Mixed Emotions

I am getting ready to wrap up the school year. We have three weeks left and I have started counting down the days because I am just so exhausted and ready for a break. Although I am ready for vacation, a part of me is a little sad to see this year end.

One of the reasons that I am sad to see the year end is because I have the world's most fantastic student teacher. She is just amazing. She is a natural at teaching and was such a quick study. I so honored to have had the opportunity to have worked with her. I am also extremely proud of her accomplishments. Not only did she successfully complete the year long student teaching program but she also went above and beyond the credential requirements and challenged herself by working towards and receiving special certification in direct instruction. The job market in our part of California is quite slim right now. Despite this fact, my student teacher went to several teaching fairs. Why they had them, I don't know because no one was hiring. She did however talk to one representative from a small, newer school district close by. This conversation was followed up by a call for an interview and then a job offer for fourth grade for the coming year. She got a job when no one else has! Yay! I am so sad to see her go but so happy for her.

The other reason that I am sad to see this year end is because I have one of, if not the best group of students that I have ever had. Academically, they are not necessarily the cream of the crop but in the areas of respectfulness, kindness, good naturedness, risk taking, hard working and just plain good heartedness, they are the best ever. They started out great and got even better. My student teacher and I were commenting on Friday at how well they behave and how independent they have become. In fact, on Friday, I marveled at their working habits. I had some group work planned for them and was ready to pop around to all of the groups and help out but they had it all under control without me. In fact, they handled the entire day that way. It was amazing. If one student didn't know how to spell a word, another one sitting close by helped him out. When another student needed help with a math problem, a peer would offer to help that student out in solving the problem. The most incredible thing about this though was in the way they helped each other. They were so kind, positive and approached it in an educational manner by helping their friends learn how to solve the problem by themselves. I heard a lot of "mini-me's" on Friday. "What part of the word so you know?" "Did you check to see what the operation is? Do you need to add or subtract?" "What do you always need at the beginning of a sentence" "Remember, synonyms are the same or almost the same thing." etc.

I was so floored and proud of their behavior. It was just the greatest gift a teacher can receive to see their students using what they know effectively and independently. At one point during the day on Friday I just sat back and watched my busy little bees and started feeling sad because I am going to miss all of those great little personalities next year. I stopped the class for a few minutes in the afternoon to tell them just how proud of them I was and one little boy sweetly said "Well, thank you!" Then they all got back to work. Wow!

I guess that my babies are ready to go on and fly. I know that they will just soar.

Another side of Hillary (for me, at least)

I have never really been a Hillary Clinton fan. I just watched her today endorsing Obama and I have to say, she gave quite an outstanding speech. Within the first few minutes I had goosebumps and was brought to a tear or two listening to her stories of supporters. I still don't know how I feel about an Obama/Hillary ticket but I do have a new view of Hillary.
*****
On a side note, I made Sabina watch the speech today with my mom. She was not happy at first because the cartoon channel sounded more interesting than a speech. She did listen to the speech and make comments along the way such as running for president is like playing chess. (someone loses, someone wins, you have to think about your moves and you could get knocked down along the way!) It was cool to have our three generations of women watching this historic moment inhistory.

The Best Award of All

Sabi's 4th grad year is coming to an end. Tomorrow at 1:00 she will have officially ended 4th grade. She will be a 5th grader! Where did the time go?

These past few weeks have been full of much excitement for us. Sabina placed in the science fair and has earned some scholastic honors as well. The awards have been coming in for Ms. Sabi. She in turn has been bitten by the award bug and has made awards for her teacher and librarian to honor their work with her and her classmates.

Today though she made the best award of them all. She noticed that in this big flurry of awards being handed out to her and her friends, one of her friends at school, her best friend at school, has received nothing. She said that she was going to make him an award to let him know how special he is. This morning we had to leave a bit later so that she could finish and print his award. It said "This award is presented to Alexis for being the very best friend a person could have." It was such a great award complete with a fancy font a seal, watermark and a place for her to sign her name and date it.

I have been proud of her accomplishments this year but this award that she made for her friend made me the proudest. She is a bright girl but I am so, so happy that she also has a heart of gold.

Craziness

In the past few months, my school's neighborhood has experienced a rise in gang activity. There have been several shootings. On Sunday, there was another shooting. This one resulted in the death of a 25 year old man.
*****
Today, one of my students was very upset and was crying. When I questioned her she told me that she saw some men with guns shooting each other. Her details were foggy and she was very distraught. I had the office call her home for info and looked into getting some emergency counseling. When her mom was contacted, we found out that the incident that the girl was talking about was the same shooting incident from Sunday. The mom reported that the girl didn't actually see it happen but was down the street at a grocery store. They heard the gunfire and ran into the store. The girl heard the info regarding the shooting and it was heavy on her mind.

I have been sad today thinking about this little girl as well as all of the other kids who live in the school's neighborhood and other similar neighborhoods. From what I see at my school, kids are either living in fear of the gang members or idolizing them. This is a regular, everyday life happening for them. It is terrible.

FYI - my student is going to be ok. Her parents are great and very loving. As it turns out, talking to me and my student teacher was a good outlet for her. She also asked if she could write about it in her journal. After our talk, she forgot about it for the rest of the day.

*****
When I got home, I checked my blogroll and read all of the new posts. Two of today's blogs discussed senseless violence like this post I am typing up right now.

What is the world coming to?

T.M.I.

I have been spending the afternoon and evening watching the Law and Order SVU marathon. I LOVE that show. In addition to watching the show, I have been watching (more like hearing) a lot of commercials. I am just amazed and appalled at the content of some of the commercials. I don't want to sound like a prude but companies are just giving too much information over the tv.

I don't like to watch SVU with Sabi in the same room because I don't think the content is appropriate for her. She came in during commercials twice. Hear are some of things she had the privilege of hearing:

From Viagra:
- Ask your Dr. if your heart s healthy enough for sex
- If you have an erection for more than for hours....
- "Viva Viagra" - sung by the Viagra guitar/banjo players

From K-Y :
- One's for me and one's for him. When they mix together...


YIKES! I was just hoping that she wouldn't ask me what any of those things meant. What is the answer? I don't know. I don't believe in banning the ads. Maybe they could come on after 9 pm?

Yes, I am getting old!

Next Year's Group

I am a member of a second grade teacher message board. Most of the time, the messages end up being deleted but every now and then I get some really good stuff so I stay on the message board.

Friday, a post was written that has had sparked a lot of responses. The question was something to the effect of "Are you hearing horror stories about next year's kids?" Every single response to the post stated that they heard that they were in for it this coming year.

