salsa1877

I should be able to go to NYC! I just got a 6000$ raise. WAHOOOOOOOOOOO! This is why I love NOT being in a union. The raise won't happen until July 1 (Happy Birthday to me!!!!) but I am very happy. I'm pretty certain that if I worked hourly that I would make around minimum wage, but at least it is compensating me for the extra work around here. We all negotiate separately for our contracts. But my boss negotiated with me early because he was (rightfully) afraid that I was going to leave and wanted to make sure that I got the raise that I deserved. So he made the offer to me first. I countered that a 10% raise was great but that in addition to that he remove 3 classes from my upcoming caseload, guarantee that I was teaching no more than 20 hours in a week (we also act a counselors, secretaries, tutoring etc. so our job constitutes way more than teaching), and give me a 20,000$ science budget. We compromised on a 15,000$ budget but I got everything else that I wanted. 'bout stinking time!!! Well speaking of work, I am back here tonight and I am NOT leaving until all of my grading is done. I should probably get busy or I'm gonna be here all night!!!

So I'm an IDIOT. I went running today with my students because I really wanted to run AND the doc said if I felt better that I could. Well I felt fine the whole time I am running, but when I came home and took the girls out of the gladiator bra....HOLY SH!T that hurt. It felt like it was ripping off my body. Soooooo...no running for a bit. Well I think I am going to go to bed. I am exhausted!!!!!

She gave me diflucan to take to prevent the yeast infection because I will get one. I had to take some immodium today because I was running to the bathroom constantly. I just found out that our classes are canceled on Friday, Feb 26 because our kids are going to some college conference. As a result...I'm going to get another fill. Yipeee. This one is helping but it isn't going to cut it. I need to be a little bit tighter. I shouldn't be able to eat this amount of food. Well I suppose that I should attempt to teach some physics. Chat later.

Good morning, TMI ALERT!!! So 1 hive on my left forearm and one on the right side of my face (not too bad) but I think my TRUE allergy is the runs!!!! YIKES! Started last night and this morning...holy hell! Okay TMI Alert over. I finished my taxes last night and we are getting something back. I was a little worried that we would end up paying as I was doing them, but Turbo Tax does weird things and saves up the deductions until the end! So I should have my refund on Feb 12. Janet I will send you a check then. My fill has loosened way up already. I'm not as hungry but I can still eat way too much. If my doctor's office is open on President's day I will go in then, if not I am going to have wait until we come back from our Philadelphia/WA DC trip at the end of March. We booked our flight yesterday. We are intentionally taking a red eye to maximize our time!!! We leave Seattle at 11:25 pm and get into Philadelphia around 9AM!!! I am SOOOO excited. The only time I have been to the east coast is when I went to Disney World. Well I got some things to get done for my AP Chemistry class today. Chat later

Well so far my tongue is still the same size, my lungs are taking in oxygen, and I haven't turned into one giant hive! My boob has gone from one giant rock to many midsized boulders now, so progress is being made. The pain seems to be easing up some, but I pretty much didn't sleep last night. Went to bed at 9 but woke up at 12:30 WIDE AWAKE...ugh. Fell back to sleep at 3:45ish and woke up at 5. Umm...I'm a little tired. I need to go grade some papers and get some food for lunch so I will check back in later.

So I got back from the doctor's this morning but haven't had a chance to post. I have a MASSIVE infection. As she was feeling around it appears that it starts in the middle of the breast DEEP and then comes down toward the end. Pretty much the entire thing is HARD. It is spreading to the left breast. So I am on some strong, strong antibiotics. The only problem is that I am allergic to the antibiotics that she gave me. But I have to take 3 different kinds because we are unsure of the type of infection. So now I also have to watch for an allergic reaction. Which...I have NO idea how I will react because I was 3 when we found out I was allergic. Well I have to finish writing my test. I'll check back in later.

Congrats on the weight loss Karla! So the doc never called me back. I went to bed at 7:15 last night and now I'm on my way to work. Still can't believe that I left my laptop at my brother's. Lee doesn't think that we left it there...he thinks my brother's girlfriend took it out of the bag and was using it and that we left way earlier than she thought. We both remember him putting it back in my bag. Oh well...I'll just work on one of the desktops! I'm going to call the dr office first thing this morning and hope to get in this afternoon. She will probably want me to come in right away but I have to teach at 11. I won't get ahold of them until 9, takes 45 minutes to get there, and another 45 minutes to get back, so I won't really have time. I will go in as soon as my AP Chemistry class is finished. My boob is VERY sore. Well I had best get to work. Fill seems to be working well. They want me to come back in about 2 weeks to have another fill. They said my stomach spasms when I have a fill and that is why they can't ever give me too much without getting too tight. They feel that if I could go in every two weeks that we could get me to a level that would be acceptable: one where I can eat but not a lot. However, it is doing what I need it to do right now so I will see what happens. It is really a pain in my a$$ to drive that far. Plus now I have to take time off of work. I might see if I can get there right before I go to Philadelphia for spring break. Okay best get going...I've got a lot of work to do!

