This week at school everyone was sick. In one of my classes the chorus of coughing students caused me to change my lesson plans so that the students just worked quietly at their desks. If I had tried to teach any kind of lesson, I was convinced that the students wouldn't have been able to hear me over the sound of coughing. It was that bad. I also had two students leave my class in one days to throw up. At one point, I got out a surgical mask, (that my 8th graders all have in their things for science labs) put it over my face, and walked around the room giving each of my students a squirt of hand sanitizer. I was desperate.

But do you think that kept me from catching that awful bug that was going around? Of course not. I think I knew after hearing the very first cough that I would be its next victim. About halfway through my day yesterday, I found myself feeling disoriented, achy, and requiring multiple layers of clothing. My students told me it wasn't cold enough in the classroom for me to be wearing my shirt that I came in with, a sweater, and a jacket. I told them that I must be getting sick.

My 40 minute ride home yesterday evening was completely miserable. The only saving grace to that was my heated seats which thoroughly soothed my aching back. Now, here I am wasting a perfectly good Saturday away lying on my couch and taking naps with a few short trips to the computer... only to head back to the couch for another nap.

Don't get me wrong. I love being lazy on Saturdays... I would just prefer not to have a pounding headache, burning throat, and aching body.

But, I figure if I was going to get sick this is really the best time. It hit me at the end of the week so I can (hopefully) kick this before Monday, and because I am sick now I hopefully will be healthy as a horse for my mother's visit next weekend.. and of course Hubby's return from Iraq.

Speaking of Hubby's return.. I finally found out a date. It's not set in stone, of course, until 10 days before the return, but it's nice to have a frame of reference. It's later than I thought it would be.. but what's another week or two?

As long as I can keep myself as positive as possible, this last month is sure to fly by. That's my plan! :)

25 Things about Me (New and Improved)

If you have a facebook account, you're probably well aware of the 25 Random Things About Me phenomenon going on over there. I jumped on that bandwagon rather early and have (true to my nature) since then wished I'd waited a little bit. Because, after reading everyone else's 25 things.. I've thought of some additions. They are as follows...

1. I am a recovering chapstick addict. There was a time when I would actually break into a sweaty panic if I realized I had left home without my chapstick.
2. Due to anxiety, I didn't get my driver's license until I was 19. I didn't drive on the highway (alone) until I was 20. Yet, I drove from FL to PA alone when I was 23.
3. My brother and I used to play a game where we would lock each other out of our house, and we'd have to find a way to get back in. One time I locked him out of the house when we weren't playing the game; he found his way inside that time by kicking the door down.
4. My sister once slapped me in the face with her jeans at the dinner table. She also once convinced me that my barbies came alive at night and murdered people.
5. I love my brother and sister more than you will ever know.
6. It's really easy for me to forgive and forget. This is not always a positive thing.
7. I write and eat with my left hand but do everything else with my right.
8. People often confide in me... sometimes people I don't know very well. I, on the other hand, confide in very few people. Even if you think you're one of my best friends, I probably don't tell you too much about what I'm feeling.
9. For some reason, though, I'm comfortable writing the majority of my feelings on the world wide web for all to see.
10. This might sound really stupid, but I think that part of the reason why I have so much indecision about my career life is because in the long run I know that my true happiness comes from my family. Therefore, I believe that my job is what I'm doing temporarily until I'm ready to start my own family with my husband.
11. I know that I have led an extremely blessed life. Because of this, I am constantly waiting for something really horrible to happen.
12. When my husband is deployed, I regularly go over the scenerio of his death in my mind. I imagine exactly how I would respond and what I would do. I thought I was crazy until I read other military wife blogs and found out this is completely normal; it's called anticipatory grief.
13. Despite #'s 11& 12, I am actually an extremely happy person 99% of the time.
14. One thing that I feel certain every single one of my students would say about me is that I love to joke around with them.
15. I enjoy being alone and have spent entire weekends at home by myself.. completely content.
16. My dad and I share affection by teasing each other. (See #14 and make the connection)
17. My dad is also the only father I knew growing up who went grocery shopping, packed his kids' lunches, made dinners, washed dishes, did laundry. My dad also always made it very clear to me that he trusted me to make good choices for myself. My friends were (are) all so jealous of me for having such an amazing dad.
18. I obsess over food. I absolutely have to know what I'm going to eat and when. For example: I already know what I will be eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow.
19. I drastically change my hair color on a regular basis but have (basically) had the same hair style since 6th grade.
20. My brother calls my husband and me Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. I actually agree that this is a fairly accurate description of us together.
21. I HATE: bowling, playing pool, skiing, and go-carting. I can attribute each of those activities to a traumatic experience in my life.
22. I journaled pretty much every day from 3rd grade until my freshman year in college. Because of this, I have an extraordinarily amazing memory of my yester-years. I often go back and read my journals and never cease to find them entertaining.
23. When I was in 8th grade I fully believed that my mission in life was to be a spiritual advisor to death row inmates. Somehow, reality and being a teenager got in the way of my dream.
24. The worst arguments I've ever had were with my mother... I'm talking all out screaming/crying battles of will.
25. I really do not think I have the ability to adequately describe in words how much my mother means to me. When she had breast cancer I never believed anything other than that she would be healthy again - I couldn't believe anything other than that.