Generally speaking, I hate to even discuss this information with the first grade teachers. I don't want to bias myself against the kids. The way I see it, we all deserve a fresh start, right?

This coming year may be a bad one though. Ever since the beginning of this year, the first grade teachers have been talking about how low and poorly behaved this current group is. From what I see on the playground, I have been hoping (praying) that I don't get some of these little out of control kids.

In the end though, I will get the group I get and have to work through it. It will work out. The worse that can happen is that it might get rough but it will be over in nine months.

*****
Back to the message boards...
One of the teachers responding to this question on the message board said that a teacher at her school said that the reason this group is challenging is because they are the 9/11 babies. What is that about? What will they think of next???

A Blog I Enjoy

Julius Lester's Blog

Check it out.

3 Day Weekend

I LOVE it! 3 days! YAY! I will most likely go to the Farmer's Market, the library and possibly BBQ for the family on Monday. Whatever I do end up doing though will not be on a schedule. I just want to take it easy and relax.

What are your plans?

Bad Wind, Bad Fire

Bad Fire
Originally uploaded by msabcmom

Today I drove to Sabi's Field trip to Columbia State Historic Park. The winds have been high these past few days. (up to 45 mph) Fires have been popping up around the state but today, we had two in our area. One occurred on our way home from Columbia on highway 108 near Knights Ferry. We were so close to the fire but still far enough away to be safe. We were re-routed through Knights Ferry to find our way home.

Had we been at school today, we would have encountered the other big fire in our area. Our schools were on red air quality alert today. The kids had to stay inside all day with the exception of going to lunch and to the bathroom. My student teacher reported that the kids were horrible today due to being cooped up. Not surprising at all.

Dichos/Sayings

I am thinking about making mini posters with positive messages on them to post around my classroom next year. This will be one of them:

"No hay que llegar primero, pero hay que saber llegar." (You don't have to be first, but you have to know how to get there.) This comes from the song El Rey by José Alfredo Jiménez.

Do you have any great sayings, (short ones) for me to put up on my walls? If so, write it down for me in the comment section please. If you can, let me know where it came from too. (if you know...)

Going to the Fair

Remember little Raven Symoné from The Cosby Show? My daughter loves watching her in reruns of that show.

She also loves to watch her in her all grown up show That's so Raven.

We just found our that Raven will be coming to sing at the Stanislaus County Fair in July...FOR FREE!!! Guess we will be there!

:-)

A Record I Wish We Hadn't Broken

Today we hit 106 degrees. It was awful. I only let my students out to go to the bathroom and to go to lunch.

When I drove home, It took 10 minutes for the car to actually bring cool air in!

It is only May...we are in for a hot one.

More here.

Test Anxiety

We are on day 2 of state testing and so far have had three "throw up" incidents. The kids are so stressed out that they are responding physically.

Have you ever wondered about what happens to a test that has been vomited on? You can't throw it away! The test has to be bagged up and returned to the state! Before that though, our lucky test coordinator (vp) has to transfer the bubbled in items to a new test document. I am so glad that I do not have that job!

Crazy!

Relief!

I have been suffering from seasonal allergies since early March. Some days have been ok and some have been bad. This week has been just rotten. I have been dizzy, have had non stop headaches and pain behind my eyes. I take Singulair and Claritin but I haven't seen too much of a change. Yesterday when it felt as if my eyes might pop out of my head I called the Dr. for something new. I was told to try two over the counter meds. One was eye drops called Naphcon. The other was Mucinex. What a change! I can think, I have little head pain and I can sit around and enjoy my students at school and my daughter at home...imagine that! I went a little nuts when I saw the price on the Mucinex box but it is worth every single penny. I almost feel normal...wow!

Addicted to CNN Politics

Every caucus or primary vote day I am glued to CNN either online or on tv. I can't get enough of the coverage. Today is an especially exciting day of news coverage with the close race in Indiana.

Am I the only one who suffers from this addiction? Enquiring minds want to know...

Teacher Appreciation Day

Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day. I didn't get an official present or card but I did get lots of great effort from my students and lots of smiles, hugs and even a "Ms. V. you are beautiful!" That is enough for me!

I actually forgot that today was Teacher Appreciation Day. Sabina wanted to do something for her teacher and I told her it was tomorrow. She came home upset because we messed up on the day. I told her to go ahead and just give her present to her teacher tomorrow. What is the present? A cute little bag of teacher note cards from the $1 store and Sabina's favorite truffles from See's Candies. The best part, in my opinion, is the card that she wrote. Here is the message:

Happy Teacher's Day!!!
I am glad to have you as my teacher this year. I will miss you next year when I am in fifth grade.
I really think that you are the best teacher I've had in my entire life (and I don't say that about everybody!)
Thanks,
Sabina

Happy Teacher's Day to all of my fellow teachers!!!

Meme 2008

Tag!

Chuchería, posted this meme recently. Here is my installment.

The rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

Here we go...

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? I was pretty pregnant and hoping for an early delivery. I didn't get the early delivery date but I did get a beautiful baby out of it!

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order): I am posting tomorrow's list since it is already past nine...YIKES!

1. Finish Progress Reports.
2. Work on a materials order for next year.
3. Cut up fruit and veggies so they are easy to grab for snacks.
4. Praise all of my students for acing the multiplication test I gave today - over half scored 100%!
5. Play Howrse. (I will have to post about that addiction later...)

3) Snacks I enjoy: Dried cranberries from Trader Joe's, Quaker Rice cakes - cheddar cheese, jicama, Swedish Fish - I LOVE THOSE FISH!

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Hmm... pay everything off for everyone in the family, give lots to charity and buy homes in:

El Valle de Antón

and in Playa Blanca in Panama.

That way I would be able to enjoy my two favorite places in Panama. That would be the life!

I would like to say that I would keep my job and help others, blah, blah, blah....but that is not really the case. If I could I would love to have the time to spend with the ones I love the most and not have to sacrifice time with them for a job. I would of course, want to to good things for others but I would love not to be tied down to a schedule for a long period of time.

5) Three of my bad habits:

1. overeating
2. piling up clean clothing - I would much rather clean toilets than fold.
3. procrastinating on the gym workouts


6) 5 places I have lived:

1. Santiago, Chile
2. Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. Bakersfield, California
4. Pocrí de Aguadulce, Panamá
5. Turlock, California

7) 5 jobs I have had:

1. Vet lab assistant - I was 14 and helped the neighbors in their lab. It was cool. They paid me in cat food for my kitten!
2. Sales person and manager- Miller's Outpost
3. Gym Associate: Checked People in to the gym, sold memberships and from time to time would set them up on a weight training program...WHAT A JOKE that job was...HA!
4. Graveyard shift at a group home - group counselor when I was there in the day
5. S.E.D. Teacher (severely emotionally disturbed)

8) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

1) YOU
2) YOU
3) YOU
4) YOU
5) YOU
and...
6) YOU!!!!

