Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Still in Pain... Still a Freak of Nature

Hey Y'all!

Well, I am officially almost through the first week of school! My munchkins are quite cute this year and I think that I am going to end up with a sweet class! I always start my year off by doing a unit on penguins.. since that is our class mascot. Well, my kids have really enjoyed it and can't stop saying the word "oviparous!"

On the leg front, I had to visit a surgeon on Monday to get a biopsy of the HUGE sore on my leg. It has gotten bigger and I am in alot of pain, especially after standing on it lots. Luckily I have the most understanding grade level in the world and they have been helping me out so much! By the end of the day I can hardly stand and my calf muscles are in a permanent cramp. Zorro is not happy with this turn of events... his walks have been curtailed! I am headed to a doc in Charleston on Tuesday to see if we can't get to the bottom of this. I am really scared that this is going to involve the EVIL prednisone. At this point, I just want to cry!

Well, I have to run.. I have some work to do for school, not to mention sub plans to make for Tuesday. I can't believe I have been in school for 4 days with kids and I am already taking a day off!

:) JKP

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Apparently I am a Freak of Nature... and I Have the Ability to Draw Large Crowds!

Hey Y'all!

Well I am enjoying my last summer night. I can't believe that I start with a new group of munchkins tomorrow! I am really starting to miss my old class! I had them trained so well!

On the leg front, things have gotten worse. Yesterday I went and worked at school from about 9 until about 1:30. I came home, applied heat to my leg and took a nap. Zorro and I then took a drive up north and met Mom, Aunt Brenda and Uncle Richard for dinner at Carrabas. YUM-O. I actually had a Caesar salad (one of my very favorite things!) with my dinner! Way to go tummy! Anyway, after dinner, Mom and I did some errand running. We picked up some last minute stuff for school and then we went to The Dairy Hut for a treat. I haven't been there all summer! It was nice to enjoy an ice cream treat and then go and walk in the sand! By the time we got back to Mom's house, my entire leg was swollen and I was in a lot of pain. I headed home, took some meds and went to sleep. Today I tried to stay off of my leg as much as possible. Because, tomorrow, I am going to have to stand ALL day! It still hurts, but it is not as swollen today. I just ran to the grocery store.... I forgot to change out of my shorts....and while I was there some guy yelled.... "What is wrong with your leg? What a bad burn! Wait, that's not a burn.. what is that thing?" I swear and THEN... I have a crowd start to form around me! It was creepy scary. Note to self. Cover leg with bermudas or pants at all times! Good Times! The docs are trying to get me in with a dermatologist to take a look at this thing to find out if it really is Crohn's related. So, instead of being able to focus all of my attention on school this week, it looks like I am going to be dealing with this thing too!

I also took some time out and went to see The House Bunny today. It was so cute and funny! If you want a laugh, check this movie out! If you were in a sorority in college, you will really appreciate it too!

Well, I am off to get my beauty sleep for tomorrow. I have to get up at 5:30... All teachers have to report at 6:45 tomorrow..... Uggg. Where are my days of sleeping late?????????
:) JKP

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Owie! Owie! Owie!

Hey Y'all....

Well, you can tell from the title that my leg is still bothering me. Now the folks with white coats think that what has inhabited my leg is not a spider bite, but some kind of auto immune thing that has to do with my Crohns. Whatever. It just hurts! And, it is getting bigger. I am on a new antibiotic so we will see if the third time is a charm.

School starts Monday and I am getting ready to head into to school to do a few last minute things. I am up to 20 munchkins at the moment. Open House was good and all but 2 munchkins came. All in all I have a sweet class, except for one student, so hopefully this will be a good year.

I'm off to work at school for a while.... I'll write more later on!
:) JKP

Monday, August 18, 2008

You Got Lucky.....

Hey Y'all....

Sorry, I couldn't resist using a line from one of my favorite Tom Petty songs! I've had my Tom Petty on the Ichabod the i pod a lot the last couple of days... it's great music to listen to when you've got stuff to do! It's also great driving music too! (Yes, I named my i pod. I name everything.) 10 points bonus if you can guess who Ichabod is and where in literature he comes from!

Anyway, I am referring to the luck that Myrtle Beach has had avoiding Tropical Storm Fay. I hope our FLA neighbors hang in there! It never fails that we always end up having a storm right before school starts or the first day of school. When I was little, we never went to school until after Labor Day down here because of the "Labor Day" storms! As I have gotten older, it seems that Florida has been bearing the brunt of these storms.

