So I went home to Michigan... it's funny how SO many things change when you're away. I went and visited Dreama (my old nail girl) and like half the people that used to work there have either quit or been fired. Then there's the actual changes that have taken place in the city... there's a Borders that was not there before... I never knew a Borders could be built and supplied and open within four months.

I got my fill of eating out. We went to Big Boy for lunch on Thursday and I finally got to enjoy a Slim Jim... soooo good. Then my dad and I went to the coney island for dinner. They don't have 'em down here and I definitely missed a good coney dog and Greek salad. We also went to Max-n-Erma's (don't have 'em in NC) and of course Montana's (a local restaurant).

My mom and I went to the cider mill and had cider and donuts. Yummm... but all though I was "home" I really missed Steve. When I was in the air landing in Detroit, I got a little teary-eyed and it really hit me that I don't live there anymore.

It was chilly and the fall colors in Michigan are unlike the colors anywhere else. It was perfect in every way, but it wasn't "home." Steve and I decided that the next time we travel, we're going together.

We're going to Ohio, Indiana and Michigan for Christmas. Steve's dad is getting married, so we're flying out on the 21st (my last day) and then we're gone all through the 29th or 30th. We won't be here for Christmas... which makes me sad. But... we will be in Michigan for Christmas Eve, so I can go shopping with my dad, and then we'll be at my parent's for Christmas and the day after.

I got to see Shauna and Gen and Aimee while I was home. It was great to see them and catch up, though I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked.

Anywho-- enough from me for now. I'll write again soon!
Until next time...
>^..^<

I made it to track out!

Where do I begin? Let's see... Michael at work officially resigned on Monday. Talk about shocking! He said he just couldn't do the year round school anymore and he was feeling tired all the time and sick of giving 100% and having nothing to show for it. He said that he had just gotten caught up and then with tracking out, he knew he'd get behind again and feel bad coming back. I'm not sure why he felt that way, but that's what he told me. He doesn't have another job lined up and said he wasn't sure if teaching is what he wants to do. It's a hard job... very little praise for a job well-done, lots of criticism when you don't do a perfect job and there are 24 little people that you must be always aware of and doing your all to help succeed. It's definitely not a profession for everyone.

Anyway... I made it to tack out and I am excited! I stayed late on Wednesday and had a few parents come and help me take things off the walls. Then on Thursday, there were a few parents that came and helped me clean the room. On Friday, I had the kids empty their desks and clean them and the room was so empty! It's amazing to see just how much of my own personality is in the room. The kids all commented on how boring it looked and how they can't wait to come back to a room that's decorated again.

Katie moved into my old room, so she was there getting it set up. When I track in, I'll be in Laura's room and she's probably not going to let me in to decorate until after she's out. Whatever...

Yesterday after school, Lisa followed me home and then she and Steve and I met Katie and Judson at Chili's for dinner. We then went to the haunted forest (http://www.silentforest.org/). It was okay... they didn't take anything but cash and Steve and I NEVER carry cash. Luckily Lisa had some cash that we were able to borrow.

The haunted forest was fun, but definitely weird being in NC. There's something about going to a haunted house/forest in the fall and the air is crisp and chilly. Not down here... it was hot and humid. It didn't quite feel right. It was $15 per person to go in and it wasn't worth the money. Not enough scare for me. Though, at the end there was a guy in one of the port-o-potties and he jumped out and scared the crap out of us (lol).

Tonight we're going to Lisa's for a party. Not many people from work are going to be there, but it should be fun. I need to call Katie and find out if she wants to ride together. I am dragging Steve with me (lucky him)... but she's not making Judson go (lucky him).

I'll let you know how it goes!!
:)

Five more days and I go home to Michigan!!!!!
>^..^<

Song: "Irreplacable" by Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland
Mood: Content

I'm not sure why it ends up that it's about every two weeks that I'm able to write, but that appears to be the case. It's not like only things worth blogging about happen in two-week intervals, because there's always something to blog about...

The most recent thing was my birthday on the 2nd. I am now 31 and it wasn't as easy as I expected. I guess I always thought that by 31 I would be a mom and have started a family. It's not like it's too late for all that, but I am definitely feeling the need/desire to start a family ASAP.

I got up and in the bathroom were two cards for me (one from Steve and one from the cats and Ned). It was really cute and thoughful of Steve. He went to work and then I showered and went to work.

My 4th graders are so cute! I got a ton of handmade cards from them (the cards were super cute with frogs on them) and then I also got a tree frog Lil' Kinz and some pumpkin earrings with a matching pumpkin necklace.