I did make it home and have a call into the doc. Accidentally left my laptop at my bros so he is sending it UPS tomorrow. I am in a LOT of pain tonight. Going to take some benadryl and go to bed. I'll let you know what the doc says.

I have very limited Internet so I will chat more when I get home tomorrow. Fill seems to be working well. I do have a problem with my right breast. It is VERY hard and quite sore. Will be calling early on Monday.

Happy birthday Mommy! I'd do something fancy with balloons like Phyl but my iPhone isn't THAT fancy I'm sitting at the doctors right now awaiting a fill. The trip over was pretty good. I slept most of the way over!! I can't stay awake in the car when I'm a passenger. I'll let you know how it goes!

Apparently I haven't posted in a while. I've just been tired and working. So glad my fill is tomorrow. I'm really struggling. We are SO broke right now since we haven't gotten paid since December 18. We get paid on the last working day of the month so we got it right before winter break. Needless to say food has been whatever we could afford which is not the good food. I sent pictures to my PS after running and she told me to back off and try again next week. One part of my incision isn completly healed yet and I really irritated it. The whole area was red and hot blooms better now so I can't run again until Monday. REALLY wish I hadn't had his surgery. I have a TON of weight to lose and no way to lose it. But I'm confident with the fill and hopefully running again next week that I will get it off. My biggest fear is happening. The weight is not only coming back on it's doing it with a vengence. I won't be on until I get back from my fill on Sunday night as we are staying with my brother and have no Internet acces.

So apparently I didn't come here and post last night. It was a good night...I went running. I forgot how absolutely happy that makes me feel. I was taking it easy (run 1 minute walk 90 seconds because I was following the first part of the couch to 5K program) but I felt like I was on top of the world! I was going to run at the gym but when Lee brought me my workout stuff he forgot my good bra. I was in a BAD BAD mood when we got to the gym because of work and then got even angrier when I went in to change and he hadn't brought the right stuff. It wasn't his fault I should have packed the stuff that morning but I was too tired from getting up so early. So I grabbed the stuff and told him I would be back when I got the right stuff and changed at home. Well when I got home I realized that I didn't want to be inside. I never get outside so I was just going to open my door and run. That was the best thing that I could have done. By the time I was done with my run I was no longer angry and I just felt good. I'm a little sore this morning. I can tell that my incision is a little irritated so I won't be running again tonight. I don't usually run back to back days anyway so I will just go to the gym and do something else (probably the stupid bicycle!). Well I slept through my alarm which is a good thing because it was set too early but now I've gotta get some stuff done. Later,

Good morning Candice - Physically I am feeling much better...As for my flat tummy...it is far from flat. But I am still really swollen...and have gained a lot of weight. I kind of wish I hadn't had the surgery right now. I think it would have been better for me to have waited until we had a year of work under my belt. But at the same time I'm not sure that the stress of my job would have been any better. I will send pictures as soon as I have a reason to. Right now I just look fat...and it doesn't make me happy. So today is going to be my first day running. I didn't do it this weekend because I was too tired and working all day. Janet-I tried to get the Beck Solution book but SHOCKINGLY the bookstore here didn't have. (Hopefully you all sense the sarcasm!) So when I go to WA to get my fill I am going to check up there. Otherwise I will order it. I'm opposite of you...I don't like ordering things. When I want something I want it RIGHT NOW! Afterall I am from the instant gratification generation! Well I need to get ready to head into work. Today is the first day of the new schedule. I don't have any new classes until after spring break because I am the only one on trimesters. Everyone else operates on semesters. But that is the only way that I can get in all of the science classes that I need to. Otherwise I would have to teacher 10 hours a day and frankly that doesn't sound appealing to me!!! Talk to you later!

Oh my goodness I'm getting too old. I have had two 20 hour days in a row abd I think I'm going to keel over!!! Last night was worth it though. We had a game night which usually gets over around 11:30-1200. Last night we left at 3 am. Lee was in the middle of a monstrous game that took a lot longer than expected. But it was so much fun. I was on a roll last night. I won 5 of the six games I played. Normally I'm lucky to come close to winning. These aren't your typical board games. They are European board games. They are much more strategy type games that can sometimes make your brain hurt! So I have a fill scheduled for Friday. I got permission to start running today. I broke down in PS office because I have 1pair of pants that fit. I'm freaked out!! So I'm going to get a fill since I haven't had one in almost 9 months... I think I have 1.2 cc total in. I'm going to be embarrassed about my weigh. Going in there though cause I'm WAY up. Most of it is because I did nothing exercise wise for 6 months but a lot of it is food too. When i'm REALLY running I can get away with several more indiscretions with food but if I slack off even a little it adds up. I dint think I will be able to run 40 miles a week for the rest of my life. Probably should start using my band. I seriously don't even know I have a band most of the time. Well I have to get ready for my meeting. Have a great day! I will... Two football games on today!!!!