Today we had an early morning meeting at one of the local high schools for all teachers, and then the rest of the day was a work day. Imagine my horror when I walked in my classroom this morning only to discover that my principal had re-ordered the cleaning company to "re-wax" our classroom floors. I almost hyperventilated on the spot. Everything that I had worked so hard to do over the past few days, was flung in the front of the room. When I left my room on Saturday, kids could have literally walked in the door this morning and I could have taught. I tried not to have a hissy fit. Luckily, some of the other teachers did and our principal ordered the cleaning crew to come back and move our furniture back into the correct spot. Now if you have ever taught in a South Carolina Public School, you know the odds of that happening are NIL! So I decided to do what Scarlett O'Hara would do, and I went to lunch with some friends... determined to tackle the problem later... much later. Well, imagine my surprise when I returned from lunch and the furniture fairies had visited my room. Well, all I have to say is miracles to happen! And boy, am I thankful!

Well, I've got to run.... The Closer is on!!
:) JKP
p.s. To check out a totally awesome video for Tom Petty's Song "You Got Lucky"... visit
You Tube! This video is what MTV used to be all about!!!!

p.s.s. Trivia fact from above.. I named my i pod after Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow. He was the schoolmaster sent to educate the children in the village. Hee! Get it? I am teacher.........

Saturday, August 16, 2008

HOOOWWWWDDDDYYYY!

Hey Y'all,

Well, I took a few days off from the blog, because well, I had to go back to work! I went into school Wednesday (the rainiest day of the year, by the way) and got all of my classroom furniture moved. Thursday was our official start day for teachers. We had a brief faculty meeting and then we were given the rest of Thursday and Friday to work in our rooms. My room is ready for Open House on Thursday! Mom went out to school with me today to hang my new flag holder (outside of my portable) so I can hang my penguin flag for open house. She also helped me get my bookcase in working order again! So my classroom is done! Next week I will be in meetings for the majority of the week, so it is a relief to get my classroom finished early. Also, last year I started out in 1st grade and then moved to 3rd grade 3 weeks into the year, so it was nice to be able to "really" set up my room this year! I will be moving this year into a new classroom, more likely in November when our new wing is done. I walked through the new wing today and our classrooms are going to be HUGE! So while moving will be a pain, it will be nice to no longer feel like I work on Little House on the Prairie!

I also did some back to school shopping today for clothes. All of my pants are hanging off of me, so I had to hit some sale racks! I am actually into a size 6! Holy Crap! I haven't been dieting as most of you know, my stomach has just been giving me a fit since November. The funny thing is, the doc started me on some antibiotics for my spider bite on my leg, and lo and behold my stomach began to behave again! I can eat a little bit more and not feel as full or have pain like I was. Keep your fingers crossed! I would be so mad if all it took was an antibiotic to fix my tummy!

My spider bite on my leg is FINALLY getting better. Since I stayed off of it today the swelling has really gone down and it doesn't seem quite as inflamed. Last night Zorro helped me keep warm compresses on it every 20 minutes. He liked that job! The bite is still big, red, ugly and drawing stares from strangers.....but I am finally feeling some relief. I can actually rub my calf and it doesn't contract. That's a big plus!

Well, we are about to get a thunderstorm, so I am going to sign off for now.
Tootles!
:) JKP

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Yummy in My Tummy!!!

Hey Y'all!


Well, I did a little re-con this morning and took a drive to school. Let's just say, I have no idea how we are going to be ready for school to open! Our school is under MAJOR construction right now and it is a HOLY MESS! On a lighter note, I can actually get into my portable now, so I will be going in tomorrow and getting a head start on my room.

I made Paula Deen's wonderful peach cobbler last night! It was fantastic! To start you need about 4 cups of fresh peaches. I learned a little trick about peaches to make their skin come off quickly instead of peeling them. If you boil a pot of water, turn off the heat and place the peaches in the pot for 30 seconds, then put the peaches in an ice/water bath for a minute or so, the skin of the peach literally rubs off with your fingers. Then you can slice them up!

Here are my peaches, with cup of sugar and a cup and a half of water. You bring this mixture to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes.







My yummy simmering peaches!! My house smelled so yummy!











While the peaches are simmering, you make a batter with sugar, milk and self rising flour. You slowly mix all of these together. Pour the batter into a 3 quart dish. When the peaches are done, you add them and then carefully pour the peach "syrup" on top of the fruit. The batter will rise to the top as the cobbler bakes.











Into the oven it goes, 350 for about 35 minutes.















Out of the oven, warm and bubbly!





On the way to my tummy!

This recipe was very easy and the results were fantastic! I admit, I even had this for breakfast this morning!
Cheers!
:) JKP

Monday, August 11, 2008

I'm On Hold.....

Hey Y'all!