The River Game

I found this game over at Latinopundit's blog. It has been driving me nuts!!!

If you try it...good luck! The rules are posted over on his blog.

It took me 3 days to figure it out!!!

Hooray For the Internet!

For the past 5 years or so I have been trying to find a long lost friend of mine that I met when I lived in Chile. We went to school together when I was in 6th and 7th grade. We stayed in contact for sometime after I left by writing to each other. I don't know when we stopped writing to each other and fell out of contact.

About 5 years ago I looked on our former school's website and found an update on her and an e-mail address. Sadly, the e-mail bounced back. A couple years later, I tried again but with the same luck. Yesterday, I went back to the site and found an updated e-mail address. Guess what? This time it worked! I got a response from her yesterday. How cool is that???

I am happy to be back in contact with my long lost friend!

Travel Booked

Tonight we booked our summer travel. Mom and dad are off to Spain. Later on, Sabi and Mom are off to Baltimore. After that, Sabi, Mom and I are off to Panama.
Fun!

El Potrillo Cumple 37

In honor of Alejandro Fernandez's birthday today I am posting two videos. The first one was filmed today,in Venezuela, at an A.F. concert. A.F. was surprised in the middle of the concert by being sung to by the audience as well as being sung to by his children on video. I was suprised to see him wearing pants that were so tight! :-)




The second video is one of my favorites that he sings with Gloria Estefan.

Please Parents...Talk With Your Kids!

Last week my aunt gave me a book on puberty in young girls to read with Sabi. I hadn't taken the time to sit down with her yet and read through it. This morning, Sabi discovered the book and asked me about it. I told her that she could go ahead and read it if she wanted to. She grabbed it up and was reading in intently on the way to school. We had a short discussion on what she read this morning. She was kind of embarrassed about the book was clearly happy to have the book to answer some questions. I think it made it easier to ask me questions too since she could use a quote from the book to talk about. We will continue to work through the book.

I am so happy to be able to comfortably discuss the topic of puberty with Sabi. I was worried that she would be to shy to talk about it but she is really quite comfortable with me. I hope that we can always be so open with this and other topics.

* * * * *

On my way to lunch today, I told my student teacher the above story and she too agreed with me about how nice it is to have open communication. She then went on to say that if parents don't have these conversations, there will be many confused kids not to mention the risks of teenage pregnancy etc.

Not less than 5 minutes later we ran into a former student of mine. She is now about 14 or 15 years old. I didn't have to ask her why she wasn't in school. It was painfully clear...6 and 1/2 months clear. She is pregnant and has dropped out of school and will most likely not return.

Crazy!

Reader Appreciation Day

Happy Reader Appreciation Day!

Dear Readers of MsAbcMom,

Thank you for the following:

* Making me smile

* Making me laugh

* Making me sigh

* Making me cry (sometimes)

* Including me in your lives (via blog posts)

* Uplifting my spirits

* Making me feel loved and important

* Providing me with new friends/acquaintances

* Inspiring me to write

Thank you for visiting...please come again! :-)

p.s. Thanks to The Other Mother for this cool idea!

Great Challah Recipe

I found a great recipe for challah online. I followed the recipe for the ingredients but changed a bit in the process. Check it out.

Here is how I made it:

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
6-7 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup oil
1 eggs (1 for the mixture and one to brush on at the end)

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in water. Temp should be between 75-120 degrees. Stir in sugar and salt. Add 3 cups flour and mix well in a mixer. Add remaining flour. Dough may be a little sticky. Mix until it forms a ball on the dough blade of the mixer. Move dough to a greased large bowl. Cover and place in a warm place. (I put mine on the dryer!) When dough rises long enough (twice the size) punch it down to let the air out. Knead for a few minutes and then cut in pieces, roll it out and then braid. Place on baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush a beaten egg over the top of the challah. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown. Enjoy!

Really?

None of these people look like me!

Learning While Listening

My daughter is in the Suzuki violin program. The program is very structured and somewhat rigid. There are a series of books in the program that are leveled to the ability of the student. All students start at the first book and then move up as they demonstrate mastery of all the songs in the book they are working on.

In addition to regular practice it is recommended that the students listen to the music from the books on a regular basis. This technique helps them to be familiar with the music, rhythms, etc. Sabi is currently finishing book 3 and moving into book 4.

Today, we are home sick. I am having Sabi work on test prep. I thought it would be good to play the CD for Book 4 while she was busy working away. It was a bit of a distraction to her at first. I didn't tell her that I was putting the CD on. She immediately recognized it and asked if it was the Book 4 CD. As the music continued, she reacted very interestingly. At first she was a bit worried because she said it sounded hard. I didn't say anything and just pretended to work away at my computer while I watched her. She then started tapping the music out and I could tell that she was trying to figure out the technique for the song that was playing. When the next track on the CD came on she was excited because it was a song that she really liked. We are on
the sixth track of the CD now. She has returned to her test prep but is much more focused on her work . Every now and then though she will conduct with her pencil in between solving another math problem. I love it!

Frustration

We have a handful of kids at my school that have been identified as GATE. (gifted and talented) Most of our GATE identified kids don't go to the GATE schools in our district though. Why? The parents don't send their kids to the program. The district I work in doesn't, in my opinion, do enough to promote the program to the Latino parents in Spanish. They also don't promote it at our site. Many of our parents don't speak English, or speak it well enough to understand it in an academic setting. They also are not very mobile so having something out of walking distance won't fly.

This year my daughter is in the GATE class at the school next to mine, the school where our GATE identified kids should go. There are at least 4 other kids at my school, in her grade, who should be there with her but they aren't. Two of them are former students of mine. I contacted these parents personally to ask them to send their children to the GATE program. I tried to explain the benefits of the program to them but they were worried that there would be no teachers at the other school who could speak to them, the parents, in Spanish and that it wouldn’t be in walking distance. (The kids would get bused but the parents, understandably, like to be in close proximity to their kids in case of emergency, etc.)

My concern here is that we have this handful of really bright kids who are mixed in with the rest and are not being pushed to the fullest extent of their capabilities. With our current test driven state in education, most teachers are trying their best to make sure that the kids are ready for the test. This means really focusing on the kids who are below grade level. We were in fact told by a workshop presenter, who was there to help us get our scores up, to “not worry about GATE kids. They already have what they need!”

