November is here..and I blogged so little in October! I have just been busy with work and life..my son is just now getting over the flu..so far I have managed to escape it. (knock on wood). November brings Thanksgiving and Christmas preparation..which i love..but I dislike the bare black trees and grey skies. Not much I can do about that. It has been that way here in November, for as long as I can remember..Kind of like “Goodbye colorful leaves and green grass” and “Hello darkness”..sigh.

So I have not blogged in awhile. I had planned to do better at blogging while working and apparently I have not been good at that. I mean well. I want to, but there are so many other things to do that it sometimes escapes me.  There’s work, and then there’s family, friends and life. There is facebook (which I do keep up with because that’s where I can keep up with many of my friends.) There is DVR’ing of Grey’s Anatomy and Glee..I started watching the new season of Dexter. There is frisbee throwing for the dogs, picking apples and going to get pumpkins. So much to do and so little time. I also had a momentary computer issue. I had a virus on my desktop that was so bad the only thing they could do was just take everything off it, and reload it. Which also means I lost a lot of my favorite blog links. I have many on this blog, listed to the right. But some I just don’t have anymore. I get irritated when some of my favorite places are gone and I can’t figure out how to find them. I am still liking my new school, and all is well at work. I am still raising a teenager. (One who is lucky he made it to school on time this morning, and one who will need to rethink WHEN or how long he showers, so that he’s ready ON TIME or earlier next week.) I had a really good time with an old friend recently. Someone I hadn’t seen in a long time. (I do recommend seeing old friends, when you can.. So life is good.

Maybe a list of small snippets of my random brain activity to end this post:

• Kate and Jon Gosselin: Find a new planet.
• Glee: I love this show. How this group of high school kids and teachers can sing and make me smile every week, is amazing..but it happens. I would marry it if i could.
• Rain: Go away..we’ve had enough.
• Longer school years or days: Ok. Maybe. Maybe after i retire though???
• Mackenzie Phillips: sometimes too much information is just too much for public consumption
• Cocoa covered almonds in 100 calorie packs. LOVE THESE.

that is all for now..

So I’m still happy..though some things are worth taking a deep breath about. My new school is wonderful-my coworkers are great–the atmosphere is really welcoming.. I’m happy there..much more than I imagined.

I’m a little tired, from the back to work schedule of waking up early..but that will be more normal soon. Raising a teen..even a good one..is not a load of fun. I noticed as school started..even though he’s doing well there–his irritability factor has kicked in. Hormones, his age..etc. the stress of having to be at school all day, being responsible for classwork..etc. has probably worn on him a bit too this past week. I just don’t like being the parent side of this teenage thing. Sheesh. Now I know what my mother must have felt like. My parents drove me crazy. Most teens feel like that. I know this, but I don’t have to like it. And I don’t. I miss the days of that smile that I could see at any moment, and the days of being the “all knowing mom” are over. In fact, what do I know? I’m JUST the mom and living on this planet for many more years than he has, makes no difference. Not when you’re 15. It’s against the rules or something.

I’m learning..that this kind of stress..means I need to keep doing things for me..that make me happy..because its one way to let go of some of this normal/but not fun stuff. So I’m trying to do that.  And I think, I’m succeeding for the most part..because I’m not stewing all night about these “normal” but not fun times.

Now the other issue is that my son has never had trouble with anyone at school/any authority figure for his entire school career. But suddenly he has a new bus driver who is not a rocket scientist when it comes to interacting with kids.  First day of school on the bus ride home, she yells at him “TAKE THOSE HEADPHONES OFF YOUR HEAD OR I’M TAKING THEM”..he who has been listening to his ipod on the school bus ride home, for the last three years..had no idea what was going on. Apparently this particular driver has this rule. My son is quiet, cooperative, etc. and she is making a huge deal out of this ipod thing. I spoke to the supervisor to ask what the rules were, since he’d been allowed to do this on all the buses previous to this one. I did get the idea that this driver is known for being strict/problematic…and complaints about her have been many. The next day she tells him he can listen as long as one ear is free..so he agrees. (Meanwhile, keep in mind there are many others on the bus with their ipods..as well as the fact that she is blaring music on the bus speakers.) Then..one day he is exiting the bus and she stops him to tell him his music is too loud on his ipod..and wouldn’t open the bus doors to let him off, until he turned his ipod down. I have no idea what her problem is..but now the supervisor wants us to meet with her (Just my husband and i) to tell her our concerns..apparently she’s on an improvement plan, due to her attitude..and he thinks hearing our concerns in front of him, is worthwhile. So lovely..I get to attend this meeting later on today and try to show her how teachers (and most people working with kids) speak respectfully..and explain my concern that other kids on the bus are listening to ipods, and she seemed to be targeting my quiet, cooperative kid. I’m sure not much will come of it..but she will know from me, that she is to make sure that all the kids are following the ipod rules then, and to not just yell things at only– my kid. I’m going in with the angle that, ok if those are your rules a) why aren’t they in the handbook (they aren’t) and b) if you have those rules you can enforce them without acting like you’re working with truck drivers.

