Retirement

I'm going into retirement. Well, not me per say... This blog is. I've been so insanely busy, etc. Maybe I'll come back to it in a few months (years?).

I'm in the midst of trying to apply at different schools, which then means moving, and all the stuff that goes w/ that. I'm working 2 jobs: teaching full time and then retail part time. Plus all in there, trying to have some kind of social life.

Well, I just wanted to give JAQQ2 a semi-official end... well, more like hiatus.

Toodles for now.

Roses are red...

Valentine's Day. That time of year when you are either:
a) intoxicated by the love of your life
b) wishing you had a different love of your life
c) desperately single and wanting a love of your life
d) livid by the whole idea of needing a love of your life

And of course, if you do have someone to share this special holiday with, what are you expecting from them? you know, even though you may not admit it, exactly what you want as a present. and if that significant other doesnt get it for you or gets something different, theyre in the doghouse.

so, what's your preference of v-day gifts?
1) it better be chocolate! i'm so sweet, and he/she should know it!
2) anything but chocolate... does he/she think i'm so fat that i just want food?
3) flowers. and they better be roses. beautiful roses, and lots of them. i'm worth the $$$
4) just a nice card. something from the heart. maybe a self-written poem...
5) dinner out. no distractions, just us enjoying champagne and a very elaborate meal.

for those single ones out there [just like abigail], think back to your last relationship that occured over v-day. either that or use your imagination.

Crystal Ball

I find myself in the midst of great confusion. I have no clue what I'm going to be doing in 6 months. I'll be leaving the school I'm teaching at now, moving out of my apartment, and I have no clue where I'll be going. It's really frustrating. I don't know if I'll be moving in with my parents, moving out on my own in Delaware or some other part of PA. No clue. I hate not knowing things!

I kind of wish I had a crystal ball and could find out what's going to be happening. Though, I guess I should view it all as a growing and stretching experience.

So my question I'll pose to you is this: Would you really want to know your future, or do you like the not-knowing bit?

Gimme the Veggies

So, I've decided to go meatless. Starting today, I am a vegetarian. The past week was a sort of trial period. Ease myself into it. I'm now a no-meat kind of girl.

Well, at least for a month. My one friend has recently gone vegan. She's been trying to talk me into it. For health reasons, not anti-cruelty-to-animals reasons. So I finally decided hey- why not give it a try. So for the next month I'm going to see 1) if I CAN do it, and 2) if it seems worth it. I'm not going to be hardcore vegan- w/ the whole no milk, eggs, etc. I'm still doing dairy, and fish once in a rare while.

We'll see!

Double O... 8?

If you could give yourself a secret code name,

what would it be?

Let It Snow!

What's your favorite winter snow activity?

I know it's short, but hey- at least it's something! The first question from me in months!

A little bird told me...

You have your favorite cup of coffee [or tea or hot chocolate or whatever you prefer] and are so at peace while sipping away at it. You step outside to quick check the mail, carrying your mug with you. Sure, its getting a little cold but you just can't seem to part with it.

ALL OF A SUDDEN... PLOP!!!

Your coffee splashes over onto your hand. [ouch, its hot!] You look in the mug to see what the problem is, only to discover that some BIRD POOPED and it landed in your cup.

Your blessed drink is ruined! What do you do?

A. Fall to your knees in a weeping mess
B. Track down the bird and throw the scalding hot drink on it
C. Drink it anyway; a little doo-doo never hurt anyone
D. Resign yourself to the fact and just make another cup

Quick 'n Easy

So, nowadays, things are made to be simple. Sometimes, the simpleness of it actually can make the thing itself less simple. Automatic this, automatic that. You know what I'm talking about!

Setting: Public bathroom.
Items: Automatic sink, flush, soap, paper towels.

What's next people?!

Share with me your true feelings about these things. Good, bad, or ok?

Where have we been?

Abby has left the blogger world. She's gone, adios!
I've been busy over at Adventures of Mommyhood.

So, dear readers, what have you been up to?


***UPDATE***

This is Abby. I've come to yell at... I mean "correct"... my sister. I have NOT left the blogger world.

The problem is that I have three blogs. Two of them are vital, one is for fun. I just left the fun one slip.

I have a classroom blog that I keep for my students and their families. I post what we're learning, pictures, activities, anouncements, etc. That takes A LOT of time, and needs to be done. I also created a blog that works as an on-line portfolio. I'm in the process of applying to different schools (I'll explain why at a later date). So I spent a lot of time getting this on-line portfolio done. It is now finished. YAY! Now all I have to do is get a job :-)

So I let JAQQ2 slip. Sorry. I really am. Becky's overhauling the template. Maybe her effort will motivate me some.