Now I am not saying that classroom teachers don’t have a responsibility to their GATE students because we do. We need to work just as hard for them as we do for our lowest students. However, whatever we do for them in our regular classrooms, doesn’t even compare to what they can get from a class comprised of like minded individuals.

Every day that my daughter has been in her new GATE class this year has been just amazing. I just melt inside when I hear the things they are learning, the way they are learning or just the casual conversations that she is having with her friends. What a difference and change. What an opportunity!

When I walk around my school and see the GATE identified kids at my school, I feel so sad. I wish that they too could have the same opportunities that my daughter has.

Just a few questions...

Why did I let me sick daughter sleep with me a few nights ago?

Why are ALL of my students at school with drippy noses?

Why, despite the MILLIONS of boxes of Kleenex that I buy, and my students go through, did that not stop the germs?

Why did the constant use of Germ-X on both my students and myself not work?

Why did I not start using this a few days ago?

I hate being sick. Hate, hate, hate it.

It's Never Too Late To Learn

Did you catch the story in the news today about the 70 year old first grader. That story made my day. I am sharing this story and the video clip with my students tomorrow.

Here is the video and here is the story.

Paid in Full

I am still riding the Yo! MTV Raps nostalgia train. I just found the Paid in Full video by Erik B. and Rakim. Where else can you find such well crafted and eloquent rhymes such as:

"Me and Erik B. and a nice big plate of fish
which is my favorite dish
but without the money it's still a wish"

:-)

A Blast From the Past

Remember the show Yo! Mtv Raps? Guess what? April is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the show. I used to LOVE that show. Ed Lover and Dr. Dre were cool hosts. Let's not forget Fab 5 Freddy either. Here is a picture of me with Fab 5 Freddy and Malcolm Jamal Warner!

I am looking forward to all of the foolishness and fabulousness that will be coming this way via MTV this month.

Let me leave you with an "oldie" but "goodie" by one m=of my favorites...Heavy D! (I was lucky enough to catch him performing btw in Indianapolis with Janet Jackson!

What is this World Coming To?

Misguided Third Graders.

Vacation Ending and other stuff

Odalys is 10!
Originally uploaded by msabcmom

This is it. One more day and my vacation is over. I mean OVER! My school is going back to a traditional schedule next school year so no more July, November and March vacations. I am so bummed.

In other news...

Today we had a blast. We started out at The Mudroom and painted pottery for about 2 hours. From there we went on to a fantastic 50's themed party for one of Sabina's friends. The birthday girl's grandmother made poodle skirts for all of the girls. They were cute! At the party the kids sang 50's songs on the karaoke machine, had a doughnut eating contest, played pin the record on the jukebox, played a hot potato game with a record instead of a potato, hit a jukebox piñata and ate pizza and banana splits. WOW!

When we came home we rounded out the day by watching the Nancy Drew movie.

Tomorrow I guess I will have to go over lesson plans and get back into the mindset of being back at school. I wrote the plans several weeks ago but I need to wrap my head around them again. I am in for a long haul....we work all the way through June!

I guess that this vacation was a good one. I was quite busy throughout the month and I only really whooped it up this last week. That was enough though. We really did have a good month. It is sad to see it come to an end. On the plus side...I lost 13.4 pounds this month. Whoopee!!!

Gym Procrastination

Ever have those days where you just don't want to go to the gym but you have no real good excuse? That is how I am feeling today. I have no desire to jump in the car, drive and work out. I have been doing every possible thing that I can to occupy my time to make excuses for not going. (like posting a blog!) I know that eventually, I will have to get there but I am not sure when that time will come. Maybe after the 4:00 Monk re-run that I have probably seen about a million times!!!

The $2,350 Trophy

A little more than 3 years ago I enrolled Sabi in a gymnastics class at a kid gym nearby. I really liked the gym and the classes. The classes were very well structured as far as athletics are concerned and it was a safe and non competitive environment unlike another local establishment. It was a bit on the pricey side at $57 a month but she was having fun and getting a lot out of the class.

About a year and a half into it Sabina asked if she could take a dance or karate class offered at the same place. After some inquiry I found that it would cost me another $50 and I told her that she had to choose. 6 months later she told me that she wanted to try dance out instead of gymnastics. I was glad to make the change. Gymnastics looked like a lot of fun but it was frustrating to Sabina because the bar work in gymnastics didn't come very easy to her. The rest of the girls in her class were so petite and tiny and were able to to fly over those bars with great ease. That just didn't work for Sabi. She couldn't figure it out and she came home crying several times.

Dance has been awesome. The teacher is so energetic and supportive of the kids. Even better, Sabina loves to dance and is good at it. She has a lot of confidence with it and gets an even harder workout from it than gymnastics!

Sounds great, right? Here is the clincher...

In December, the teacher told the parents that a recital would be coming up soon and that we parents might want to privately start looking for sponsors for our own kids' costumes to wear to the recital. I just laughed this off and thought it must be a joke. WRONG!

In February, the "costumes" for each dance class were posted with prices and the kids had to be measured. Sabina's class will be performing 2 dances and guess what? Each dance has a different costume!!! The total for both outfits is $133. Whoa! I thought it over for about a week and went back and forth on whether or not I would go ahead with the recital. $133 for 2 outfits? That is just ridiculous. I finally agreed to do it since Sabina really wanted to do it and she had never done one before. I am not completely happy with that decision but the my tax refund came around the same time and I just went for it.

Today, at class, we parents had another surprise. A sign was posted letting us know that we need to purchase tickets to have the privilege of watching the damn recital. (yes, I am angry by now!) The tickets are a whopping $8 for kids and $15 per adult. This is just outrageous. I, of course, have no choice but to buy the ticket but I am not going to have any other family members come. What a racket!

At the end of class today Sabina's teacher made an announcement to the entire class and group of parents. She had a trophy in her hand and said "May I have your attention. We have a student here who has been with us for 3 years. We here at ********** like to acknowledge this achievement with a trophy!"

The dad next to me started laughing and said "that is one expensive trophy!" No joke....that crazy trophy cost me $2,350!

Never Too Old

Yesterday we spent the day in Oakland. We started out at The Grand Bakery. It is the closest kosher bakery to our house. Now we didn't really need any baked goods but we stopped to splurge on some goodies. They bake some wonderful challah there. I LOVE it. We also picked up some borekas and cherry filled hamantashen. YUM!

From there we went on to Fairyland in Lakeside Park. We haven't been there since Sabi was 4. My mom and I were both a bit worried that Sabi would be too old for this play park but we were wrong. She LOVED it!!! Sabi was like a kid in a candy store. It was very fun to watch her enjoying all of the fairy tale stops. I guess that you are never too old to have fun, right?