Probably way too much to ask. But who knows.

I will try to blog more soon.. but all is going well. I’m very happy..at my  new school..etc. and just feeling really happy..

life is good.. more soon.

I think when we get older, if we can’t buy fun stuff..then why shop? Sometimes it’s fun to buy something targeted at a younger age group.. I saw these cute Betsey Johnson knee socks at TJ Maxx yesterday–passed them by twice..and finally just bought them. Hot pink with skull and cross bones..and when it’s cold outside, if i have to wear cozy socks, then I might as well wear some that are fun. (7.99 for the pair of them)

I needed a new lunch box for work. TJ Maxx had several that looked like purses, but aren’t.  I bought this one. It’s insulated inside, has lots of room..looks cute.. AND yes the male members of my family kept saying “Is that  NEW purse?” because they thought it was a purse. (Actually that is because I walked into the store saying “I have to stay away from the purses”..because..well, I really should take a (short)  break from my love affair with purses.  So this..while it *looks* like a purse..it’s actually something I can use all year long at work..and it was only $12.99.

Hello September! I enjoy you..but I don’t always embrace you. Summer vacation is done..and as a lover of summer vacation, I am heartbroken over losing summer’s lazy, sunshine filled days and stay-up-late-nights. Summer is that bad boy that has no structure. September is that reliable, dependable, good- time -wrecker. Sigh.

I will get over the heartbreak. I always do. In a week or two I will be less angry about my early morning wake up call. (However, I will never be friends with my alarm clock or that early morning wake up .) I will embrace the leaves changing color.. I will remember how much I love teaching. I will enjoy the return of my paycheck whole heartedly.

Other things to embrace about September:

Stupid Summer Big Brother tv will be winding down and over. (i watch but its stupid

Grey’s Anatomy will return, and that means McDreamy and McSteamy too.

Apple picking and apple crisp making..

Frisbee throwing after work for my doggies who will miss us all day.

Walks where you might need a jacket or long sleeved shirt..

Friday nights and Saturday nights, which become even more valuable now that the work week is back..

Did I mention apple crisp?

(…off to enjoy my very last 7 days of vacation…)

My post title is purely to see how the stat counter is affected. But, really-it will fit into my post, just wait and see. We were at a concert the other night, and people watching is definitely as interesting as the actual  performance. Especially because you spend awhile waiting for the concert to start, and there are so many people coming in, that its hard not to people- watch. Two rows in front of us sat a really affectionate lesbian couple. I mostly enjoyed watching as the hetero couple who sat in front of them, wiped the rain off their seats and tried to appear unfazed by the cute but boyish looking girls, who were stroking each other’s hair and necks. The hetero couple kind of pretended to look quickly and away but then back again, it was just obvious that they were a bit surprised. But maybe it was less about the two girls and more about the public affection. Either way, I found myself wanting to throw them some confetti and balloons. I wanted to say “Yay for you!” ..because really, those girls have every right to sit and hold one another close..and I was glad that they could and were.   I also thought that I wished they were allowed to get married in any state they wanted, because how do you ever devalue love between two people?? How is that ever bad?  Anyway, I was glad that they were confident enough to not worry what others thought. My son and his friend had a momentary glance, but that was quickly replaced by some large chested girl coming through the aisle. Seriously. Teenage boys eyes are SO telling.

The only part of the crowd that annoyed me was the row of friends who stood for the concert and took 888 pictures on their cellphones. It was like they weren’t even there for the concert. It was just one big photo shoot. Each of them had cell phones. Each needed photos of him with her and her with him,and those two friends and oh don’t forget me in there too with my cell camera..and this literally continued for the entire concert. Once in a great while they’d stop to sing loudly along with the music, but for the most part they were taking pictures and video, to send to their friends on myspace or facebook.

Back in the old days we had to watch the concert and maybe go home and draw pictures of what we looked like for our friends.

Summer is nearly over but I am still smiling. (Check back in two weeks when I start waking up early every day again..however!)