Me too...I love the rain. We don't get much in Central Oregon as it is a high desert. We get snow and heat.

Good morning, I have the case of the sniffles this morning. Been crying on and off since I got up. I am really happy and sad at the same time about my biology classes. I love those kids and I still get to see them daily (not like I'm leaving the school) but I know how hard on them it was when my student teacher had to leave and now a week later, I'm no longer their teacher. Just worried about a couple of them. They are "special" kids and while I REALLY like the teacher that they hired, he isn't me and I just fear for them. I'm a big mama bear. I never plan on having ANY children because I have so many at work. Yesterday was CRAZY. Spent over 2 hours counseling a student because our English teacher has been such an a$$ to her. She was afraid to go to our principal (though no one should be afraid to go to him). But she was afraid he would say something to the English teacher and that he would make her life even worse. So I spent almost a half hour running between my office and his relaying messages until I could convince her that it would be safe for her to say something. Then we spent over an hour in his office. I did find out some VERY good news while he was talking to her. The English teacher will be back only in limited capacity next year. He was originally a litigation lawyer and is now going back to school to pass the bar again so that he can become the lawyer for all of the charters schools that will operate under our non-profit organization. The teacher that we are going to hire is AMAZING. We worked together a lot last year and fortunately is not an egotistical sh!thead. However, for the remainder of the year I have to deal with this guy. Well I have my last hectic day for a while. I have a meeting from 7-8 with the new bio teacher, classes from 9-2 student advising meetings until 4:30, my principals birthday get together at 5, and then the gym. I called my doc yesterday and said if she didn't clear me for the gym I was going to go anyway. My weight is SKYROCKETING fast. So she had me send pictures yesterday of my scar and said that I could go back to running/walking as long as I'm not sprinting (Obviously she doesn't know my running style...LOL!). Then we will check it tomorrow at my appt. I just need an outlet. Well best get going. Hopefully this is the last time that I will have to leave work at 11PM and come back in at 4AM. That sounds great!

So I have WONDERFUL news. They have hired someone to teach my biology classes for me!!!!! So here is the back story, on this. I got up at 2AM this morning, went to Wal-Mart and was a school by 3:15AM. I started working to set up 4 labs (one for each different subject except AP), print lecture notes, and complete the homework keys so that I could post them on the moodle. I had computer issues this morning at 8AM and spent the next 45 in the tech room troubleshooting because we don't have an IT guy during the day. Finally got it figured out and went back downstairs. Had a quick advising meeting with one of my students and started teaching at 9:15. The this was my schedule for the rest of the day. 9:15 - 10:30 - Chemistry with lab 10:30 - 11:00 - Integrated Science with Lab 11:00 - 12:00 - AP Chemistry (scrapped the lab because I couldn't get it to work) 12:00 - 1:00 - Biology - Did a 4 part lab that included a chicken wing dissection 1:00-2:00 Physics with field trip (outside to a local park) 2:30 - Begged my boss to go to lunch with me so that I could break down outside of the school. I was exhausted, frustrated, and so overwhelmed that we sat down and instantly broke into tears. I told him that he had two choices: He either needed to fire me and find someone that could handle this job, or find me someone that could help me. Now that I have lost my student teacher there is no way that I can handle all of this on my own. I am scheduled to teach 26 hours per week while the rest of the teachers were teaching a max of 18 hours per week. He agreed that it wasn't fair. So he offered to hire someone and even had a person in mind. He said that he wanted to offer to hire a person right before my student teacher left but was afraid that I would take it the wrong way and feel as if he was telling me that I wasn't doing a good job. But he said that he felt HORRIBLE about me looking the way I did after everyday. He said I look like I'm ready to keel over everyday and that I have lost my smile and spark unless I am in front of students. He said the amount of energy that I teach with and have around the students is amazing but as soon as the students are out of the picture I look like I am going to give out at any moment. So I agreed to let him hire a person. I still feel like kind of a failure because I couldn't do it all, but at the same time, if I didn't do something I WAS going to give out. I couldn't keep up this schedule even for another 8 weeks. My schedule potentially gets easier after spring break because 3 of my classes go away but I gain 3 more. However they are MUCH easier to teacher and should be more interesting to students. So I am VERY proud of myself that I actually asked for help. I told him that if he didn't do something I was not going to find the time to train and lose the pounds that I have gained since surgery and that if I couldn't get back to being healthy and fit because I was too exhausted that I would be no good to anyone. He said..."I Know. Karri, I don't want to see you like this. I want you to be happy all of the time, not just when you are around students. I really had no idea that your schedule was so unfair." Well I am going to go to bed early because I will be pulling long, long hours this week. But next week I SHOULD be able to work like a normal person.

