Today in reading we were doing an author's purpose sort. The students were to cut out words (like advertisement, cookbook, science fiction, encyclopedia, etc.) and sort them into the author's purpose categories telling if the author is trying to persuade, inform, or entertain.
I came upon one student doing his sort and noticed that he had the word "Fantasy" in the persuade section. I had a feeling that he was unsure of the meaning of fantasy so I asked him. He responded,
"A fantasy is when you dream about a girl."
I kept a straight face and informed him that I was looking for something more like, "Fantasy is a fictional genre." or "Harry Potter is an example of fantasy." He quickly was able to place it under the entertain section and didn't think anything of it.
Where do they learn this stuff?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
My Car's Prognosis
I got my Check Engine light checked at AutoZone. It's either the O2 Sensor or the catalytic converter. My car is running okay right now and I shouldn't end up broken down on the side of the road again. Off to Annapolis to see Doug for the weekend!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
REALLY???
So I'm driving home after work today and Doug calls while I'm in route. He asks me the usual question, "How was your day?" I responded with a slightly unusual answer saying that it was just great BECAUSE no weird lights turned on in my car AND I had no sudden power losses that caused me to be stranded on the side of the road for over an hour. We continued our conversation in which I mentioned that I was excited that my car was working well again so I would be able to drive up to see him this weekend
AND then...
My check engine light turned on.
The mechanic that I went to yesterday told me that if ANYTHING happened that I could come right on over and they would look at it. I remembered from yesterday that he said I could pick up the car as late as 8:30pm. Well my check engine light turned on at 8:22pm and I was about 3 miles away from the shop at the time, so I decided that I would try to see if anyone was still around.
I walk in the store part of the gas station and the clerk informs me that NO ONE is in the garage. I didn't give up though because flashing warning lights are not ignored by me anymore, NO not after yesterday. I basically told the clerk (a high school teenager) that my car wasn't leaving the parking lot until I had a better idea as to what was happening with my car. I WAS NOT GOING TO END UP BROKEN DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AGAIN. He actually called the manager, Roger, at home. He chats with him for a little bit and then Roger asks for my name. He somehow remembered me from yesterday and had the clerk pass over the phone to me.
He talked me through it and basically told me that the check engine light really didn't have anything to do with the alternator issues that I was having yesterday. The check engine light or "Malfunction Indicator Light" as it calls it in my car's handbook thingy has to do with the emissions system and I SHOULD be able to get home. He was kind, calmed me down, explained things to me, and was extremely understanding. He was not at all annoyed that I was talking to him at his home at almost 9 o'clock at night. This is not my regular mechanic. I met him for the first time yesterday.
I called home after that and was going to have my parents take an extra car to my house tonight so I wouldn't need to drive my car to work tomorrow. Basically, they would've had to drive 2 cars the 45 minutes to my house and then back. They were busy and I didn't want to inconvenience them.
I am driving my car to work tomorrow WITH the "Malfunction Indicator Light" on.
Pray for me.
AND then...
The mechanic that I went to yesterday told me that if ANYTHING happened that I could come right on over and they would look at it. I remembered from yesterday that he said I could pick up the car as late as 8:30pm. Well my check engine light turned on at 8:22pm and I was about 3 miles away from the shop at the time, so I decided that I would try to see if anyone was still around.
I walk in the store part of the gas station and the clerk informs me that NO ONE is in the garage. I didn't give up though because flashing warning lights are not ignored by me anymore, NO not after yesterday. I basically told the clerk (a high school teenager) that my car wasn't leaving the parking lot until I had a better idea as to what was happening with my car. I WAS NOT GOING TO END UP BROKEN DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AGAIN. He actually called the manager, Roger, at home. He chats with him for a little bit and then Roger asks for my name. He somehow remembered me from yesterday and had the clerk pass over the phone to me.
He talked me through it and basically told me that the check engine light really didn't have anything to do with the alternator issues that I was having yesterday. The check engine light or "Malfunction Indicator Light" as it calls it in my car's handbook thingy has to do with the emissions system and I SHOULD be able to get home. He was kind, calmed me down, explained things to me, and was extremely understanding. He was not at all annoyed that I was talking to him at his home at almost 9 o'clock at night. This is not my regular mechanic. I met him for the first time yesterday.
I called home after that and was going to have my parents take an extra car to my house tonight so I wouldn't need to drive my car to work tomorrow. Basically, they would've had to drive 2 cars the 45 minutes to my house and then back. They were busy and I didn't want to inconvenience them.
I am driving my car to work tomorrow WITH the "Malfunction Indicator Light" on.
Pray for me.
The Day After...
When I am not talking (which isn't too often) I like to think and reflect on my days. More often then not, this happens during my long commute in the morning and and afternoon. Also being home and having no one to talk to also has increased my personal reflection time.
