Rock, Paper, Scissors...SHOOT!

These are the words that I heard last week in the teachers lounge at lunch time.

I'm a substitute teacher and I have recently become the "building sub" for an elementary school. This week, on Wednesday there were 3 teachers who were going to be out of their classrooms. When teachers know in advance that they will not be in school they can request a specific person to sub. When you are a teacher you take ownership of your classroom and you want to know that your students are taken care of as well as the lesson plans that you left are being carried out effectively. Even know I am not a full-time teacher...I am an educator. Therefore I am  responsible to TEACH... not to sit in a classroom with 25 children and simply maintain behavior and watch the clock turn.

So, last week at lunchtime I walked into the teachers lounge, said my hello's to the other teachers... asked how their days were going and then opened my lunch and started to eat my hummus and honey wheat sticks. Then Teacher A casually says, "I'm going to be out next Wednesday and I'm going to talk to Mrs. Principal so that you can be put in my room." Teacher B follows by saying, "Mrs. Principal told me this morning that she was going to be in my room next Wednesday." Teacher C pipes in and said, "Well that isn't fair because now I will get stuck with someone who my kids don't know." A observer of this entire conversation then suggests that they play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets me in their room. The 3 teachers look at each other with this "whhhaaatttt?" look on their faces then all stand up with their fists out in front of them.

I couldn't believe this and it was hard not to laugh... but it happened. I saw it with my own eyes, 3 adults playing rock, paper, scissors for a substitute.


The best part is that the sub was me! It was a very strange few minutes in time... but in the end it was very flattering. It definitely felt good to know that the teachers see that I'm good at what I do. They see me as a colleague not just a person who teaches here and there...I'm not just a substitute. I am a teacher.

We are printer-less...

At our house we don't have a printer for our computers. I'm not totally sure why...we used to have one at the house we first lived in. Then we moved to an apartment and all of the cords got lost in moving. Now we are in our new house and we are printer-less. Not like I really use it all that often but when you need to print something...it would be nice to have.

Like tonight, I needed to print a shipping label that UPS e-mailed to my husband. So being printer-less I went to my defult location when I need something printed- the library (angelic voices are singing in my head at the mention of its name). You see... I LOVE the library! I often refer to the library in conversation with my friend Amy (who is also a blogger...check her out!) as "my crush"....Like, "I made a stop to pick up books today from my crush" and we laugh about it becuase she also understands the sheer joy of the library and all of its wonderful things!  My library is less than 5 minutes from my house and I probably go there at least 3 times a week to get books (that most of the time I don't even get around to reading in the 2 weeks that they grant you). Sometimes I will just go there to sit and read magazines, that are usually months old, but so what if I am reading about how to make the best 4th of July BBQ picnic in the middle of October!? I sure don't!

Another thing I love about the library is that I can search for books from my computer, order them and the wonderful library people e-mail me when they are pulled form the shelves and ready to be picked up! I am sure that this is something that people have been enjoying for years...but, who cares?! I love it and I want to talk about it so I am!

Ok, well that is enough about that. Plus, I'm writing this from the library and they close in 9 minutes.

PS: I was in such a rush to get here to print the shipping lable that I left the house with my slippers on...haha!

P.S.S. Don't judge this slippes (or my sweet Halloween socks that I have on). These slippers are wonderful- they are NAP slippers from Brookstone and you should think about getting a pair. They are like walking on clouds :o)

Kelso, Whatta' Mutt!

Ladies and gents... this cute lil' (by little, I mean 55 pounds) puppy is mine.

His name is Kelso and he is a hound mix. My husband and I adopted him in the middle of September from The Humane Society. He definitely has proven to be a handful! He is about a year old and still totally a puppy. He jumps, he licks, he does other boy dog actions that he shouldn't do,  he loves to chew on everything and eat things that he really shouldn't. Things like... paper clips, bobby pins, coins, carpet strings, dryer sheets, chapstick (which is a big problem in this house considering that I am a chapstick addict) my book light, contact cases and the list goes on and on...

I wanted to introduce him to all of you because I have some pretty funny stories about him that I will share with you from time to time. I love this dog and I really am happy that we have him in our little family (even know sometimes I call him names when he doesn't listen).  The things dogs do can drive you crazy and the simple fact that they do not understand the full english language and can't comprehend when you say to them..."Please stop running with the scissors in your mouth. They will hurt you!" or "Get off of my bed- it is not a place for you. I sleep there!" is enough to make you want to pull you hair out (run on sentence, sorry).  They really are fun to have and in the long run worth the work. 