Good morning, No day off for me. We pretty much don't take any holidays off here. And I'm tired. We stayed out too late playing games with our board gaming group last night. We had a ton of fun, but 4AM came VERY early. On a good note, I'm starting to feel like I have caught up enough to actually catch my breath. Now here is to hoping that it can stay that way! I go to the doc on Wednesday and I really hope that she lifts even more of my gym restrictions. I really need to get in there and get moving. My arse is getting WAY to big!!! Well I have to get prepared for meetings so I will check in when I can today.

I will have my car and will pick people up from the airport. I like the beach house too. Well gotta get back to work.

I am on vacation for the week before and the week after the 4th of July. Our plan was to come to visit you during that time, but we could alter that. However if we do it later, I should still be able to make it because we live pretty close (8 hour drive). That is our slow time and I am only teaching 1 or 2 classes over the summer. But if we can come up with a time soon I can make sure to not schedule my Wilderness Survival camping trip over that weekend.

Okay I have a few minutes and I want to explain what I meant. You all have your families and close friends that you live by. I don't have that. My family is 6 hours away (and I really only have a brother...my dad and I pretty much only talk during the holidays.) I have my gaming group and we have not missed that, but truly my life revolves around my job. The kids here make me who I am just like your friends and family shape who you are. I do not mean that I want to give up everything and become a work nun, but because so many people have told me that I need to find things outside of school to make me happy, I keep trying to find that. But in reality, with all the stress and frustration that I have a work...this is truly the place that makes me happy. I laugh harder here, cry harder here, and get angrier here than I do anywhere else, because in reality...this is my family. So I'm just not going to fight it. I am realizing that my life does revolve around here. This is not like any other school. I REALLY wish that you could come and visit here because you would see that this place is truly like a family. And just like every other family we have huge issues at times. No...I can't stand most of the teachers but the kids, our secretary and my boss are the best people that I can be around besides my husbnad. Lee is getting more involved with the school and even said yesterday after going on a field trip with the kids that he understands why I desperately want to make this place work. He came in today to help tutor students and when the students were saying hi to him and talking with him, he lit up. So that is what I meant by my statement. I will be back on Sunday if not before. Depends on how much work I can get done. I do love you all...and you are important too!

Just wanted to let you all know that I won't be on until late Sunday or Monday. I just don't have time. I have worked 13, 14, and 16.5 hour days this week and there is no end in sight. I just don't have the time right now. I will be back I promise. I just feel like everything I put on here is negative and I don't want to be like that. So I will be back in a few days. I love being here and talking with everyone but for the rest of this week I just can't. Something has to give and my job will most likely always come first. The sooner I realize and accept that the better off I am. It will always come first. My job is who I am.

One word to describe our day at RPA...Shi!tstorm!!!! Building issues, boss most likely getting a divorce, money issues, plain out of time. Etc...you name it. Food...ok...not great... but still within plan

Long day. Saw the doc and infection is getting better. School was crazy but good today. I spent a lot of time with kids just talking between classes. That is what I truly love about this school. I will chat more tomorrow. Going to bed before 9. Yeah. In back to normal sleep.

I hope all of you rocking and rolling down there in So. Cal are alright! Work got better, but my stomach got HUGER! (No I am not an English teacher). Just so much to do and my student teacher leaves in 4 days. Plus Aunt Flo decided to show up today. Could the day get any better??? I am teaching evolution right now in Biology and that always riles up a few students. There was this student who threw a fit because I was making her learn it. Well sorry punkin...its a state standard. I was infringing on her right to freedom of religion...Ugh...the last I knew...biology was science, NOT religion. She accused me of being rude to all religious people just because I am a "heathen". Which, by the way, my students do not know ANYTHING about my religious affliliation (or in my case, lack of religious affiliation) That and politics are the two things that I REFUSE to discuss with students. I tell them that there is a separation of church and state so I can't discuss religion and that it is my right as a citizen to keep my vote private and I choose to invoke that right. Because I refused to tell her my belief or lack of belief in God, she freaked out and said that she could not be taught by someone so immoral and that I was prejudice against her because she was religious and that I was condescending towards her when she brought it up. I know that I am the only one on the board here that is not religious and I don't think that I have EVER been condescending towards any of you and/or your beliefs. I respect anyone's right to believe and follow the faith of their choice. I don't chastise anyone for their belief. Unfortunately I can't even really defend myself. I just let her babble on and rant and rave. Then I asked her to either continue working on the activity or leave class it was her choice, but that I was mandated to teach the evidence of evolution. If she chose to ignore the evidence it was her right, but it was everyone else's right to learn and she was infringing on that. She stomped out. FUN TIMES! So that was my day!!!