These are my reflections on my car breaking down...
Things I am Thankful For:
-I left home at 6:30am instead of 6:00am, so the sun was rising and people could see my car (and not crash into me!) even when the flashers stopped working.
-I have family nearby that can rescue me AND loan me an extra car if I ever need it.
-I have a cell phone.
-Two people from my school stopped to help and comfort.
-Two strangers actually turned around and stopped to ask if I needed help.
-The police officer was very kind and understanding, even though he had just worked the last 12 hours and was on his way home.
-I had specialty classes in the morning, so I didn't have to take time for a sub.
-When I got to school, my students were extremely understanding and were good for me on my not so good day.
-My car was fixed and ready for me to pick up at the end of the school day.
-A coworker took me over to pick up my car so I didn't have to ask my family to drive an hour to get me from work at the end of the day.
-It was only the alternator and not something worse.
-My battery was still good so I didn't have to buy a new one.
-The repairman was friendly and even recognized me when I came to pick up my car.
Things I Learned:
-If there is a warning light going off in your car and the repair people tell you that it can wait, it can't.
-It costs $85 to tow a car 1 mile.
-You should have a plan in place if your car breaks down. Have a tow company in mind and their number in your car or programmed into your phone.
-Police Officers are still ON DUTY even when they are driving home.
-A radar gun makes a sound for the officer as you increase or decrease your speed.
-Radar guns can get your speed from far away.
-Police are people too. :)
-People should slow way down when driving by policemen directing traffic. He kept on having to yell at them to "Slow Down!" and some people almost clipped him or his car. I thought people showed more respect to policemen.
These are my reflections on my car breaking down...
Things I am Thankful For:
-I left home at 6:30am instead of 6:00am, so the sun was rising and people could see my car (and not crash into me!) even when the flashers stopped working.
-I have family nearby that can rescue me AND loan me an extra car if I ever need it.
-I have a cell phone.
-Two people from my school stopped to help and comfort.
-Two strangers actually turned around and stopped to ask if I needed help.
-The police officer was very kind and understanding, even though he had just worked the last 12 hours and was on his way home.
-I had specialty classes in the morning, so I didn't have to take time for a sub.
-When I got to school, my students were extremely understanding and were good for me on my not so good day.
-My car was fixed and ready for me to pick up at the end of the school day.
-A coworker took me over to pick up my car so I didn't have to ask my family to drive an hour to get me from work at the end of the day.
-It was only the alternator and not something worse.
-My battery was still good so I didn't have to buy a new one.
-The repairman was friendly and even recognized me when I came to pick up my car.
Things I Learned:
-If there is a warning light going off in your car and the repair people tell you that it can wait, it can't.
-It costs $85 to tow a car 1 mile.
-You should have a plan in place if your car breaks down. Have a tow company in mind and their number in your car or programmed into your phone.
-Police Officers are still ON DUTY even when they are driving home.
-A radar gun makes a sound for the officer as you increase or decrease your speed.
-Radar guns can get your speed from far away.
-Police are people too. :)
-People should slow way down when driving by policemen directing traffic. He kept on having to yell at them to "Slow Down!" and some people almost clipped him or his car. I thought people showed more respect to policemen.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Car Troubles
Friday last week, the emergency break light, the battery light, and the door lights all started flashing randomly flashing whenever I accelerated my car. My car didn't sound or run any differently, so I decided to ask about it when I was getting my oil changed on Saturday. The repairmen exchanged glances after my description and told me that it would take a while and that they might not even be able to get to it that day. I decided that I would schedule an appointment during the week and not while Doug was home with me on the weekend.
Fast forward to this morning as I am going to work...
I get in my car to go to work this morning. A couple miles down the road, the red lights all turned off and the yellow ABS light turned on. I checked my brakes to see if there was any change at all which there was none and decided that I would TRY to just make it to work. A few more miles down the road, all of the instrument panel went off. This included my headlights, the speedometer, you name it GONE. The car was still running so I called Doug in a panic and was going to stop at the gas station just down the road to figure out what was happening. The road that I drive to work on every day is bordered by farms and nothing else. It doesn't even have a shoulder to pull off onto...
I was on the phone with Doug (and only one hill away from the gas station) when my car completely lost ALL power and started losing speed. I had to react quickly and pull off the road onto the non-existent shoulder and hope that my car didn't roll into the ditch. My car was still partially on the road and causing quite the traffic snarl, so I called 911 to report that my vehicle was causing a hazard. I decided to get out of my car for fear that someone coming around the blind corner behind me would smash into the car.