We started our morning with our morning work and then when our announcements came on three parents from my class came into my room with balloons and bags of treats! I was absolutely shocked! They brought donuts for the class to celebrate my birthday and then there were five balloons!!! They put some on the outside of my classroom door and I put three on my chair. Then, there were more gifts! I was given a pair of frog earrings (super cute) and then two of my girls had gone and made me a necklace at a place called Beadazzled that is green and white and yellow beaded with a cute frog at the end.

I was in complete shock. I have never had a birthday (besides when I was a kid) like this one!! It was wonderful!!

When I came home, Steve gave me my present and I was excited to see the green EMU hoodie that I wanted!

It was an excellent birthday!!

Now for the not-so-great stuff... on Wednesday, at around 3:15 my principal comes to my classroom and asks if she can speak to me in private. So I go out into the hall and she told me that she had to ask me something. She asked me if I was doing the "Moving On in the Morning" activities (we watch exercise videos every morning and the kids do a mini-work out each day). What's funny about this question, is that I do it religiously. EVERY day and I do it for the ENTIRE length. I had just had a discussion with the other 4th grade teachers about this and they admitted that they only do it for 5 minutes... while I am doing it for 20-25 minutes.

So my principal asks me this and I was kinda shocked. Of course I do it, I told her I do it for the ENTIRE duration... not just 5-10 minutes... the WHOLE time. She could tell I was defensive and she said not to worry about it, but the office had just received an anonymous phone call from a concerned parent that said that she knew for a fact that I wasn't doing it. That I had apparently told my kids that , "I had more important things to do with my time than to have them doing exercise for the morning." Which is a load of crap... yes, I've thought that, but never said it to my class.

AND... my kids moan and groan and complain about doing the exercises and I MAKE them do it anyway! They know all the words by heart and sing while they're doing it... so if I wasn't doing it, how would they know the words?

What got me, is that I could see if I really wasn't doing it and I was caught. But I do it every day for the entire time. ALL of my kids do it. I can't picture any of my kids going home and having their parent ask if we're doing the moving in the morning and them saying, "No. Mrs. Walker said she has more important things to do than to have us exercise." It just doesn't add up. The other part is that there's a Mrs. Waller in my building... so it was suggested that maybe the call was intended for her, not Walker, but she's kindergarten and I can't picture a kindergartner going home and saying that. Who knows...

Anyway, it was enough to seriously piss me off.

Enough bitching for now... I need to find my happy place.

Until next time...
>^..^<

Song: "I Don't Wanna Be In Love (Dancehall Anthem)" by Good Charlotte
Mood: Tired

Well... last time I wrote was almost two weeks ago. It's not like a whole lot has changed since then, but there have been some updates. First of all... I'm not sure about how I like working at my school. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the people that I'm working with (which is a good change), but my principal is a whole different story.

She's the reason I am there. When I did my phone interview, I went into it with a very laid-back attitude because I didn't want to teach in a year-round school. I looked at the interview as a practice for the ones that I really wanted. After talking to my principal, I really started to consider the school. Then she called me... several times... to let me know that she was really excited to have me join her staff and she felt I'd make an outstanding addition. When we flew down for our house hunting, we toured the school and she was great.

So what happened? I'm not sure. Since starting she's been really weird to me and not friendly at all. I've talked to people about it (thinking it was something I did)... it's just how she is.

I had my first observation. I was very nervous... but I honestly felt the lesson went well. She called me into her office the next day and ripped me up one wall and down the other. She accused me of not teaching the curriculum (HELLO-- one of my degrees is Curriculum and Instruction and I ALWAYS make sure to follow the required curriculum!!!)... and then basically told me that the way that I was teaching guided reading was wrong. She said that in all the years that she's been in education, she's NEVER seen anyone teach guided reading like I did.

You might be asking... "What did you do that was so different?" Good question. I asked several people that I teach with... and they all do it the same way that I do. Katie (also new) even called her mom (a principal) and asked her mom and her mom said that it sounded good. So I don't know.

It's been disappointing. I really like the people that I teach with... but I don't think I can stay there another year. I'll stick it out through this year, but I don't know if I'll be back next year.

I told Steve that we need to get pregnant so I can have babies and stay home and raise them. I wasn't kidding.

