Another dream for the files…

Preface: Whatever channel we usually fall asleep to switches to televangelists in the morning, so often, their sermons will work their way into my dreams.

Disclaimer: I have no idea what my deal is with boy bands lately. The only boy band I’ve ever really liked has been New Kids on the Block.

Dream: I was in Sam’s Club (like Costco) shopping for something, when all of a sudden, a huge bus pulls through and people start going crazy. I walked up to see what the fuss was about and it turns out that it was a boy band. They guys all got out, and they were pretty cute…especially the leader. I sat on the edges of the crowd watching everyone go crazy. Then, he started telling a story with a Southern drawl. I sat there listening to the story, which started as a funny story, then (unbeknownst to me while I was sleeping) morphed into Joyce Meyer’s morning prosthelytization. I sat there in the dream, wearing really tight jeggings and eating seal salt potato chips listening to the boy band guy. At some point in the dream, I remember thinking that his voice sounded womanly. Anyway, once his speech was over, I looked over and there was Wes, watching me and laughing. I walked to him and told him that I had eaten a million potato chips and he said he knew and that he thought it was hilarious. We walked out of Sam’s together and went to Six Flags.

Once again: WTF?

Weird dream again!

Justin Timberlake was walking through an office where I was working singing the NSync hit, “Merry Christmas.” I told him that I had just been listening to that in my car, and that I loved it. Then, I launched into my spiel about how in general, I am not a fan of bridges in songs, but added that I thought that song had a successful bridge. Then, he asked me if I knew any songs that didn’t have bridges. I froze, and all I could think of was “Absolutely Cuckoo” by Magnetic Fields. He had never heard it, so I tried to sing it for him but kept getting stuck right after “…but not if you fall in love.” He was patient, but in the dream, I never remembered what was next. I’m not sure how that part ended, but the next thing I remember is a drunk man trying to teach me how to do spin art on one of those old spin art machines from the 90s. WTF?

Operation DCCB - Day 1 - End of Day Report

Thanks for the likes and comments!

• Diet coke with splenda = nasty
• A small fraction of why I am cutting back on DC is to save $, so I don’t want to get something fancy from whole foods that Wes and I would both get addicted to, but thanks for the suggestion!
• I’m not at a point in my life where I can cut the caffeine, but it’s a goal. I am probably going to try and get pregnant next August, so I will kick it by then, but I will start that over the summer when I am not teaching.

Here’s the end-of-day report (bulleted for your convenience):

• Probs need to switch to half-caf. I was zipping and jittery all day!
• Peppermint Mocha Coffeemate is so delicious I don’t even know how to describe.
• Con: coffee breath. Diet coke gives you (or leaves you with) delicious breath. Maybe it’s psychological, but I was never self-conscious about my breath with DC. With coffee, I imagine that I have stereotypical-teacher-coffee-breath. Whompers!
• Con #2 and TMI alert: I didn’t plan the whole coffee-bathroom connection very well. Might have to do some thinking on that one. There’s no time in my school day for that.

Operation Diet Coke Cutback - day 1

Between the Dunkin Donuts coffee, the peppermint mocha coffeemate, and the beautiful teal to-go mug I got yesterday, this should be easy. We’ll see!

The coffee pot is supposed to start brewing in ten minutes. Note to self: set it for 6:15 tomorrow.

I’d like to get down to one or fewer DCs a day. Right now I’m at 3 (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I need the caffeine, I’m just starting to worry about the aspartame.

Sometimes, my students are such ungrateful jerks that I don’t want to do anything nice for them. Other times, I get inspired. 

I just spent an hour creating a super-awesome Math textbook scavenger hunt for them to do with the sub while I am out Friday. Hopefully, they realize that I could have just left them a bunch of bookwork without any flair, but I doubt most of them will see it that way. At least I can feel happy about it!

As a 4th grade teacher, I am under a tremendous amount of pressure this year. The kids have to take the state test, which they must pass in order to pass 4th grade. I have no doubt that MANY of our kids will pass, but some of them came to me not knowing how to add or subtract, and I am not sure that I’ll be able to get them ready in time. The hardest part of preparing my students for standardized tests is improving their critical thinking skills. They struggle with that more than anything else, yet is an essential component of the test. It’s not enough to know how to multiply and divide 2 and 3-digit numbers; they have to be able to read a short paragraph, find the hidden multi-step problem, and solve it. I know that’s important for life, and that’s why I don’t feel as bad about “teaching to the test” (even though that’s not REALLY what I am doing, but I do have to present questions to them in a LEAP-like way, so that they can be successful on the exam). 

ANYWAY, I got a little sidetracked, but what I am trying to say is that I have been a little short on patience this year because I am stressed. When a child wastes my class time, I go a little crazy. I need to be a little more fun. This multiplication and division unit is killing me though. It’s like pulling teeth with some of them (because they refuse to go home and learn their multiplication facts, which would make all of our lives easier). Thank goodness it ends next Wednesday. BRING ON GEOMETRY! PARTY TIME!