Within a few minutes, one of my co-workers happened to be driving the same route and pulled over to see if I was okay. Another co-worker happened to stop a few minutes after that. We stood there and waited for the police/tow truck to come. While I was standing there, two other police cars drove by me and a nice man in a pickup truck also stopped and offered to help me if I had a flat tire. The third police car I saw, actually stopped and asked if I needed help. I let him know that I had called 911 and that they were sending someone. He told me that they didn't send him, but that he could help. He parked his car right behind mine, set up flares, and started conducting traffic around my car.
There were accidents on both main routes leading to where I was stranded so it took over an hour for the tow truck to get there. The police officer offered to drive me to the gas station with the tow truck following. There was no room in the front seat, so yes, I got a ride in the BACK of a police car without handcuffs. There wasn't much leg room because of the big barricade, but the leather interior was nice.
The short distance took a while because traffic was so bad so we talked for a while. It turns out that he was getting off a 7pm-7am shift and was on his way home to WV when he saw me there. It was interesting to talk to a police officer for an extended period of time because well he seemed HUMAN. I know this shouldn't be a surprise! I usually imagine cops sitting in their cars all day chuckling evilly and waiting to nab speeders. While we were waiting in traffic, he was getting frustrated with all of the cars speeding by, so he turned on his radar gun and I got to see one work close up. It was pretty interesting. I didn't realize how far away it can actually get your speed. (Note to self: try not to speed so much.)
We got to the gas station and my little brother arrived right after us. I had called home earlier to have my little brother (who is jobless and trying to save for a mission) come and take me to school. The mechanic at the little gas station was really nice and knew right away that it was the alternator. The tow was $85 for the less than 1 mile that my car was taken, but that guy was nice too. Luckily my class had computer lab and music first thing in the morning so my class was basically covered until I got to school at 8:45 an hour and 15 minutes after school started. In writing today, we practiced our letter writing format and wrote to the Loudoun County Police to thank them for what they do.
My car was ready right after school so a coworker dropped me off on her way home. I'm home safe and $400 lighter, but with a new alternator and a new appreciation for police officers.
My FIRST time calling 911! ...and hopefully my last. 
Fast forward to this morning as I am going to work...
I get in my car to go to work this morning. A couple miles down the road, the red lights all turned off and the yellow ABS light turned on. I checked my brakes to see if there was any change at all which there was none and decided that I would TRY to just make it to work. A few more miles down the road, all of the instrument panel went off. This included my headlights, the speedometer, you name it GONE. The car was still running so I called Doug in a panic and was going to stop at the gas station just down the road to figure out what was happening. The road that I drive to work on every day is bordered by farms and nothing else. It doesn't even have a shoulder to pull off onto...
I was on the phone with Doug (and only one hill away from the gas station) when my car completely lost ALL power and started losing speed. I had to react quickly and pull off the road onto the non-existent shoulder and hope that my car didn't roll into the ditch. My car was still partially on the road and causing quite the traffic snarl, so I called 911 to report that my vehicle was causing a hazard. I decided to get out of my car for fear that someone coming around the blind corner behind me would smash into the car.
Within a few minutes, one of my co-workers happened to be driving the same route and pulled over to see if I was okay. Another co-worker happened to stop a few minutes after that. We stood there and waited for the police/tow truck to come. While I was standing there, two other police cars drove by me and a nice man in a pickup truck also stopped and offered to help me if I had a flat tire. The third police car I saw, actually stopped and asked if I needed help. I let him know that I had called 911 and that they were sending someone. He told me that they didn't send him, but that he could help. He parked his car right behind mine, set up flares, and started conducting traffic around my car.
There were accidents on both main routes leading to where I was stranded so it took over an hour for the tow truck to get there. The police officer offered to drive me to the gas station with the tow truck following. There was no room in the front seat, so yes, I got a ride in the BACK of a police car without handcuffs. There wasn't much leg room because of the big barricade, but the leather interior was nice.
The short distance took a while because traffic was so bad so we talked for a while. It turns out that he was getting off a 7pm-7am shift and was on his way home to WV when he saw me there. It was interesting to talk to a police officer for an extended period of time because well he seemed HUMAN. I know this shouldn't be a surprise! I usually imagine cops sitting in their cars all day chuckling evilly and waiting to nab speeders. While we were waiting in traffic, he was getting frustrated with all of the cars speeding by, so he turned on his radar gun and I got to see one work close up. It was pretty interesting. I didn't realize how far away it can actually get your speed. (Note to self: try not to speed so much.)
We got to the gas station and my little brother arrived right after us. I had called home earlier to have my little brother (who is jobless and trying to save for a mission) come and take me to school. The mechanic at the little gas station was really nice and knew right away that it was the alternator. The tow was $85 for the less than 1 mile that my car was taken, but that guy was nice too. Luckily my class had computer lab and music first thing in the morning so my class was basically covered until I got to school at 8:45 an hour and 15 minutes after school started. In writing today, we practiced our letter writing format and wrote to the Loudoun County Police to thank them for what they do.
