Not in the mood.

To Blog.

I just haven't been in the mood to write. It might be that I mostly write my posts at work and it has been one BUSY week.

Or maybe I'm just not in the mood to write.

I just don't feel like detailing all the mundane details of my life.

However, I will do a little complaining. (I always have room for that!)

Last Sunday we took the kids to Chuckie Cheese's (I had a coupon-it's such cheap entertainment!). And watching the people that go there is entertaining too. There was the mom that let her small children run up the skeeball ramp to put the balls in the holes. Really?

And then there was the mom that let her son put at least 25 tokens in a row in the game he was playing. So he could play it non-stop even though there was a long line of kids waiting for the game.

Am I the only one who thinks that is WRONG? I was trying to think of a way to tell her this but I thought I would lose my temper, so I didn't. ( I really, really need to learn how to be more assertive!) Those kinds of things bother me so much because of the lessons that it (doesn't) teach children. What about respect for others? What about taking turns? ARRRGH-it makes me angry just to think about it. At least my daughter waited nicely, and it was a teachable moment for us-why we don't do stuff like that.

In other areas, I finished in a perfect world and DID NOT like it. Sure, the writing was great, but I hated the topic. I don't like books that have "alternate realities"-things that could/might happen in the (near) future. I just get so disturbed, unhinged really. It screws with my perspective of the world and that is NOT a good thing. And it didn't really give a hint to it on the back of it. (Another book like this is The Road by Cormac McCarthy-which I read, and I heard they are making into a movie, which I WILL NOT be watching). Anyway, the Borders cashier recommended it, I will not be listening to her again. Although in her defense, she hadn't read it- she just said her friends liked it. LIAR!! Ok, I'm being a little (a lot) harsh, but that's the mood I'm in.

I am finishing another book called In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde. It's fiction, about a whitewater rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. The topic is a little light, but well-written and I certainly needed that after the aforementioned book. I'm almost done, and then it will be on to the next one I got out of the library. I am in a reading mood I guess (more than normal).

I would like to get my act together and start/finish a knitting project. Maybe thanksgiving will be a good time-the baby blanket I was making for my nephew is now a toddler blanket.

This morning I made zucchini bread and brownies, washed dishes, cleaned out the fridge, showered (baby also), took care of some other odds and ends for Shabbos-so I do feel like I accomplished something. (I guess I did throw in some mundane details after all).

Now I have to go accomplish something at work-time to go write an IEP.

Veteran's Day

I know I wrote about my dad on Memorial Day but I didn't want to let this day go by without mentioning him again.



But instead of my words, read his.



I read this article to all the middle school classes yesterday and it was a little surreal. So many of these kids haven't been out of this city and don't have a lot of knowledge about history or the rest of the world. So I felt it was important to show/remind them that there many unselfish, brave people that sacrifice their lives and their safety just so we can have ours.



I used to think "Yay, a day off of school." I still think that (I am a teacher after all, and everyone likes a day off!) but now I am conscious of the reason.



So, thank you to all those soldiers and sailors who have fought for us. And thank you to those who are fighting now. You are appreciated!

Finished and Starting

Ok, here's the books I just finished reading and the one I am starting.

Finished:

Farm City by Novella Carpenter

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Both of these were great and I highly recommend them.

Farm City is about a woman who lives in Oakland in the middle of the ghetto, in spite of this, she starts a farm. She uses the abandoned lot next door and plants a huge garden, raises chickens and bees. She also raises other animals for food, but I will leave that as a surprise for those people that want to read the book. I found this book really inspiring and hope to do some research to turn my backyard into a vegetable producing garden next summer (I always grow something but usually not very well). I also found it fascinating because she is combating the processed food that most people in the inner city eat because it's cheap and easy to get. I teach kids that eat only that kind of food and it is a travesty. Their favorite foods are soda and hot chips. And I am not kidding. Some of them eat only one fruit or vegetable in a week. We have "universal breakfast" at our school-where ALL the students get breakfast no matter their income. You would not believe how much fruit is leftover from breakfast everyday!! But here I go again getting off topic. This was well-written and really kept my attention even when she got slightly technical. If you like reading non-fiction I would suggest this book.

Switching topics, Sarah's Key is a fictional account of a little known event that occurred during WWII. The deportation of thousands of French Jews to Auschwitz carried out by the French police. I had no ideas this happened and was shocked and dismayed. I don't often read Holocaust books anymore, but my curiosity was piqued by this book (probably also because my 7th and 8th graders are reading Maus). This was emotional, gut-wrenching, and thought-provoking. It was also an easy read-I read it in a day and a half. If you like to read serious topics, I would definitely suggest checking this out.

I am starting in a perfect world by laura kasischke simply because I heard such wonderful things about it. I hope it lives up to the expectations. If you want to read it along with me, feel free.

Hard Work

Blogging is hard work when you're busy.

And I've been busy, but have that feeling that I have nothing to show for it. It's just the business (busyness) of life.

We had a birthday party for M on Sunday- it was a great party but it ate up the whole day which is significant when you work full time. That is my day for errands, catching up on stuff, etc. So I feel like I have been playing catch up all week.

And not just at home. The same thing is going on at work. The quarter ends this Friday so every teacher is giving tests and I just feel so overwhelmed. I HATE GRADES!! I know I am not supposed to say that, being a teacher and all, but I do. I REALLY DO. But that's a soapbox for another time.

I spoke to a friend last night who literally lives about 10 houses away and we could not figure out any time to talk/get together. Doesn't that mean we are too busy?

Plus, the husband is SICK. And you know what that means. I feel like I've been a single parent for the last 2 and 1/2 days. Except he DID make dinner last night so I'm not completely alone. But I have been running around exhausted taking the kids places (swimming, gymnastics) that by 7 o'clock I am seriously worn out.

I'm just whining. But I need to. I am tired of rushing everywhere. I am not naturally a fast moving person (think: turtle) but I have learned how to move fast and use my time effectively since I have had kids. But it really wears me down. I don't like to rush or squeeze things in, just so I can get everything done. I get stressed-I don't know how people do it and NOT get stressed. If there is a secret I'd like to know it.

Anybody know any?