The day was beautiful. When we were done at fairyland we hung out for a bit in Lakeside Park and then ended our trip at Oakland Kosher Foods in search of Passover food.

Bajo La Misma Luna

This movie is great. I couldn't believe that on the 2nd day that it was out, less than 20 people were in the theater. What a shame. Go see it and then tell me what you think.

Former Student Encounter

Today I went to Jamba Juice and after taking my order the cashier asked "aren't you Ms. V?" I told him that I was and he said that he wasn't in my class but he remembers me from "WAY" back when he was 7 or 8. (He put a lot of emphasis on the WAY back part!) He was very excited to see me and asked me how the school is doing now that he has been gone for so long.

So he made me feel a little bit old hearing the "WAY" back comment and also thinking that when this now 18 year old knew me, I was 10 years younger!

On the plus side, this young man seemed very well adjusted, and he is a contributing member of our society who is gainfully employed. (He also makes a very good Orange Berry Blitz!) It was kind of cool to be recognized and remembered fondly.

Cool indeed!

Obama's Speech Today

Wow! What a speech. Obama brought up so many important issues in his speech and handled them wonderfully. If I weren't already pulling for him this speech would have done it for me.

Peace Vigil

We are attending a peace vigil tomorrow in our hometown. If you are interested in joining one in your neck of the woods, click here.

Summer Trip

I am planning my summer Panama trip right now. I want to hit the usual spots, El Valle de Antón, El Decamerón and of course, my dad's place, Keruasa. This time though I would like to see some other places that I haven't been to at all or in a long time. I am thinking of possibly going to Coiba, Darien and Gamboa. What would REALLY be awesome is to go to one of the Smithsonian Institute's research-education centers such as Barro Colorado, Galeta, or Culebra.

Question:
Have you been to any of these places? What do you recommend?

THe Week in Review

Here is what I am up to when I am "off track." (on vacation)

Monday:
Visited a prospective school for a student of mine. As per his I.E.P., he will move to an SH classroom. I went with his mom to see what the school and class were like. I also acted as a translator for her. It was a sad day for me because I am really going to miss this boy. He was a hard case to start with but he has come so far and he melts my heart each and every day.
On Monday night we went to shiva for a friend's mom. That was very hard.

Tuesday:
Drove Sabina to school (20 miles from home) and then turned around to go to Stockton for a coach meeting. (40 miles from Sabi's school) Once that was over I turned around to go back and get Sabi and then go back home. I drove too much that day and was exhausted.

Wednesday:
Worked with my grade level team on a collaboration day. We put in 7 hours of work focusing on all of the subject matters that we teach and planning for the last trimester. I am a bit stressed since there is so much to still cover and we have to test in May.

Thursday:
Another collaboration day with the grade level. This day was centered on what we do for our English Learners. It was a long day of reviewing writing samples and trying to figure out how to tweak our current program to make the best impact for our students.

Friday:
No plans were on the calendar - YAY! I decided to stay in town where Sabi goes to school and work in my classroom since gas is just too expensive for me to run around while Sabi is in school. I cleaned for a couple of hours and got some reading in too. Sabi had a minimum day so I didn't stay in town too long.

I waited in my car as Sabi's bus dropped her off at my school. She saw me waiting in my car and she got so excited to see me and started waving like crazy at me. Can you believe that I got goosebumps from that. It was so sweet and it just tickled me to see her do that. She is still my baby! She spent the ride home telling me about their Pi day celebration and about a glutonous pizza party that her class won. She was going a mile a minute and I loved every second of it!

When we got home, we stopped by the mailbox and Sabi's report card came in the mail. Sabi asked if she could see it first. Within about 10 seconds the screaming began. She had a fabulous report card. We celebrated with one of her favorite dishes, salmon. We also all ate together at the dinner table. That was a nice change considering that due to our busy schedules we don't all make it to dinner at the same time. We rounded out the night by watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Saturday: (Today)
Went in to WW and I only lost .8 lbs. That makes my running total 11.6. I guess that is ok. WE are going to keep busy with laundry and housekeeping today.

We're Back!

DSC00042
Originally uploaded by kjerringa1

We had a great time but are glad to be back.

I am so glad that I am off track and can just relax. Woo-hoo!

Go See This Movie

I haven't seen much of Monterey yet as I was in my math workshop for the majority of the day. This evening we went out to Monterey for dinner at Turtle Bay and then on to the mall to see College Road Trip. Go see this movie. It is really fun! It is funny and engaging for all ages. Sabi, my mom and I saw it together and we all enjoyed it. (We may even go see it again!)

And We're Off!!!

We are spending the weekend in Monterey. I have a math workshop to attend tomorrow until 2 but the rest of the time will be for play...Yay!

Have a good weekend everyone!

You Know You Are Getting Old When...

This week I am teaching Intersession. Intersession is basically a summer school type of program that runs while our school is off track this month. During Intersession we don't have aides around to help out with cafeteria and recess duty so I am with the kids every single minute of the day. It really is quite fun.

At recess today, I was watching the kids play. The girls were busy in a game of jump rope having a grand time. I listened carefully to their song. Here are the lyrics:

"Ice cream soda, cherry on the top. Who's your boyfriend I forgot?"

Then they start to recite the alphabet. Whatever letter the student stops at is the first letter of her boyfriend's name.

I had to stop that nonsense right away. I told them that they were in second grade and were too young for boyfriends. I also said something like "who needs a silly boyfriend anyway? Why don't you say something like: 'Ice cream soda, cherry on top. What's your favorite fruit, I forgot?" The girls looked at me for a second and rolled their eyes as they smiled at me. Nonetheless, the girls spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out names for fruit starting out with different letters of the alphabet!

Yeah, yeah, I am an old fogey...I know this and am ok with it!

Tear Jerker Movies

I just watched The Joy Luck Club for the millionth time. Every time that I watch it I end up in serious tears at the end when June meets her sisters in China. The same hold true for The Color Purple. I start crying when Shug walks into her father's church singing through the end when Celie's kids and sister come home. I am a serious mess when I see those flicks.

What movies make you cry?

WOW!

Last weekend I re-joined Weight Watchers.The first two days were kind of tough because I am a food addict. I never ever felt hungry but I was craving for a food fix. I am so used to just nibbling away all day long so I had to retrain myself a bit.

To help myself out throughout the week, I bought some frozen meals that are similar to the Weight Watchers meals. I also bought some fruit, and lots of good veggies to use in salads. My meals were tasty and filling. I was careful about the food I took in but I did have some fun foods such as chocolate, cheese and bread! I never felt hungry or deprived this week.