Happy Thanksgiving

What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Playing Dress-Up

Plain and simple question for today--

What do you want to be for Halloween.

Regardless of whether you "do" halloween or not. Maybe you think its "evil," stupid, or you just dont participate... What would you dress up as for a night? The SKY'S THE LIMIT! (well... almost.)

Think, think, think...

As for me, i would want to be the Chiquita Banana girl. I'd get to wear a cool blue dress with golden trim. Big hoop earrings. And a basket of fruit on my head! How cool is that?!?!?!

Trick-or-Treat... Give me something good to eat!

Ok, imagine yourself as a 13 yr old, prone to mischief, and are out trick-or-treating.

You go door to door, ringing the bells and shouting "Trick or Treat!" and the nice home-owners give you gobs of candy. Yum, yum... a sugar high for the next month!

You come upon a house, ring the doorbell, and no one answers. The car is in the driveway, the inside lights are on, so you KNOW someone is home. You ring again. You ring again. You ring again.

Finally, some one comes storming to the door and grunts to you: "No candy here! Go away!!" Then, he slams the door at you.

Well... it IS trick-or-treat night. And technically, if someone doesn't give you a treat, you have the right to trick them... right?

What big-time prank are you gonna pull on them? How will you get your revenge???

[A quick word: This is just to be silly. I'm sure that we are all moral people out there who would NEVER dare to pull a big-time prank on someone who doesn't share an awe of Halloween. Nonetheless, be creative!]

Depressed and Excited

I'm depressed...

Ok, not really depressed. More like bummed. I miss my kiddies from last year. They were so good! The perfect class! This year, I have more DP kids than I can handle (DP: discipline problem). Out of 17, a whoppin' 10 are DP's. I feel so bad for the 7 well-behaved kids. They aren't getting the education they're paying for b/c I have to spend all day handling these other kids. Oof!

And my car is sick! Blaah. Something's wrong with the transmission. I'm taking it in to the car doctor tomorrow. I'm scared... it's going to be pricey I fear.

I'm also bummed b/c I've resigned myself to the fact that my Crush doesn't like me back (or at least, I'm pretty sure he doesn't). But I'll be going down to DE this upcoming weekend to see my bro and family. I'll see him then... I need to wear a cute outfit to church.

Did I mention before that this is my last year at my school I've been w/ the past 3 years? Well, it is. I just can't survive on the pittely salary. Private schools pay crap. As much as I love the school, I just can't afford to stay. For example, look at my car problems. As it is now, my parents are most likely going to be paying all the bills for whatever is wrong. I just don't have the money! I'm broke poor. So I'm moving on to public schools. Starting salaries at public schools are, on average, $10,ooo more than what I'm making now. I'm not trying to be materialistic... I'm just trying to survive!

So I'll be applying all over eastern PA, as well as Delaware. My sister-in-law is trying to talk me into moving down there. I'm seriously thinking about it. And no, it's not because of Crush. I have friends down there. And if I'm going to be moving to somewhere new, why not to where I know people already? (I really hope Crush doesn't know about this blog. I can't see how he would, but if he does, and sees this, I'm going to be majorly embarrassed!)

I'm excited about the possibilities. Though it also scares me. If I get another grade, I'll miss Kindergarten... Though right now, I feel like shouting, "I never want to see another 5-year old again!" Oi- they are so naughty this year! Looking back, it's actually kind of funny the things they think they can do! But in the middle of a math lesson, I don't see the humor in it.

Well, that's just a quick, brief update. Life is so crazy. I miss blogging, but I have zero spare time. My bedroom looks like it threw-up all over itself. Such a mess! I can't see my floor! Just no time. Right now, I should be grading papers. I feel totally unmotivated.

If anything exciting happens this weekend, I'll let yall know!

Battle Wounds

My husband likes to call his scars, scrapes, and bruises "battle scars." I guess its a male-thing, trying to make it sound macho.

So, what battle scars do you have? What's their story?