I started moving my things into my new classroom this week. I had been pretty unhappy about having to change schools, but am seeing the bright side of things. For one thing, my new room is HUGE compared to what I used to have. It’s like moving from a tiny apartment (closet really) to a mansion. In fact its almost a *little* overwhelming to walk in there and think “WHAT do I do with all this space?”…but I am enjoying making my room comfy, with places for kids to sit and read etc. I like the room itself..and that makes me happy. I’m looking forward to a new  year with new faces (and even some old faces due to them moving to my building!). I LOVE teaching reading..and while I love summer..I like the start of a fresh new school year.
Now if I can just get past the fact that my son is starting high school..I might feel that all is right with the world . I have no control over the passage of time. Sigh.

One other plus about my new school is that a student from my old school is starting there too this fall. This student I’ve known since kindergarten. She was a selective mute but would talk to me if no one else was in the room. I ended up taking her for reading help one-on-one then. When she went to first grade, although her talking got a bit better, she wasn’t talking in the reading group she was in. So I offered to take her a few times a week during my planning period-to work with her. She lit up when I would go and get her!  She would chatter away with me and by the end of the year she was talking more AND reading more. But now her family is living closer to the building I am moving to. This little girl doesn’t know I’m moving there..so I am going to find her on the first day and let her know I’m a familiar face in her new school. I also think they will let me be her reading teacher, since I have such a good rapport with her. I can’t wait to see her smile.

So my vacation had a little less relaxation than I had hoped for. We had 3 or 4 days of relaxation anyway. Boating, kayaking, hiking, reading in the sunshine, grilling steaks and having dinners with family..swimming because it was actually quite warm! Then one night I awoke at 1am to some noise. My first thought was that someone was awake, and had gone downstairs to the kitchen. My mind kept wondering why my son was up..and or if that’s who it was..and then the noises got more strange. Some pounding sounds and I then completely lost track of  normal ideas for what could be causing the noise. I sat up in bed, whispered to my husband “What is THAT?”..and held my breath as I listened for more.  The noise got louder and faster, and my husband muttered “Its a bear” and I said “HOW DO YOU KNOW?” because in my  mind, a human could be breaking into the house–and how in the world could he know–that it was a bear? He said, he heard it breathing. Our window was open and we were on the second floor. The noise which I thought was inside the house-was outside, but he heard those noises AND the heavy breathing. My brain did not equate the noise that was heavy breathing WITH “heavy breathing” it was just unidentified noise..So my husband opened the door to our room and we noticed my sister had her door open at that point too. Her face was worried, and she said “Is someone in the house??” as she thought we had a break-in going on as well. Somewhere in that moment my mom instinct kicked in and I rushed down the hall to get my son out of his room and brought him into our room. I only knew, that something was breaking in and I wanted him with me.  Within seconds of getting him to my room, we then heard glass breaking. That caused panic in all of us..my mom and stepfather finally cracked their door open which was on the first floor and we yelled for them to stay in their room. My husband was afraid that a bear had crashed through a glass door on the first floor. He slid a big chair at the top of the stairs, just in case -and at that moment I was on my cell phone dialing 911! We think, that my stepfather’s deep voice is what finally scared the bear off.  It was an actual bear, but until I saw the paw prints on the side of the house, I didn’t believe it. So the bear, might have come into the kitchen through a window above the sink had my stepfather not yelled “What’s going on out there” in his deep voice. The glass breaking didn’t scare the bear, but my stepfather’s voice did. The window above the sink, was the kind that opened out-and the bear tore that off so that it was hanging by a thread and the glass was shattered everywhere outside the house. When all was quiet we went downstairs and waited for the police to show up. The police came and with his flashlight, we could see the bear’s paw prints on the side of the house. He helped put the window frame back up with duct tape till morning. There was very little sleep to be had the rest of the night. I believe I fell asleep again around 6am and my son slept in our room with us. He was worried and thought the bear was back at one point. I don’t think it was, but we were so spooked that every noise was “the bear” and it was quite windy as the night went on. (which made more noise!) Apparently it’s rare for the black bear to try to enter houses in that area..more normal for them to raid garbage or camps. There was no garbage outside the house. But he might have smelled the kitchen garbage (even though it was in a normal garbage can) through the window. Their sense of smell is quite heightened.  We also were told that bear activity for the area had been abnormally high in the last week or two. If the bear had reached food, they’d have set a trap for him the next night. This is because-if they get food, they definitely return for more. We put ammonia on a rag and hung it on the window for the night afterwards. That was supposedly a deterrant.
Needless to say, I’m sleeping much better back at home..and next year we will never leave first floor windows open again. It had never been a problem in the past, but that experience will forever change the way we view open windows at that lake house!