Today was weigh in day and I lost 10.8 pounds. WHOA! I couldn't believe it. Let's see if I can keep it up!

Obama '08

American Spirit Day

Every month Sabi's school has a special spirit day in addition to the once a week school spirit day. The special spirit day is a theme based day such as Disney Day, Hat Day and Hawaiian Day. Today was American Spirit Day. Sabina ended up wearing her school spirit shirt, a red turtleneck and jeans for the red, white and blue colors because that is all that she had to match the color scheme. Sabi loves spirit days. She likes the idea of everyone doing the same thing, schoolwide. She also likes helping her class out by dressing up because if they have the highest percentage of kids dressed up, they win some kind of prize.

When Sabi got home she told me that the whole school wrote letters to soldiers today. I started to get a little bent out of shape at hearing this news but calmly asked her why they would be doing such a thing. She responded that since it was American Spirit day the kids were all to make a cut out of their hands and then write a note on them to send to soldiers. I went on to ask her what she did. She told me that she told her teacher that her family doesn't believe in the war and think it is ok. She asked her teacher if it would be acceptable for her to opt out of the project. Her teacher told her that it was ok and that not everyone supports the war and she had the right to opt out.

This brings up some issues for me.

On the negative side...

1) I am really upset that the school would have the entire student body do this activity. It is an endorsement of the military and the war. There is no place for this in a public school. If teachers or administrators want to do something to show their support, by all means they should act. They should not however pull their students into it though.

2) Why didn't the school inform parents about this ahead of time? They made the false assumption that everyone would support the letter writing. I didn't even have the opportunity to opt my daughter out of the activity.

3) What about the educational time lost today when the kids were busy letter writing? With the standards/test prep driven trend that we are currently in, how can time set aside for this be justified?

On the positive side:

3) I am comforted that Sabina's teacher responded so appropriately to Sabina. (Not that I am surprised because she is FABULOUS!) It is quite clear that she has an extremely approachable style that has made her students feel safe about speaking their minds because Sabina had no problem discussing this assignment with her.


4) I was really impressed at Sabina's response. When she told me how she reacted, she was heartfelt and not looking to seek my approval for her behavior. She is really becoming an independent thinker and is not afraid to speak up and make decisions that may not be popular. In my opinion, that is true American patriotism.

La Familia Telerin

I just found a blast from the past on You Tube. When I was little and lived in Panama I used to watch La Familia Telerin sing their good night song. I think that I hadstickers of La Familia Telerin on the headboard of my bed. I particularly remember the blue-headed girl. how fun to run across this again!

Para Ganar Obama

I saw this over on Latinopundit's site and had to share. Love it!

Science Fair News

Sabina had to work on a science for school. It was her first time and she had a rocky start. The hardest part for her was deciding on her project and figuring out how to put the idea together since she didn't see the big picture. For me, the hardest part was trying to not do the project for her. I did help her with the rubric and showing her how to check the rubric to make sure she included everything that was required. It was a stretch for both of us. She had to learn about the process as well as stick with the project for extended periods of time. My patience was tested many times over. When the day to turn the project in arrived I don't know who was more excited, me or Sabina!

The science fair came two days later. It was very nice to see all of the projects in one room. There were some really great projects. To make the night even better, the StarLab was onsite and available for the kids to go in and learn.

This week Sabi found out that she won first place. This qualifies her to go on to the County Science Fair. Pretty Cool!

Weekend Update

Sabi and I are beginning our five day weekend today. Yay! We will be heading down to Southern California tomorrow with my mom and brother to spend some time with my aunt and uncle. While there we will also go watch The Color Purple. I just opened up a weather update from my aunt and we are looking at weather in the mid to high 70's while in LA. WOW! That will be just FABULOUS! I can't wait!!!

How are you spending your President's Day weekend?

What kind of High School Kid Were You?

All American Kid

Popular but not plastic. Athletic but not a jock. Smart but not a brain. You were well rounded and well liked in high school.

Who Were You In High School?

Election Notes

Once again, my polling place was not all that it could be. I was at the polling place within the first 10 minutes of it opening and the people running the place really didn't know what to do. Most annoying though was that the ballot machine didn't work. I have yet to vote in an election where the machine actually works while I am present. 3 hours later I visited the polling place at my school with my students and their machine was not working either. What is going on?

In addition to taking my students to the polling place I gave them a brief overview of the election process. I asked them if they knew that we were voting on a potential president? Only 1 or 2 knew that. I then asked if they had heard any of the candidates names. When I mentioned Paul, McCain, Romney and Huckabee they looked at me with glazed over faces. When I mentioned Obama and Clinton they became animated and did indeed recognize the names. I told them that I wanted them to watch the news that night and come back on Wednesday with some type of election night news to share with the class. Guess what? One brought a piece of paper with some election results the very next day. The paper listed Clinton and Obama's names and mentioned some states that they had each won. I was so happy that one of my kidlets actually took the time to do it. Today, one more slip of paper showed up on my desk. It said Jilari Clinton #1. The girl who turned it in didn't say too much about it but she was proud to turn it in to me!

Reggaeton Obama

Yesterday afternoon I heard a reggaeton campaign song for Obama and it stuck in my head! Here is the link to the site where you can hear the song and download it, if you like.

Don't forget to vote today folks!

I Stand Corrected!

My mom informed me this morning that my latest blog was incorrect. She did not walk/run 60 miles last month. Mom walked/ran 75 miles. Excuse me! Go MOM! :-)

End of the Month Resolution Check

The resolution for this year was to move more. My mom, my youngest brother and I are all working hard at this resolution. Yesterday was the end of the month and we all met our goals. I walked/ran 30 miles. That is 5 more than I set for the month. It isn't huge but it is more than I did in any month last year! I think my mom walked/ran 60 miles. The big number came from my little brother...100 miles! You go boy!

I hope we can keep this up!

Today's Forecast...YUCK

I have a field trip today to watch a play at the local college and then take the kids on a campus tour. Sounds good in theory but let's remember that it is with 100 kids! To add to the extreme fun, it is raining now and should be raining all day.

Let's do the math:

Lots of kids + field trip = craziness.

Lots of kids + field trip+ rain= chaos!

Can it get any better?

Help!!!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Art
Originally uploaded by msabcmom

For the last two weeks I have been weaving MLK Jr. into the curriculum. This year, I was amazed at how much my students knew about him. We had some great discussions, wrote some good paragraphs and made great art.

May we all keep working hard to make Dr. King's dream a reality.