My car was ready right after school so a coworker dropped me off on her way home. I'm home safe and $400 lighter, but with a new alternator and a new appreciation for police officers.
Driving It Into the Ground
So this was the blog entry I had cued up to post this afternoon... I had reason to be nervous, as you'll read in my next blog entry.
My car is getting up there in the years. It is '99 Honda Accord with about 180,000 miles on it. A couple years ago Doug and I were trying to decide if we wanted to sell my car and buy a new one or keep it and "run it into the ground." We feel kind of sentimental about my car because it was our first big purchase together when we were dating. It has been a good car for the most part, so there was really no reason to get rid of it.
Last week on Friday on the way to work, some lights went off on the dashboard as I was accelerating. When I accelerate the emergency brake light, the battery light, and the door lights all flash on. It is rather weird. When it happened the first time, I turned off the air and the radio and just listened to my car. It's not driving ANY differently and its not making any weird sounds, but these lights are lighting up whenever I accelerate.
Doug drove my car over the weekend and determined that it started at about 2,000rpms. A couple days later, the lights are now turning on at about 1,500rpms.
I went to my car shop on Saturday to get my oil changed. Whenever I told them what was happening, the two guys there just gave each other this look and then told me that it would probably take a while to figure out and asked me if I wanted to spend my Saturday hanging out in their lobby. Of course, my answer was no because my weekend time with Doug is precious and I went home. I mean, my car isn't driving any differently, right?
So, now I'm starting to get a little nervous. It is just some lights randomly going off or am I going to be stuck on the side of the road driving to or from work.
SO here is what it looks like, I may or may not have been driving while I took this picture...
My car is getting up there in the years. It is '99 Honda Accord with about 180,000 miles on it. A couple years ago Doug and I were trying to decide if we wanted to sell my car and buy a new one or keep it and "run it into the ground." We feel kind of sentimental about my car because it was our first big purchase together when we were dating. It has been a good car for the most part, so there was really no reason to get rid of it.
Last week on Friday on the way to work, some lights went off on the dashboard as I was accelerating. When I accelerate the emergency brake light, the battery light, and the door lights all flash on. It is rather weird. When it happened the first time, I turned off the air and the radio and just listened to my car. It's not driving ANY differently and its not making any weird sounds, but these lights are lighting up whenever I accelerate.
Doug drove my car over the weekend and determined that it started at about 2,000rpms. A couple days later, the lights are now turning on at about 1,500rpms.
I went to my car shop on Saturday to get my oil changed. Whenever I told them what was happening, the two guys there just gave each other this look and then told me that it would probably take a while to figure out and asked me if I wanted to spend my Saturday hanging out in their lobby. Of course, my answer was no because my weekend time with Doug is precious and I went home. I mean, my car isn't driving any differently, right?
So, now I'm starting to get a little nervous. It is just some lights randomly going off or am I going to be stuck on the side of the road driving to or from work.
SO here is what it looks like, I may or may not have been driving while I took this picture...
Monday, September 21, 2009
A Turtle in Our Yard!
Things have been slow lately... literally!
Doug came home HOME this weekend. He got home a little earlier than me and mowed the lawn. YAY! I have been mowing the lawn since May, so it was nice to get a little break. I was walking through the yard later putting back the rain gutters when I saw something moving in the grass. I got a little closer and saw that it was a turtle! We never found turtles at my house growing up (even though we did have a pet turtle named Turd for a while from one of my dad's fishing trips... but that's another story).
Anyways, I ran and got Doug and he picked it up and said it smelled bad. I put it in some water and tried to feed it grass and mushrooms and all kinds of other things that I'm sure turtles don't actually eat, but I wanted to see it do something. I got tired of it after about 5 minutes, took a few pictures of it, and then set it loose.
He was a nice turtle. I named him Mr. Turtle. He was very small. Is anyone out there a turtle expert that can identify this one? My husband thought that he might be a snapping turtle???
Doug came home HOME this weekend. He got home a little earlier than me and mowed the lawn. YAY! I have been mowing the lawn since May, so it was nice to get a little break. I was walking through the yard later putting back the rain gutters when I saw something moving in the grass. I got a little closer and saw that it was a turtle! We never found turtles at my house growing up (even though we did have a pet turtle named Turd for a while from one of my dad's fishing trips... but that's another story).
Anyways, I ran and got Doug and he picked it up and said it smelled bad. I put it in some water and tried to feed it grass and mushrooms and all kinds of other things that I'm sure turtles don't actually eat, but I wanted to see it do something. I got tired of it after about 5 minutes, took a few pictures of it, and then set it loose.