Well, I had grand visions of getting up this morning and going to work in my classroom. Teachers don't "officially" report until Thursday, but we are tied up in meetings and non such, so we don't really have alot of time to work in our rooms. If you remember at the beginning of the summer I had to pack everything up. Well, the time has come to unpack. I thought I would get a head start and go in today, tomorrow and Wednesday, but that's not going to happen! Yesterday our principal informed those of us who are in portables, that we can't get in yet. They haven't cleaned our floors yet. HELLO! They've had the whole summer, but apparently are just getting to it today. Since my portable is the very last one, I am sure that I won't be able to get in until at least Wednesday. So oh well, I have some more summer left!


Today I actually have a list of things to take care of! I have to go back to school clothes shopping. Everything I own is too big. My eating has improved over the summer. I think lack of stress and time to relax has done wonders for me! I am a little scared with school starting again though. Anyway, I can eat more, as in variety, I had a scallop sandwich in Calabash yesterday! But, I still can't eat a lot in one setting. So I am still loosing some weight. So unless I want my pants falling down at open house, I need to hit some clearance racks! :)

I am also going to make a wonderful peach cobbler today. It is one of Paula Deen's recipes that I can't wait to try! Y'all know that I worship at the altar of Paula Deen! I have some fresh peaches and I am going to whip up some fresh cream! I'll take pictures of the final product! YUMMY!!

Last, but not least, I get to make run to the doc today. I woke up a few weeks ago, with what I thought was a skeeter bite on my leg. For my non-suthern' friends that would be a mosquito bite. Anyway, it has kept growing and is warm to the touch. It is also, VERY sore. I showed it to Mom yesterday and she things that it may be a spider bite thing, so I have to get it checked out today. Let me just tell you, after a quick Internet search I'm a little scared. So let's just hope it's not that!

And to the Zorro fans out there... here's some shots of the Z-man from Mom's house yesterday. He has taken a liking to these new chewy treats we have been giving him. He won't part with them and I have to take them away from him when he has chewed them down. He actually barks at me when I have to take them away!





Have a good day!

:) JKP

Friday, August 8, 2008

OH NO HE DIDN'T..........

Hey Y'all...

Ok, I am about to quit my day job and become a detective. Truly. It always seems the latest dirt seems to find me! A little while ago (last Fall) there was rumblings about John Edwards and an affair. Me being me, knowing there was a mystery to solve, I hit the Internets to find out what other bloggers and political pundits were saying. Let's just say the evidence was overwhelming. That and the track records of previous politicos kind of deemed him guilty. What really made this hard to believe is that his wife, Elizabeth is so ill. I had some hope that maybe for her sake that it was just some gossip getting out of hand. But if there is one thing that I have learned in life is.. where there is gossip.. especially political gossip, there is FIRE!

I hate to say this about myself, but I am a very black and white issue person. There is no gray area for me. EVER. That's just how I am. I have a very long memory and I can remember why something ticked me off when I was 8. I can hold a grudge with the best of them. That's just me. I also think it has something to do with me being a Scorpio. You know, vengeful and all that. Hee, Hee.

So today, it hits the fan. He admits the affair. But this is just wrong. I know folks have affairs everyday, but this one is just WRONG. I mean your wife is critically ill. You took vows... for better or for worse. Now, it is all over CNN, Perez Hilton and TMZ. How incredibly embarrassing for her. I think it is safe to say that any political future he had with Obama is GONE. There's also the fact that he lied about it for so long. Didn't good ol' Bill Clinton teach us anything? I hope Elizabeth clocks him in the head with a telephone Hillary style. You go girl!

Stupid, stupid, stupid man. Oh, and that baby, you so know he is the father. He tried denying the affair... but there's no father's name on that birth certificate. It will come out sooner or later.

What a JERK!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Oh No She Didn't.........

Hey Y'all!

It is so hot here today that I bet I could fry an egg on my driveway. The sad thing is, it is cooler than yesterday when all of the bank marquees were screaming 104!!! We are headed for a cool down tonight and it can't get here soon enough. Zorro just pokes his head out of the doggie door and refuses to go any further!

Today I spent the morning playing around on Facebook, my new obsession. I have gotten in touch with folks that I haven't seen in 18 years! It's a hoot and a lot of fun. It is also neat to see that many of the folks that I knew when we were kids have kids of their own now! I tell you, the Internets make the world a very small place! I also ran some errands and had to run to the teacher store. Can you believe that I actually forgot to buy name tags for my desks? My poor children! Luckily I remembered, or open house on the 21st would not have been fun!