Fabulous Foolishness!

Miriam got me hooked on this show. Who else loves this show? I can't get enough of it. Niecy rocks...HMM!

Resolution

This year I didn't make the "lose weight" resolution. I want to lose weight but I think I need to have a different focus. Moving more is my resolution. My brother is on an exercise kick and he encouraged us to exercise along with him.

We each set a goal of a certain amount of miles per week. (elliptical, running, walking, biking, etc) We can track our progress on a cool excel program that my brother sent us. I chose to go with a minimum of 5 miles per week. I hope to go over that but I didn't want to set it so high that I would break the resolution and just stop completely.

So far I am on week 2 and I made it both weeks. Yay!

Student Success and Challenge

Let's start with the success first.

Student 1:
V is an average student. He has been working at grade level up to recently. He made a sudden drop in math when we started double digit subtraction with regrouping. He went from scores in the high 80's to scores in the 20's and 30's. He was just lost. I worked with him and he got it one on one but then could not perform on his own. On Tuesday morning I was mentally planning the phone call I was going to make to his family to ask for their help with him. That afternoon he surprised the heck out of me. We started an even more complicated task that day mixed addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. I started the class off and then made a beeline to his desk to get him going. By the time I had made it to his desk he had already completed 5 problems and they were all correct! I looked around him to see if he might have copied the answers but the kids next to him hadn't even done as many problems as he had. He then went on to finish the page and the rest were also correct. I asked him what had changed...how he had finally understood the concept. He told me that his mom kept looking at his math pages and said that they needed to do something so she went out, got a math book and worked with him at home. I told him to give his mom a big hug and kiss and thank her for helping him and he looked at me with the most serious face and nodded while telling me "I will Ms V.!" I wish all parents were as dedicated as V's.

Challenge
Student 2:
Y is one of my older students. She is actually Sabi's age, fourth grade age, but she was put in school late and then retained. Y is interesting. She appears to be at least average but she really isn't. Verbally she is high. She is also very mature with regards to responsibility. Y is the second oldest in her family but she is the only girl. As the only girl she has assumed responsibility for caring for her first grade sibling as well as her 3 year old sibling at home. I have yet to meet the mom, despite numerous calls made by me to request a conference. (They live across the street from school)
Academically Y is on track in math but in language arts...ouch! Y can barely read first grade text. What she can read is not fluent not usually accurate. This week when Y was reading with me I just couldn't take it anymore and told Y that we have to do something about her reading difficulties and do it fast. I told her that I understood that she doesn't have anyone who will help her at home and that she has many responsibilities that await her once she is home. I told her that I wanted her to either come in before school or stay after school and work with me or my student teacher one on one so she can make that jump and catch up. Y nodded at me and said that she would do it but she was worried about her little brother, she is responsible for him after school. i told her to bring him over too. If it will allow her the time to learn, so be it. I also thought that I should just work with the little brother because he will be a second grader next year so I might as well get a jump start on working with him now!

Y has been on my mind all week. Why? I am so saddened about where she is academically. She is really quite a remarkable kid. I look forward to seeing her everyday. She is funny, sweet, responsible and she gets my jokes! I am also saddened about the fact that there is no adult at home who is willing to work with her or even cares about where she is academically. I can't understand why her mom hasn't come in to see me. Mom doesn't work and is available. There are always many cars in the driveway. When I have made calls home I have been given many excuses as to why mom couldn't come. The last time I called home a man answered and I was told that I had the wrong number and that I needed to stop calling. (I did hear mom in the background)

I am hopeful about my study sessions with Y. I know that she will be successful. I also know that she will be very grateful for the help and thank me for it. I am worried about her future though. Who will care for her and help her in the years to come?

Whoa!

I checked Poplicks' blog this morning and was surprised with the video of my brother jumping off the Macao tower as today's post! I didn't know that my brother posted the video! I'm posting it here too. It is wild. I can't believe he did it! Crazy!

Back to School

Today Sabi and I went back to school. Yesterday, we didn't want to even think about going back to school. Today was another story.

Me:
I woke up happy thinking about my students. I was eager to see their bright little faces. The day was fabulous. I had to be a little bit on the strict side with two students to remind them of our rules but it was really a super day. My student teacher took over more planning and she was fabulous too. She is a natural born teacher.

Sabina: We arrived at my school and as soon as we pulled up Sabina got very wide eyed and excited and asked if she could go straight to her bus stop and not wait for a while in my room. I asked why and she said "I just can't wait to hear my friends' voices! I want to hear them as soon as possible!" How cute! When she returned from school she was so excited telling me all about her friends and how they caught up.

Today was a good day!

Vacation is Over!

I can't believe that today is my last day of vacation. Where did the time go? Here is a list of how I spent my vacation:

1) Hosted my aunt and uncle for a few days: It is always fun to have them visit. We get to hear them play some good music, have nice talks and play board games! On this trip, they brought their digital recorder and recorded a live performance of themselves playing with Sabina!

2) Spent time with my dad: Dad came to visit us from Panama. Even though he knows what out weather is like here, it was still a shock coming from the tropics! We had some good times and good food!

3) Spent the entire vacation being sick! I started with a sore throat and no voice, got somewhat better and then got another throat bug...yuck!

4) Baked and cooked: My favorites include the stained glass cookies, Ruben's empanadas and making homemade cranberry sauce.

5) Read: I was able to get in some good reading time over the break. I just finished this good book. Check it out if you like murder mysteries! Sabina has been enjoying this book. (I must admit, I like her book too!)

6) Went back to the gym! Aaron got us on a new idea. We have set a monthly goal for miles to walk, run, bike, etc. He sent us a program to track our miles and we will make our way around the U.S. Cool!
*************
I really like this whole vacation thing. I do not want to go back to work but I guess it will take me one step closer to my next vacation!

Political Compass Test

I saw this test over on POPLICKS last week and then had it mailed to me today. Here is how I rated. Take the quiz...it is fun!

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -6.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.15

Help for the Homeless: Ideas Wanted

As I walked into service last night passed through the foyer. One wall of our foyer is a huge window. Outside the window there was a LOT of stuff. When I looked closer I could see that the "stuff" was a makeshift shelter for 4 people. There were 4 people sleeping in sleeping bags and blankets under the eaves and all of their belongings were gathered in several shopping carts, wagons and strollers.

I remembered seeing some homeless people in the same spot several months ago on a Sunday morning. From talking to others, I found that they come to this spot regularly but usually leave before we come around on Sunday morning for Sunday School. I had never seen them in this spot on a Friday night before though. What brought them to this spot was most likely the horrible winter storm that went through here yesterday. We had non stop hard rain all day long with winds around 20mph. They were trying to find the dryest place possible.