He was a nice turtle. I named him Mr. Turtle. He was very small. Is anyone out there a turtle expert that can identify this one? My husband thought that he might be a snapping turtle???
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Workaholic
Dear 3 Blog Readers,
I have not blogged in a week because I've been busy, but not really. My life consists of waking up every morning at 5am, driving to work, working in my classroom until 7:30pm, driving home, feeding fish and cats, eating Ramen noodles and/or cereal for dinner, and then curling up with a good book to go to bed by 10pm. This has been my exact schedule for 2 weeks. The sad thing is, it doesn't bother me. Doug isn't home and I like to be productive. The only unfortunate thing is that I feel like a loser.
Sincerely,
Loser Teacher in need of a reason to come home at night
I have not blogged in a week because I've been busy, but not really. My life consists of waking up every morning at 5am, driving to work, working in my classroom until 7:30pm, driving home, feeding fish and cats, eating Ramen noodles and/or cereal for dinner, and then curling up with a good book to go to bed by 10pm. This has been my exact schedule for 2 weeks. The sad thing is, it doesn't bother me. Doug isn't home and I like to be productive. The only unfortunate thing is that I feel like a loser.
Sincerely,
Loser Teacher in need of a reason to come home at night
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
First Day of School
Yippee!
Yesterday was the first day of school. This year I am starting my fourth year of teaching. Can you believe it?? I was so antsy the night before that I packed my lunch several hours early and laid out my outfit for the next day. You'd think I would've gotten over this stuff by now.
Anyways, I got to meet all 21 of my students for the next school year and I know all of their names already. (I don't think that I had the names down that quickly years 1-3.) Lucky for me, everything went very smoothly. All of my students were at the same school last year, so I didn't need to do any extra tours or introductions. The kids are always really good the first day. As we stand at the door greeting the children in the morning, we always comment on how quiet the classrooms are the first day knowing that this is the last day/week that they will ever be that good again. The honeymoon stage is always nice. It varies every year how long it lasts. This year I am hoping to get at least a full week.
Turns out that we're watching the Obama speech this Thursday as a school. Parents were sent home a note today and have the option of opting their child out of the speech for an alternate activity. I'm fine about the content of the speech, but I don't like that I don't really have the choice whether or not I'm going to show it. I had a cool math activity planned for that block. I hope this is beneficial to my students. I'll let you know how it goes.
Yesterday was the first day of school. This year I am starting my fourth year of teaching. Can you believe it?? I was so antsy the night before that I packed my lunch several hours early and laid out my outfit for the next day. You'd think I would've gotten over this stuff by now.
Anyways, I got to meet all 21 of my students for the next school year and I know all of their names already. (I don't think that I had the names down that quickly years 1-3.) Lucky for me, everything went very smoothly. All of my students were at the same school last year, so I didn't need to do any extra tours or introductions. The kids are always really good the first day. As we stand at the door greeting the children in the morning, we always comment on how quiet the classrooms are the first day knowing that this is the last day/week that they will ever be that good again. The honeymoon stage is always nice. It varies every year how long it lasts. This year I am hoping to get at least a full week.
Turns out that we're watching the Obama speech this Thursday as a school. Parents were sent home a note today and have the option of opting their child out of the speech for an alternate activity. I'm fine about the content of the speech, but I don't like that I don't really have the choice whether or not I'm going to show it. I had a cool math activity planned for that block. I hope this is beneficial to my students. I'll let you know how it goes.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Obama Back to School Speech
I personally am not a fan of Obama's politics, but after doing a quick reading of his planned speech for tomorrow, I am pleasantly surprised. I will not be showing the speech in my classroom on the first day because of scheduling conflicts, but I do believe that it is mostly a good message.
First off, let me say that I DO NOT believe in using the classroom to push political agenda. I try very hard as an educator to be an unbiased as possible in presenting material to my students. They are at a young and impressionable age and it is not my job or the government's job to push political ideas on them. I witnessed some interesting political conversation among my students this last school year that makes it obvious to me that they pick up a lot of ideas from their parents.
I'm sure that people can read into the speech and find faults, but my first reading found it to be a good message. I personally think that it is a little long for the elementary school level and my fourth graders probably wouldn't pay attention to the whole thing. Basically what I got from it is that you need to work hard in school. Kids see Obama as a movie star because he's on TV so much. I have seen it in my own classroom, so I hope he does inspire some kids to work a little harder. I appreciated this one part of his speech particularly because I am a "no excuses" kind of girl.
Personally as an educator of young children, I would've had him take this next part out because kids don't really care what he's given speeches about. They'll have a hard enough time listening to the whole speech. I think this is where they would phase out.
Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah..