This next bit is cheesy, like velveeta, so consider yourself warned. I know that we were meant to meet Kelso at The Humane Society and bring him home with us. It is amazing how fast dogs build up their loyalty to their "people"and I know that he loves us as much as we love him! Plus, anything that gets my husband to talk in cutsey voices, jump around the house and roll on the floor ... is totally worth it. 

One final note- If you are looking into adding new furry member to your family check your local humane societies and adoption shelters before heading to the nearest pet shop. The Humane Society we got Kelso from offers training for as long and often as we want to bring him. They have been so extremely helpful and they are genuinely grateful for each and every person who chooses to adopt a new pet. There are so many animals out there who are looking to find a home and to be loved! One thing I do know is that if you love them... they will only give you love back. 

Local animal adoption shelters:

The Humane Society of Greater Akron- PAWSabilities 

Paws and Prayers

One of a Kind Pets

Cleveland Animal Protective League

Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter 

Those Rangers are some stand up guys!

Over the weekend there was an article published in my local newspaper about the Texas Rangers outfielder (and American League Championship Series MVP),  Josh Hamilton. I couldn't find the article that I read on Sunday on my newspapers on-line version but I found another article that is similar. It doesn't tug at the heart strings as much as the print article I read did however, it gives most of the details.

You see... Josh struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol for years, which kept him from playing in Major League Baseball.  The night that the Rangers clinched their series against the Tampa Bay Rays his team mates headed back to the locker room to celebrate.

I know from watching the Indians in their hay-day that the locker room celebration is the moments the player live for. The cool new championship t-shirts and hats, reports coming in for interviews and you can't forget about the alcohol. To have the chance to celebrate and crack some champagne with the people who helped you get to the top is surreal in itself. I'm sure that the walk back to the locker room seemed like miles for Josh. His head was probably spinning with emotions... hesitant and unsure of what would happen being surrounded by alcohol as well as overcome with excitement from the victory. So... they entered the locked room and his teammates picked up bottles and starting shaking 'em up! But, much to his surprise his teammates were not shaking bottles of bubbly... they were shaking 2 liters of ginger ale to spray and celebrate together.

This story really struck something in me. I don't know if it's because of all of the negative press and self-centered actions (ahhhemmm LEBRON!)  that you hear about in professional sports or the simple fact that it is nice to hear of people who genuinely care about and support the people around them. Maybe we all should take a second and think, "If I was in that situation... what bottle I would shake?"

And away we go...

Hello!

Welcome to my little slice of cyber land. Let's get things squared away right off the bat. I am not a writer... I am poor with spelling and grammar. You know, like when exactly you should use a comma or what the difference between a semicolon and just a regular old colon is. So don't expect fancy well written blog posts from me. I just type as fast as the thoughts come into my pretty little head. *Note: I really like to use "... " and " - " a lot when I type things. So if it bothers you, too bad... this blog is mine.

Any who, my name is Jamie. I have thought for a while now about starting a blog and I'm not totally sure why. I like to talk, a lot, and I guess because I often find myself with things to say or share with people that qualifies me to write a blog.- maybe? Along with interesting things to say, I do some pretty fun things too.  Well, some of you might think it is interesting... others of you will probably think I'm boring. But- to each his own my friends.

I can guarantee a few things to you all in this blog:

• I know that I love to make people happy... so expect funny stories that I hope will make you laugh and sometimes melt your heart. 

• I think I have the best family and friends in the entire world. Especially my husband, he is the best. For reals! I can 110% guarantee posts about them. 

• I love to cook. So, maybe here and there I can share some of my cooking tips and tricks with you. I think I cook pretty well, I haven't had any complaints yet.

• I find myself in my "element" when I am doing crafty things. I have scrapbooked for years, but that got too time consuming. But I still "get my craft on" from time to time. I sew and do some crafty things like make cards, home decor things... ohhh and- home made gifts. Well, most of the time they are semi-homemade... but none-the-less. 

I have been keeping notes of things that I would like to share with you in this blog for a while now. So, I'm sure that I will be posting a lot in the upcoming weeks and other post ideas on my list will just have to wait for those "I need filler posts days". 

That is what I have for now. I have to go take my dog, Kelso, out for a walk before it starts to rain again. He is a baby about getting wet and being cold.