Honey-Do

There's this thing that is widely known throughout military land; it is called a Honey-Do List. With Hubby's impending arrival back into my life, I have recently found myself spending a lot of time creating my own list inside of my head. Today I thought, what better place to write out my honey-do list than on my blog? So, here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

Dear Hubby,

Welcome Home! I know that you have had a rough 7 months without common luxuries such as indoor plumbing, regular showers, a normal bed, cable television, homecooked meals, etc. I also realize that due to your 24/7 on the job status while deployed, you are very used to staying busy and on the go at all times. I have decided that it is really to both of our benefits that you are used to working so hard... especially because while you were gone, I had some things come up that I really need you to take care of. Of course, I understand that you will probably want to relax your first day back; that is only normal. However, I really think its best that you get back out there as soon as possible and really put your everything into this list. Without further ado, I present to you

THE LIST

1. Remember last deployment when you came back and the backyard was completely torn-up and grassless due to the fact that I had trouble remembering to water it? Well, you'll be happy to know that it's not that bad this time. However, for your first order of business you will most likely want to get the yard back to your standards. There may be some re-sodding involved, but I assure you, there is still grass back there. Just not as much as you might hope..
2. Again, remember how when you returned from your last deployment our pool was green because the pool pump broke as a result of the Wildfires and all of the debris that made its way into our pool? Well, once again, no worries, it's not nearly as bad as that. However, those Santa Anas have been blowing for the past couple of weeks and while the pump is still in perfectly working order, the vacuum itself does not seem to be functioning properly. It's likely that I could figure out how to fix this myself (as I have done many times over the past 7 months), however, since your return is only a short time away I decided it was really best if I left that job to you, the resident expert.
3. Our garbage disposal is broken. It's really a huge nuisance to not have a working garbage disposal. If you could fix it asap, I would be eternally grateful.
4. The shower in our bathroom drips. If you could take care of that right away it would really cut back on our water bill every month...(I say that because I know how much you really hate to waste money).
5. You may have noticed this on your way into the house, but the palm trees... they are in desperate need of trimming.
6. If you could please get our border collie signed up for agility classes when you have a free moment, that would be great.

After you have completed all of the items on this list, I'm sure you will feel much more comfortable being back at home.

With all of my love,

Sarah

venting

Hubby is due back in a month. I mean, I think he's due back in a month. I haven't received a return date or anything yet and have no idea when a return date might be told to me. Hubby did tell me the other day on the phone that he won't be giving me any dates on an unsecure line (translated: all the lines I use to communicate with him are "unsecure" which means I will not be finding out the official date through Hubby).

So. I don't really know. I am preparing for his arrival during the end of February, though. And he damned well better show up then or I'll be one disappointed military wife.

This week, I decided that February is probably going to be the longest month of my life. Which, I realize is completely ironic since as we all know, February is in fact the SHORTEST month on the calendar.

I know I am sounding pretty pathetic today. Sorry about that, but...

I am having a bad week.

What qualifies my week as bad, you ask? First of all, I lost two earrings. Two earrings from two different pairs.. which is extremely devastating to me. Secondly, due to a special school week I've had disgustingly late nights & early mornings at work. And, last but not least, I found out my employer will not give me the money to fund my Masters Degree...

They won't fund it because I would be using the masters to "clear" my teaching certification -- which I totally understand -- I mean, why in the world would they want to fund a masters degree that would get a teacher the credentials to actually continue teaching? I mean, seriously.. what is the sense in that?

I hope you caught the sarcasm in that.

Okay, I'm finished venting.

Tonight, anyway... :)

My 8th Grade Teachers

I'm not sure how it came up, but today in class my 8th graders asked me what my 8th grade teachers were like. Normally, I don't let them get me off track this bad, however, this time it was something that interested me.