I know that this has turned into quite the issue even causing my school district to release this statement. Obama isn't the first president to come up with the idea of addressing school children. The first George Bush did it in 1991 and received the same type of criticism from Democrats. I don't believe it's a terrible thing as a president to talk to schoolchildren as long as there isn't a hidden political agenda.
Here is a link to the speech if you are interested in reading the whole thing.
First off, let me say that I DO NOT believe in using the classroom to push political agenda. I try very hard as an educator to be an unbiased as possible in presenting material to my students. They are at a young and impressionable age and it is not my job or the government's job to push political ideas on them. I witnessed some interesting political conversation among my students this last school year that makes it obvious to me that they pick up a lot of ideas from their parents.
I'm sure that people can read into the speech and find faults, but my first reading found it to be a good message. I personally think that it is a little long for the elementary school level and my fourth graders probably wouldn't pay attention to the whole thing. Basically what I got from it is that you need to work hard in school. Kids see Obama as a movie star because he's on TV so much. I have seen it in my own classroom, so I hope he does inspire some kids to work a little harder. I appreciated this one part of his speech particularly because I am a "no excuses" kind of girl.
"But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. "
Personally as an educator of young children, I would've had him take this next part out because kids don't really care what he's given speeches about. They'll have a hard enough time listening to the whole speech. I think this is where they would phase out.
"Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve."
Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah..
I know that this has turned into quite the issue even causing my school district to release this statement. Obama isn't the first president to come up with the idea of addressing school children. The first George Bush did it in 1991 and received the same type of criticism from Democrats. I don't believe it's a terrible thing as a president to talk to schoolchildren as long as there isn't a hidden political agenda.
Here is a link to the speech if you are interested in reading the whole thing.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Gift Card Date (Yes, ANOTHER one!)
As a teacher, I am very lucky to have the classroom parents I do. They usually like to get me gift cards as thank you's during the school year. Today, Doug and I got to have another gift card date before the school year starts. I blogged about my last gift card date here.
We started the morning at a fancy pants place in Ashburn called the Amenity Day Spa. Let me start this off by saying that Doug and I are NOT fancy people... The people there were like sipping champagne and talking about rich people stuff. It cost $65 per person for a 30 minute massage! (but I was using a gift card so I guess it didn't matter) We came in and they started us in the "relaxation room" with a drink of our choice and tons of forms with weird questions to fill out. The lady took us on a mini tour and showed us the changing rooms where we were given robes and fancy slippers to change into.
When we came back to the relaxation room to wait for the masseuses, Doug announced to me that he felt ridiculous and uncomfortable in the robe. :) They gave us our massages in the same room. Doug had a female masseuse and I had a male one which I thought it was weird that they didn't do it the opposite way, but we both enjoyed the massages. It was a 30 minute deep tissue massage which actually hurt a bit, but afterward it felt really good. The whole robe thing was a little uncomfortable, but I guess I could get used to it if I had $150 bucks to blow when I wanted a massage.
As we were leaving I told Doug, "He massaged my butt!" He just laughed at me and let me know that they do that. It was quite the surprise to me! I kind of wished that he would've warned me going in.
After the spa we went to the Dulles Town Center where I was finally able to get the Aeropostale people to remove the ink tags off the jeans I bought there almost 2 weeks ago. Not a store that I usually shop at, but they had a buy one get one free sale a little while ago and I had a coupon on top of that. I had to dig through all of the size ZEROS to find a 10 that fit me. Size 0, who wears that? When I joked with the cashier about all of the size zeros, he informed me that their usual clientele are younger (and smaller too, I guess.)
I hate that there are certain stores for certain types of people and you don't know it until you go in and a salesperson intercepts you and kindly "hints" to you that this ISN'T the store for you. (I tend to get reminders like this frequently.)
Anyways, we also got to stop by Borders for me to trade a duplicate book that I accidentally bought. We found this great Calvin & Hobbes Sunday Edition book for Doug that actually has the rough sketches next to the final ones which is pretty cool. Last time I was there and asked for my teacher discount the lady flat out asked me how old I was. When I showed her my badge, she told me that she thought I was 15. Yeah, I may be younger, but 15??
On the way out, we stopped by a Kirtland store and actually bought a painting to go in the breakfast nook of the kitchen. This is quite the big accomplishment for me because I am such an indecisive person. They had a HUGE sale going on and there was a picture that I really liked a while ago, but passed up on because of the price. We got it for $20! (and on gift cards too!) It should go with the Americana kitchen theme that I hope to do, but haven't actually bought anything for yet.
We then headed over to Red Lobster where Doug got the Neverending Shrimp Platter and I got some Lobster Pizza. We love the cheesy biscuits there! I have to recommend the lobster pizza. I don't really like seafood all that much, but Doug loves it, so we try to go a fish place every once in a while. The lobster pizza was only an appetizer which made it cheap, it was big, and sooo good!