I'll share two:

1) I have a cut/scrape on my arm, just slightly under my elbow. The scar has been there for more than 6 months, so it couldnt have been a trifle thing.... EXCEPT, it was! So trifle that I don't even remember getting it! I have no idea where it came from. I just looked down one morning and saw it. Crazy

2) I have gray/blue-ish marks on my left knee. When I was a child, I fell on some small rocks and gravel near our driveway. I think that I didn't get all the dirt and gravel out, and the skin healed over it. I remember trying to cut it back open to clean it out, but I was such a wimp that I couldnt do it. Well, it didnt kill me so I guess its okay.

Where did that come from?

Abigail and I were together with a friend last Sunday. And we were "shooting the breeze."

But what in the world does that mean? Where did that come from? What does shooting the breezey air have to do with talking about this and that???

What are some of your favorite "sayings?"

Hopefully we can get through this 'by the skin of our teeth.'

The Lone Stranger

The farmer in the dell,

The farmer in the dell,

Hi-ho the dairy-o

The farmer in the dell

The farmer takes a wife, the wife takes a dog, the dog takes a cat, the cat takes a mouse, the mouse takes the cheese...

In "The Farmer in the Dell" the cheese stands alone.

Which kind of cheese is it?



*Bonus points if you know what "the dell" is.

Okay, Okay. I know this is lame

Yes, this question is gonna be very very lame. I'm sitting here with my breakfast and coffee, while my daughter is upstairs with her breakfast and coffee.* And my question is this--

What is your favorite meal of the day?

And-- What would be your ideal foods for that meal?

*Okay, she's not actually drinking coffee.

New & Improved

Do you like the New&Improved blog template?

I bow down and praise Becky for her job well done. Yes, that's right: BECKY put this together. Isn't she amazing?

So, what do you think? Should we change anything else? Colors, content, designs, etc? We will be adding a new picture of us... for some reason, it hasn't transferred over very well.



[PS: Okay, okay. I, Becky, am signed in under Abigail's screen name. I had to be in order to make all of the changes. So... I'm being a bit prideful in my exclamations. Oh well.]

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Ah, the joys of Lancaster County, PA!

I'm sure that your knowledge of the place consists of things like Amish, horse and buggies, farms, etc. Well, where I live, there are an abundance of these things.

Unfortunately, that sometimes leads to NASTY smells. Yesterday, Erica and I were driving past a local chicken coup. And its not just a small one, like a single farmer would have, containing maybe just a dozen chickens. I mean, A HUGE ONE! A chicken farm. I try to avoid driving past it; but I had no choice that day.

It was so bad that even Erica covered her nose and cried: "Stinky!" Honestly, it smells like rotting meat. Which is quite an unnerving thought, considering most people actually eat those chickens. Ick!

What is the worst thing that YOU have ever smelled?

a. Freshly Fertilized Farmland

b. Mushroom Factory [can you say: Yummy! Cow manure fertilizer just baking in the sun!]

c. A very bad case of B.O.

d. An unclean bathroom [what an understatement!]

e. Other

Just a Quick Update

When I've said in the past that things have been busy, I don't think I truly knew the meaning of the word! I think I know now!

Jeez, what hasn't happened in the past two weeks?!

I'm still working part-time at a clothing store... but I got promoted to Assistant Manager... at another store. So I need to get to know this new store, and its procedures. I also need to be trained and learn the ins-and-outs of being an Asst.Man. This all started less than a week before my hours at school restarted.

I went back to school at the end of August. I needed to fix my room. The summer cleaning crew (students from the middle school) took everything out of my room to wash the floor, then just threw it all back in there. My poor room looked like it threw-up all over itself! Plus I've been helping out in the other K class, because they still didn't hire a teacher for that room! The K Department Head (my boss) is doing it for now, so I've been helping her get things ready. For almost 2 weeks, I'd go into school at 9 am, work until 4, go to my PT job, then go back to school at 10 pm, and stay until 2 am.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

Today was the first real day of school. I like my kiddies. They don't necessarily like listening, though! But it was just the first day. I'll get them into shape by the end of the month. They're all good kids. I don't know if they'll beat out last year's kids, though. I loved my kiddies last year!

I think the only thing not going on right now in life is romance. I know I mentioned having a crush a while ago... Nothing ever came of it. I'm kind of bummed over it. As much as it would be great if he realized that I'm awesome and would initiate something, I'm not going to sit around waiting, especially for something that likely may never happen. Don't get me wrong- I'd be elated if he actually did like me... but I'm sure he doesn't, so I'm only going to hurt myself by waiting. Too bad... his mommy really loves me (or so I've heard).

Well, I need to go pack. After school tomorrow, I'm heading off to Atlantic City with some friends. Party time!