies do not get angry and I am always a prefect lady.

18. What was your favorite toy as a child?

A stuffed animal given to me by my Grandmother

19. What is your favorite season?

I love them all!!

20. Hugs or kisses?

I have to have both and lots of them!

21. Cherries, Blueberries or Strawberries?

Now I want all of these too!


Most folks have been tagged but any time Paul wants to do a meme I will be most happy to post it!

I am still here and still teaching and still exhausted! It is getting easier but it’s not easy yet! Tom is doing all he can to help. This past weekend he picked me up at school and we went to the river for two days. It was heaven! He gave me 90 minutes after we got there to work on school work and then he told me no more for the weekend.

He treated me like a queen all weekend. After a very quiet dinner Friday evening he gave me a bath and that was the most wonderful feeling of luxury you could ever imagine. Everything in my life seems overshadowed by tiredness and that bath was so relaxing. Tom also let sleep very late the next morning and went out to get us breakfast when I woke.

He even hooked up the laptop and told me I could go play with my friends for a while. I spent some time Saturday visiting with our delightful neighbors. I took a short bike ride but Tom mostly wanted me to rest and I didn’t feel like arguing. We came home after church and settled in for another nap. But I could sleep again and got up to work on some school work.

When Tom woke and I wasn’t there he was not happy with me. “Cassie I told you no school work this weekend.” I thought he just meant at the River. He led me back to the bedroom and directly over his lap. I asked him if that was the only way he knew how to talk and he told me he felt the position was the only one that got my attention.

He pretty much laid down the law about my working. He doesn’t like it at all. To his credit he is not asking me to quit. He understands about finishing what you start but he says I can not work on school work all night. And I have going to have to simple cut back on bringing home work. Sigh… it’s hard I so want to do well but he is right. And although he only used his hand he left me with the strong impression he was very serious. I’m trying. I’m trying. But next year I will volunteer and not take a paying job.

My best news is that we are traveling over the Easter break with Sue and Steve and Annie and Andy. In fact we are getting an early start as we will be leaving the Wed. before Easter (I will have to take off) and we will probably be gone 10 day. And after he had thoroughly spanked me for overworking (some reason!) he kept going to tell me Sue and I were to behave on the trip. How is it fair to be spanked for something I haven’t even thought about doing yet?? Tom just said to think of it as a warning. So I went to school Monday morning with a sore bottom but with great love for my husband who take such good care of me. But really since I have already been spanked Sue and I will have to think of something to make it worthwhile!

My heart

One of my chicks needs some help. MTHC and David are very special to me. They have made me feel special and cared for in many ways but Mthc had not been feeling well in a quite a while now. And David is not feeling 100 % either. After making Mthc run from doctor to doctor they just may have found the source of the problem, better than that, they are pretty sure that they can correct it with a surgical procedure.

She is having this done Monday morning and I want everyone to hold her close in your thoughts. Not only do they have this surgery on their minds but an ice storm may hit their area which will make getting to the doctor and the hospital an ordeal in itself. If you pray please pray for safe travel, skilled doctors, fast healing and full recovery (for both Mthc and David). Mthc sons will be keeping her business going as she recovers so the whole family could benefit from prayer, positive energy and good thoughts too. We a wonderful family out here I love to see us gather around our own.

Cassie Mom

This is what I'm doing

Now you know I haven’t been on here as much as I would like to be lately and I have to tell you that it is mostly PK’s fault and I thank her. She gave me some wonderful teaching hints that seem to be working but they are time consuming on my part.

Here is what I have found out about my third graders so far. They cannot read the books their teachers send that are on the third grade level. They do NOT want to try to read them aloud and when they try they seem to not hear or understand what they have read and they do NOT want to read ‘baby books’. So this is mostly how my ‘lessons’ go. I read the 3rd grade books to them and we discuss them, what happened, what we think is going to happen and sometimes how we would have changed the ending to make it better!

I went to the kindergarten teacher and ask if my children could read to theirs once a week, one on one. There are several programs similar to this in the school but my little ones (the fairly poor readers) were not participating. Now in order to get ready to read to these younger children, my little ones must pick out a ‘baby book’ that they think some one in kindergarten would like. Then we ‘practice’ reading them aloud to each other to make sure we are reading with feeling for our ‘audience’ they are growling and making faces and really getting into these little easy books. But they are reading – and liking it!

The second idea PK sent me was to let the children tell me a story. I pick a topic each week and while others are getting a library book each one tells me a short story, about their pet this week. I type the story and then when I get the chance (and why I have no time to blog!) I type up the story that they have told me in their own words. I get pictures off the internet to illustrate what they have told me and make a title sheet with the name of the title and, most importantly, the BY: _____________ they seem to love seeing their names in print. They love to read these stories to each other and seem amazed at some of the big words they really know and since they are reading their own story the can get many of the harder words in context. Now that they see what they are doing they seem to try to talk in ‘bigger’ words so it is helping their vocabulary too!! I am so excited to see their excitement. But you can imagine no faster than I type it is all I can do to keep up with them and find pictures – well now you know where my time is going!

Tom seems really proud of me. I love that! I have never for a minute doubted his love for me but to sit with him and explain what I am doing and see his interest and respect, well that makes me feel so very special.

There you have it. I am working harder that I ever have before, I love it, but I am tired. Tom does not fuss about me getting off the computer when he thinks I am working on school work so I can stay up later and he really doesn’t know when I have switched from working to emailing and blogging LOL, so some of you may be hearing from me late at night. The only problem is that I have to get up way earlier that a person should have to to begin the next day! This is fun but I will not be sorry to see summer come! See I sound like a teacher already!

I miss everyone!

I am overwhelmed at school. When I figure out what is going on I well let you know but I wanted to post something because I miss you all.

Sunday was a wonderful day. We played hooky from church which is really unusual for us. Tom almost let me sleep late. Sleeping past 8 o’clock is something Tom just can’t seem to understand. It is one of his few shortcomings.

But he made me a delicious breakfast and then we headed to the river. I could feel the peacefulness stealing over me as we got closer. I really feel like that is my home. Of course a kitchen would be nice. Chalk that up to Tom wanting everything to be perfect!! I think it was PK who once said that the only reason she had a kitchen was that it came with the house! I feel the same way. But I just want everything done. But at the same time I am not pushing it because moving seem so daunting and the idea of selling the house we are in now makes me sad too. And of course if I try to drive an hour one way to school Tom would have a hissy!

But the house still welcomed us. I love sitting on the deck and it was warm enough this weekend. Tom and I walked all around the neighborhood and we found a nice little diner and had lunch. Shortly after when we got back to the house our neighbor’s got home. It really tickled us to hear Drew jump out of the car yelling “They’re here, they’re here!” talking about us! What a welcome!!

We had a wonderful visit. All and all the day was very relaxing and just what the doctor ordered! I wish I was there now!