What a fun day! Doug said that one thing that he'll miss once I stop teaching (besides the paycheck) is the fun gift card dates that we get to go. Sorry for the long blog post. I was so excited about our day.. our usual Saturdays consist of going to my parents house to hang out all day and watch TV.
We started the morning at a fancy pants place in Ashburn called the Amenity Day Spa. Let me start this off by saying that Doug and I are NOT fancy people... The people there were like sipping champagne and talking about rich people stuff. It cost $65 per person for a 30 minute massage! (but I was using a gift card so I guess it didn't matter) We came in and they started us in the "relaxation room" with a drink of our choice and tons of forms with weird questions to fill out. The lady took us on a mini tour and showed us the changing rooms where we were given robes and fancy slippers to change into.
When we came back to the relaxation room to wait for the masseuses, Doug announced to me that he felt ridiculous and uncomfortable in the robe. :) They gave us our massages in the same room. Doug had a female masseuse and I had a male one which I thought it was weird that they didn't do it the opposite way, but we both enjoyed the massages. It was a 30 minute deep tissue massage which actually hurt a bit, but afterward it felt really good. The whole robe thing was a little uncomfortable, but I guess I could get used to it if I had $150 bucks to blow when I wanted a massage.
As we were leaving I told Doug, "He massaged my butt!" He just laughed at me and let me know that they do that. It was quite the surprise to me! I kind of wished that he would've warned me going in.
After the spa we went to the Dulles Town Center where I was finally able to get the Aeropostale people to remove the ink tags off the jeans I bought there almost 2 weeks ago. Not a store that I usually shop at, but they had a buy one get one free sale a little while ago and I had a coupon on top of that. I had to dig through all of the size ZEROS to find a 10 that fit me. Size 0, who wears that? When I joked with the cashier about all of the size zeros, he informed me that their usual clientele are younger (and smaller too, I guess.)
I hate that there are certain stores for certain types of people and you don't know it until you go in and a salesperson intercepts you and kindly "hints" to you that this ISN'T the store for you. (I tend to get reminders like this frequently.)
Anyways, we also got to stop by Borders for me to trade a duplicate book that I accidentally bought. We found this great Calvin & Hobbes Sunday Edition book for Doug that actually has the rough sketches next to the final ones which is pretty cool. Last time I was there and asked for my teacher discount the lady flat out asked me how old I was. When I showed her my badge, she told me that she thought I was 15. Yeah, I may be younger, but 15??
On the way out, we stopped by a Kirtland store and actually bought a painting to go in the breakfast nook of the kitchen. This is quite the big accomplishment for me because I am such an indecisive person. They had a HUGE sale going on and there was a picture that I really liked a while ago, but passed up on because of the price. We got it for $20! (and on gift cards too!) It should go with the Americana kitchen theme that I hope to do, but haven't actually bought anything for yet.
We then headed over to Red Lobster where Doug got the Neverending Shrimp Platter and I got some Lobster Pizza. We love the cheesy biscuits there! I have to recommend the lobster pizza. I don't really like seafood all that much, but Doug loves it, so we try to go a fish place every once in a while. The lobster pizza was only an appetizer which made it cheap, it was big, and sooo good!
What a fun day! Doug said that one thing that he'll miss once I stop teaching (besides the paycheck) is the fun gift card dates that we get to go. Sorry for the long blog post. I was so excited about our day.. our usual Saturdays consist of going to my parents house to hang out all day and watch TV.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Mister & Mrs. Tang
...is what Doug and I go by in the WAMAS group, a group for saltwater aquarium enthusiasts in the DC Area.
Doug started up a saltwater aquarium about a year ago. Saltwater aquariums take a lot of work and unfortunately Doug has not been able to do a lot of the upkeep because he is not living at home right now. For the last few months, I have been taking care of the tank and am proud to say that I haven't killed anything... that PBJ coral was on it's way out already.
Anyways, the tank is pretty dang awesome and I realized that I haven't actually put any pictures of it on my blog. So, here are some pictures of our tank. It's not just Doug's anymore. I now feel a little bit more ownership now that I'm the one taking care of it.
I hadn't looked through the pictures that we took all the way from the beginning. It's pretty crazy how far our tank has come!
This is the tank when we first got it and put in live rock.
A couple months later with our first corals.
This is basically what the tank looks like today.
This is Mele Mele, our yellow tang. He is Doug's inspiration for starting a saltwater tank.
This is one of our two tiger-banded sea stars. They only come out at night, but they're pretty cool.
This is Manie, the Mandarin. It's hard to take a picture of him because he flutters
This is a picture of one of our two frogspawn corals.