Also, if you know me, I was also checking out the rounds of celebrity gossip happening today. My usual sites include People, TMZ, and NOAA for hurricane activity. (Not that hurricanes are celebrities. Hee, Hee)
Have y'all heard the one about the flight attendant suing Joel Osteen's wife, Victoria? Y'all know who he is.. he is on your TV every Sunday. I have actually watched him a few times and he is very good. He not like most televised preachers, he doesn't beg for your money and he actually makes some good points. For the most part he is very uplifting, and let's face it, in this world you can never get too much of that. ANYWAY. Apparently, Mr. Osteen and his family were on a flight in 2005 going to Colorado and his wife got feisty about a wet stain on her first class seat. She demanded that a flight attendant clean it up. The flight attendant went to get another flight attendant and a scuffle occurred between Mrs. O and the other flight attendant. Apparently Mrs. Osteen thought it was appropriate to head to the cockpit and involve the captain, for some reason, over this. Well, so on and so forth.....there are witnesses, etc all of whom say some sort of altercation did occur. Of course the Osteens voluntarily left the flight and Mrs. O paid her $3,000 fine to the FAA. Keep in mind, that the flight was delayed over 2 hours because of this nonsense. Well, in our society, of course, someone is going to sue. The "allegedly injured" flight attendant is suing for 10% of the Osteen's net worth. And get this, this is what just slays me... she says she "lost her faith and suffers from hemorrhoids" due to the altercation. Dear God in Heaven. Why would you admit in public and to the press that you have hemorrhoids? I don't doubt for one minute that Mrs. O was probably having a bad day and got a little too high and mighty, as some folks are apt to do. She could have just pulled out a Kleenex or Clorox wipe and ended the whole situation. Flight Attendants have enough on their minds and they are not maids. I know I personally could not deliver drinks and peanuts while on a plane. I do not envy their jobs at all. And as a side note, I would love to see Mrs. O fly coach. Some of those stains on the coach seats are SCARY NASTY! Whoops... I got off track. Anyway. I think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion and it is wasting lots of tax dollars. I actually felt sorry for the injured party until I heard about her unfortunate issues that should never be shared in mixed company. So, I think this is definitely a shake down and I hope that the jury sees this. I also think we can learn two things from this waste of money lawsuit...

1) You should always carry Clorox wipes with you. That way you can wipe up any messes and not get involved in lawsuits.
2) You should never admit in public that you have hemorrhoids. That is not appropriate polite conversation. EVER!

That's just my take on things!
:) JKP

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I Quite Literally Had My Head Examined Today....


Hi Y'all!



Well, today I had my head examined. Hee, Hee. No, I didn't loose my marbles...not yet anyway. Check back with me next week after I have returned to work for that to happen! No, I went and checked in with my family doc today. She agreed that I am having migraines and gave me two prescriptions to help next time one starts. One to help stop the migraine and one to stop the pain. So hopefully no more ER visits for me in the near future. She also mentioned that if this continues, I have to go see the neuro doc so we can figure out what is going on. I have had several headaches this summer, with last Saturday being the worst. I really hope that this isn't a pattern.



In other news, I am getting ready for school. I actually braved wally world today and picked up the supplies I need for the year. I actually had to give the cashier who was ringing me up a multiplication lesson. She tried to charge me for buying 132 folders, when I only bought 92. Someone needed a multiplication re-fresher. And my theory about stuff being marked up for the tax-free holiday was right on. Today I spent $35.00 and all of the stuff I bought was UNDER a dollar. Well, except for the People magazine.. but that couldn't be helped. You think you are saving by not paying tax... but you really aren't! I gladly paid my $2.76 in tax today.



Oh, as you can see below I have been having some fun on the Internets. I found this great site,
PhotoFunia that you can go to and upload a photo. You can then choose a background for your pictures. Look at the fun Zorro had making his pictures......


Hee, Hee.. Zorro had to include Zoe


Zorro succeeds in his World Domination Plot!

Alrighty, off to rest my brain cells for the night!

:) JKP

Sunday, August 3, 2008

I Once Had a Migraine THIS BIG......

Hey Y'all,

Sorry for the few days off, but I got hit with a serious migraine Friday night, that ended up with me spending the night in the ER last night. I have had some really bad headaches this summer, one that even lasted for 3 days. Well, Friday night I was out listening to a band, and POW, the middle of my head started to hurt. I came home went to bed and woke up on Saturday with my head aching. Still trying to be positive, I thought it was a sinus thing, since the bar where the band was playing was very smokey. No such luck. By 1:00 on Saturday my head was literally pounding. I was actually crying. So, I called nurse mom and off to the ER we went. I met a very nice doctor who gave me a migraine cocktail through an IV. Three shots later and I was so much better. That was seriously the worse migraine of my life. The ER doc told me I have to go see my family doc so we can get to the bottom of these migraines. Yeah. At least I was smart enough to hide my debit card before I went to the ER. No pain medicine shopping for me! For those who don't know me, when I get pain meds, they tend to make me want to shop! Hee, Hee! Luckily my migraine cocktail just put me to sleep.
So back to the sofa for me. I am taking Tylenol around the clock today, I am so scared this bugger is coming back!
:) JKP