Until next time...
>^..^<

Okay, anyone that knows me, knows that I have a very special cat in my life. Her name is Bob... I call her "Bobby" and sometimes "Roberta." She is the best cat on the planet. She and I (yes... Bob is a SHE) have talks (some of you have been lucky enough to witness this first-hand) and loves turkey. She actually snorts when it's turkey-time. Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday!



Last Sunday, Steve noticed that she wasn't quite herself. I'd noticed too... usually she sleeps in bed with me (she likes to sleep on my head and sometimes chew my hair), but lately has not been in our bed. She's been chillin' downstairs in Steve's blue chair.



Anyway, she was definitely "off" and we decided to take her to the Animal Hospital. They took her back right away and we didn't see or hear from them for three hours. Talk about feeling anxious! I had cried before we took her, because I was really scared that she wasn't going to be coming home with us.



The vet finally came to talk to us and told us that she was "perfectly normal." WHAT??? Impossible I said! We described her normal behavior compared to her behavior on Sunday and the vet said that she was probably just sick. She prescribed some meds and sent us on our way.



Well... throughout the week she didn't get any better. In fact, she just got worse. Steve and I have been so busy with work, I had a field trip last week and then conferences each day after school, and Steve's got a lot that he's doing.



The soonest that we could get her to our Holly Springs vet was Friday. Steve took her in and the vet said that there was definitely something wrong, but he wasn't sure. He took some blood and said that he'd have the results today. He said that his best guess was that she had a Potassium deficiency, and it could be treated with medication.



Throughout the weekend she didn't get better. It was heart-wrenching to watch her deteriorate. This is MY cat... the one that I got for my 21st birthday. This is the cat that when I went through my divorce, kept me sane. She is the cat that was almost killed/eaten by Lou (my dog that I had for about a minute).



This cat is my world and means everything to me... and she was slowly getting worse.



This weekend was awful. She couldn't walk... couldn't do anything but lay on her side and moan. Steve and I were praying that it was a Potassium problem that could be fixed. We were wrong.



This morning Steve got a call from the vet. She has FID... the feline version of AIDS. There's no cure and it always results in death. The vet said that Bob was so far along, that the most humane thing to do would be to bring her in this afternoon and have her put down.



Steve sent me an email this afternoon telling me this and I cracked. Thank God my assistant was there and could take my class to lunch. I called him and he basically said that he didn't want to take her by himself.



Not only is it bad news for Bob... but it's transferred to other cats and we have five others that now MUST be tested. Steve's taking Tommy and Toebe on Wednesday and then Mindy, Eddie and Hurmin on Friday.



I rushed home from work so I could spend some time with her before we had to go. I came upstairs and she was on the floor at the opening to our bathroom. I got on the floor with her and cried like a baby. To think that my cat... my sweet Bobby was going to be leaving me shortly was so painful.



I cried and hugged her and told her how much I loved her. She was a great cat... and got me through the most difficult time of my life. She and I had a connection that only a few pet lovers could ever appreciate. I told her to just go on her own because I couldn't imagine having to watch the vet end her life.



Steve called and said he was going to have to meet me at the vet's. I gathered her into my arms for the last time and carried her limp body to her cat carrier. All week her body was slowly shutting down. She could eat, but had no strength to stand. She could no longer bend her arms or legs and lost all muscle flexibility.



We got into the car and drove to the vet. I cried the whole way. When we got to the vet's office, Steve had just pulled in. I got out and opened the back door and she was in her carrier. She looked like she had an itch, so I opened the top and reached inside to help her itch. She had bent her leg, which she had not been able to do all week. She couldn't quite reach her neck, so I scratched for her. She stuck her neck way out and opened her eyes wide (they had been almost closed all week). Then she moved her body so she was in a different position.



Steve came to the side of the car and took the carrier inside for me. I was crying the whole time and once inside they escorted us to a room.
As soon as we went inside, we looked and she took one final breath. We both said that it didn't look like she was breathing. The vet tech listened for a heartbeat and said that she couldn't confirm anything, but she was pretty certain that Bob had passed on.



The vet came in to check and told us that she had passed on and was no longer with us. It was so painful, but I am glad that she went on her own.
We are having her cremated and will be coming home later this week.
I now feel empty and sad and there's a hole there that will never be filled by another animal. Bob was my soul-cat. She came into my life almost 10 years ago and fulfilled every day as the best cat that ever lived.



I have the most supportive husband... he cried with me and held me through the whole thing. Now we're going to hope that Bob didn't pass on the virus to any of the other cats. It's spread through saliva... and they all share the same food.



Keep us in your prayers.


>^..^<