Doug started up a saltwater aquarium about a year ago. Saltwater aquariums take a lot of work and unfortunately Doug has not been able to do a lot of the upkeep because he is not living at home right now. For the last few months, I have been taking care of the tank and am proud to say that I haven't killed anything... that PBJ coral was on it's way out already.
Anyways, the tank is pretty dang awesome and I realized that I haven't actually put any pictures of it on my blog. So, here are some pictures of our tank. It's not just Doug's anymore. I now feel a little bit more ownership now that I'm the one taking care of it.
I hadn't looked through the pictures that we took all the way from the beginning. It's pretty crazy how far our tank has come!
This is the tank when we first got it and put in live rock.
A couple months later with our first corals.
This is basically what the tank looks like today.
This is Mele Mele, our yellow tang. He is Doug's inspiration for starting a saltwater tank.
This is one of our two tiger-banded sea stars. They only come out at night, but they're pretty cool.
This is Manie, the Mandarin. It's hard to take a picture of him because he flutters
around like a hummingbird. This is one of the hardest fish to keep and we haven't killed it yet!
This is a picture of one of our two frogspawn corals.Tuesday, September 1, 2009
FYI Dental Insurance
I blogged a while ago about worries that I had with dental costs here. I've now completed "My Treatment Plan" which included 2 crowns and 3 fillings. Yuck!
I had already paid $800 for my treatment and my plan covers 80% of the stuff I was getting done, so according to some calculations I did it looked like I might actually get a little money back. Last week, I received a $1,300 bill from my dentist. Yeah, I was surprised too.
I started by calling my dentist who let me know that the claim for one of my crowns had been denied. Denied? Um, how can your insurance deny something that they say that they cover?
I learned a bit more about the insurance process today while I was on the phone and I can now answer that question. So if you go or will ever go to the dentist, this might be some helpful information. I know it all seems very basic, but I really did think that my insurance would cover the procedures that it listed on my policy. Silly me!
Each time a dentist submits a claim they need to attach x-rays and such showing why they needed to do 'X' treatment. The insurance company then has their consultants look over this information and decide whether or not the procedure was indeed "necessary" before they will cover it. If the consultant deems it UNnecessary, then the patient (me in this case) will need to pay the full cost of the treatment.
This all sounds VERY reasonable and I understand why they need to go through this process because dental insurance companies don't want to pad the pockets of dentists that are doing unnecessary procedures. When I talked to my insurance company on the phone, they told me that it was good practice to have any procedure over $250 pre-approved with them before actually getting it done. Once again, excellent information, but 4 months too late.
Now what do I do? Well, the insurance company told me that I need to have my dentist office file an appeal explaining why my treatment was indeed necessary. You can file up to two appeals. If the appeal is granted then the insurance will cover it. If not... well I guess I will have a big unexpected bill coming up.
So hopefully this will be a positive learning experience and my claim will be covered. What can you learn from this and why am I sharing? Make sure that you get any procedure pre-approved EVEN if your policy says that it is covered.
Lesson learned.
I had already paid $800 for my treatment and my plan covers 80% of the stuff I was getting done, so according to some calculations I did it looked like I might actually get a little money back. Last week, I received a $1,300 bill from my dentist. Yeah, I was surprised too.
I started by calling my dentist who let me know that the claim for one of my crowns had been denied. Denied? Um, how can your insurance deny something that they say that they cover?
I learned a bit more about the insurance process today while I was on the phone and I can now answer that question. So if you go or will ever go to the dentist, this might be some helpful information. I know it all seems very basic, but I really did think that my insurance would cover the procedures that it listed on my policy. Silly me!
Each time a dentist submits a claim they need to attach x-rays and such showing why they needed to do 'X' treatment. The insurance company then has their consultants look over this information and decide whether or not the procedure was indeed "necessary" before they will cover it. If the consultant deems it UNnecessary, then the patient (me in this case) will need to pay the full cost of the treatment.
This all sounds VERY reasonable and I understand why they need to go through this process because dental insurance companies don't want to pad the pockets of dentists that are doing unnecessary procedures. When I talked to my insurance company on the phone, they told me that it was good practice to have any procedure over $250 pre-approved with them before actually getting it done. Once again, excellent information, but 4 months too late.
Now what do I do? Well, the insurance company told me that I need to have my dentist office file an appeal explaining why my treatment was indeed necessary. You can file up to two appeals. If the appeal is granted then the insurance will cover it. If not... well I guess I will have a big unexpected bill coming up.
So hopefully this will be a positive learning experience and my claim will be covered. What can you learn from this and why am I sharing? Make sure that you get any procedure pre-approved EVEN if your policy says that it is covered.
Lesson learned.
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