The rabbi's sermon last night was off the cuff. He talked about our brothers and sisters who were taking up residence just a few feet away from us outside and asked what we could do as a congregation to help them.

After every service we have oneg, refreshments. One of the kids brought up the fact that we have plenty of food and could share it with the people outside. The Rabbi another congregant and myself made up a large plate of food, wrapped it up with some napkins and forks and brought some bottled drinks to the people outside. The Rabbi had to speak loudly to wake the people up. He told them that he was sorry to interrupt their sleep but that we were celebrating inside and wanted to share with them. We weren't sure if they would accept our food because earlier that evening someone had asked them if he could give them something but they kindly refused. Well... they accepted the food. They were kind of groggy because they had been awakened from their sleep. They didn't say much more and we went back inside. In the meantime, I was checking out their setup. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have so many comforts in life. When you don't see first hand the hardships that others have to go through, you really don't even know what it is like. When someone talks about the homeless, you tend to think of it as a concept, not as an actuality. I am not trying to say that I truly understand what it is to be homeless. I know that I only peered into the world of the homeless last night.

I left with Sabi shortly after that. I gathered my things and walked back through the foyer, past the makeshift home right outside that window. One of the men who was sleeping in front of the window raised his head up and smiled at us and waved as if thanking us for the little bit of food that we shared. This touched me.

So...back to the Rabbi's question "What can we do to help these people?" At my grandmother's church, they have a portion of their church set up for this very thing. They have bathrooms with showers, a kitchen and a place to sleep. One of their congregants stays overnight with the visiting guests and helps them with meal preparation and any other needs they might have overnight. During the day, there is a van to take them to look for work and to take the children to school. Her church is in a network of other churches that does the same thing. It is an amazing system.
Our synagogue is not set up like this though. We can't offer anything like that. I know that we could do something though...we just need some good ideas. That is where YOU come in!!


QUESTION:
What does your synagogue, mosque, church, temple, place of worship, community center etc. do to help the homeless? What ideas can you share with us?

Thanks for your ideas!

Shabbat Shalom.

Forecast: RAIN!!!

We are in for a LOT of rain for the next few days. I am so glad to be on vacation for this little weather system. I hate to work and drive to work when it rains. I had originally planned to go in to work and prep for school next week but the plans have changed. Now, I am looking forward to hanging out at home on the couch, in front of the fire with a good book and hopefully some Monk, and Law and Order SVU or CI reruns.

Right now, I am sitting in front of a pretty fire in the fireplace and enjoying a movie to the sound of rain falling outside. I love it!

For all of you who have to be out and about in this weather...sorry! Drive safely and hang in there.

Hip Hop Celebrity - Updated

Sabi's Hip Hop class is being taped live this morning for a local news show. We have to be there at 6:30 am for a live taping at 7:00 and then again a 8:00.
Coolness!

Update:
Here is the link to a video from the taping this morning.

Stained glass cookies

Stained glass cookies
Originally uploaded by msabcmom

Yesterday I made stained glass cookies. I was inspired by Chef Paz who made some recently.

The cookies are are procedurally fairly simple to make. You make a sugar cookie recipe, cut out shapes in the middle and then fill the cutouts with crushed hard candy. When the cookies cool, you have a sugar cookie with a hard candy center. The cookies and pretty to look at and tasty too.

Random Act of Kindness

My grandmother called me today after she went to church to check in. She said that after church was over she and a friend decided to go out to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant. When it came time to pay for the meal they were informed that their meals were covered by "that couple over there!" My grandmother said that she and her friend looked over at the young couple and didn't recognize them. Perplexed, they got up to leave and thank the couple but by the time they made it to the table, the couple was gone. My grandmother still doesn't know who did this for her but left with good holiday spirit as well as a full stomach!!!

That story made my day.

Happy Hanukkah!

I'm Spicy!

I saw this link over on Xolo's site. Go on...try it... it will spice up your life!

Your Score: Saffron

You scored 75% intoxication, 50% hotness, 75% complexity, and 25% craziness!

You are Saffron!

Those other spices have nothing on you! You're warm, smart, and you make people feel really good (and with no side-effects!). You can be difficult to get to know and require a lot of those who try, but you're so totally worth it. *Sigh*

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Second Night of Hanukkah

Another busy day. I haven't made it home yet. I'm at a tech class now and playing around!

Photo: Second Night of Hanukkah
by: Hotzeplotz


Video: Swinging Dreidel by Kenny Ellis.

Happy Hanukkah!

Today was so busy and I thought Sabi and I would never make it home to celebrate Hanukkah. We finally got home around 7:30. My mom was busy with adjunct duty at school so we were expecting to not celebrate the first night with her. Miraculously, my mom got out early and came home at the same time we did. That was our Hanukkah miracle! We ended up having enough time to light the candles, watch them burn and even play dreidel!

Chag Sameach!!!

Gelt Melts by The Leevees

Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts

Just because it looks like funny money
In your pocket it's chocolate runny
Heat's the enemy, it's not your friend
Golden coins melting in your hand

Everyone knows chicks love chocolate
Fires them up like a bottle rocket
Rip the tin off right away
I think you know what we're trying to say

You gotta get it while you can
'Cause it won't last long
We don't claim to understand
But we're not wrong
And your good thing will be gone

Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts

Don't throw it at your baby brother
Better run now, here comes your mother
Comin' at you with a wooden spoon
Still covered with her chicken soup

Grandma's couch with the plastic coating
Fifty coins later, stomach's bloating
If goys can eat a chocolate bunny
Why can't we eat chocolate money?

You gotta get it while you can
'Cause it won't last long
We don't claim to have the answer
In this song
But your good thing will be gone

Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts

Wax On? Wax Off?

I collect Hanukkiah's. (Hanukkah menorah's) I didn't mean to collect them but little by little, the collection grew. It is beautiful to see all of the hanukkiah's together when they are lit. The one thing I don't like dealing with though is the wax. In an attempt to save money on candles (I need a lot since I have so many hanukkiah's) I bought cheap candles instead of the dripless kind. WRONG MOVE! The wax build up was so bad. I used tons of hot water and spent a long time cleaning the wax off of the hanukkiah's since I like the surfaces to be clean and spotless.

Last year I heard someone say that they don't remove the wax from their hanukkiah because the wax is a reminder of Hanukkah's past. That was a new concept for me. It would be a lot easier to live that way...no cleaning... I don't think I could handle it though.

If you celebrate Hannukah, tell me, do you leave the wax on or off? Inquiring minds want to know!!!