So, I humored them.

My English teacher was someone who the majority of my friends were afraid of. I wasn't, though. This was probably because my sister had been in her class a few years before me and had only positive things to say about her. This teacher was a grammar nazi. She had long red fingernails that she would tap against the board when she was making a point. She made students stand up behind their desks when answering a question. She had tape in the shape of a square on her floor -- it was called "the box" and it was something that all students feared. Every time we gave a speech or presentation, we had to stand inside the dreaded box. Today, in my classroom, I have a box just like hers. My students aren't nearly as afraid of it as I was when I was in 8th grade.. but that's good because I don't want them to be. She was also the first teacher I ever had who went out of her way to tell me I was a good writer.

My algebra teacher was really tall and really funny. He used to get off topic in class and tell stories about his son, his favorite band R.E.M. , and Bill Cosby, his favorite comedian. He also had quite a temper. One time he caught a few of the boys in my class counting how many times he said the word "um" - an assignment given to us by the English teacher mentioned above - and he blew a gasket. It was the biggest outburst I ever witnessed from a teacher. The finale was him stomping out of the classroom and slamming the door. Besides his temper, he was the kind of teacher that you felt comfortable confiding in. I remember saying that to him once in an off-subject class discussion, and I know it really touched him because he thanked me the next day when he passed me in the hall.

My geography teacher was crazy. She had huge reading glasses that she used to wave around while she was teaching. For some reason, she loved me. In fact, she loved me so much that she gave me an A on everything. At some point in the year, I realized she was just giving me A's without reading my work, so on an essay test I purposely wrote a few random things like "Camels are extinct" to test out my theory. I wasn't surprised when my test came back with a big red A+ on it. I told my students this today, and they were very jealous. I explained to them that it actually really wasn't a good thing, but they didn't see the logic in that.

My science teacher was really nice and a little bit of a pushover. The only major thing I remember about her class was a lesson where we pulled a tablecloth out from under plates, glasses, and silverware. I was one of the people who tried it, and it worked.. to my complete and total surprise. I do remember having to study for the tests that she gave, though. And, studying isn't something I remember doing much of during my school years, so she must have been doing something right.

It's really interesting for me to think back on the teachers I've had and what I remember about each of them. It's even stranger to think that one day 10 years from now my students might be writing a blog or having a conversation about their teacher Mrs. (Sorry) and the things they remember about her.....

:) :(

A fourth person mentioned to me today that I look like I'm losing weight.

That made me happy.

Then, for Open House one of my students drew a picture of me on the board.

Another student came in and said, "That doesn't look like Mrs. (Sorry), the stomach is too small."

Hmm..

What did I tell you? 8th graders sure have a knack for keeping a person humble...

Indecision (what a weird word!)

It's possible that you noticed that in this post I said I wasn't going to be making any plans until Hubby came home and I officially found out where the future (aka Marine Corps) would be taking us. And then in this post - a mere couple of days later - I broke the news that I was probably going to be starting a Masters Program in April.

You also might have noticed that sometimes I write about how rewarding it is to be a teacher. And.. sometimes I write about how exhausting it is.

Sometimes I write as the empowered military wife...

...and sometimes I complain about how dreadful it is to run the house on my own and live without romance.

Sometimes I explain how wonderful it is to live in San Diego...

.. and other times I lament about being so far away from my family.

In fact, more than likely, you've noticed that the only thing consistent about my posts is the inconsistency of them.

I did warn you when Hubby first left for Iraq that I turn bi-polar during deployments. I certainly experience HIGH highs and LOW lows and, of course, some moments inbetween.

But, I think it goes beyond that.

I think there's a possibility that I really just might be the most indecisive person in the entire world. Seriously.

I second guess pretty much every aspect of my entire life. From the big decisions - should I be a teacher? To the small decisions - should I have just said that?

It's a condition that I've learned to live with.

However,

(WARNING: the information that follows contains high levels of CORNY & SWEET)

To tell you the truth - and I think about this often - the only decision that I do not regularly question was my decision to marry my husband.

.........to clarify, I also am NOT one of those people who can't make up my mind about what I want to eat at a restaurant. (I only mention this because I truly despise that quality in a person.)
Oh yeah, and I also never question my decision to add my border collie to the family. The husky on the other hand......

Okay, so maybe I'm not the MOST indecisive person in the whole world, afterall. I do think I could probably make it into the top 10, though.