A few years ago my mom started making jewelry. She has time for fun little projects like that since she had to retire from work - jewelry, quilting, etc. Once she started making jewelry, she got me into it and I really enjoy the creativity of figuring out how different beads work together to make a necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings. We have made jewelry for ourselves and given it away to family and friends, but it would be nice to make some extra cash from our little hobby. A friend mentioned a website called etsy.com over the summer so I finally looked into it and got a store set up.
Come and see me (and my mom) and my (our) designs at www.MELodesigns.etsy.com.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
$55 million
The other day I was listening to the radio and I heard that Johnny Depp had agreed to do a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie for a mere $55 million dollars and I thought..."Wow, why does he get $55 million for a few months of filming a movie (yeah I know its a lot of stunts and stuff) and I only gross in the mid $40K's per year for teaching those who hold the future in their hands?" How is that fair...I know...life's not fair, but I don't have to like it. And now, on top of everything else, Dallas ISD is in the midst of an $84+ million budget shortfall and on Thursday they decided that 550 teachers will be fired. So every teacher has to go to school and continue doing their job while sitting on the edge of their chair wondering if the next time their classroom door opens it will be the principal telling them to pack up their desk and go home...
The Dallas budget crisis somewhat mirrors the national crisis, which I can't pretend to understand because I still sit at home counting pennies hoping against hope that I can stretch until the end of the month, until the next paycheck, until I finally have all my debt paid off and can breathe again. I'm down to about 20 months if all goes well, I get to keep my job and I don't breathe too deeply...
The Dallas budget crisis somewhat mirrors the national crisis, which I can't pretend to understand because I still sit at home counting pennies hoping against hope that I can stretch until the end of the month, until the next paycheck, until I finally have all my debt paid off and can breathe again. I'm down to about 20 months if all goes well, I get to keep my job and I don't breathe too deeply...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Back in its parking place
My car is back in its rightful parking place tonight and I'm only $156 more in debt than I was before. Luckily, the only belt that snapped was the one that controls the power steering. I say luckily because the mechanic called and said that the other 2 belts were in really bad shape. So, there could have been much more damage which would have cost a lot more money and put me in a much more dangerous position when the car broke.
The Lord definitely took care of me last night...just as He does every day. I just have to focus more on leaning on Him.
The Lord definitely took care of me last night...just as He does every day. I just have to focus more on leaning on Him.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Melanie and the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week...
It has been a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week since I woke up on Monday morning. It started when I woke up late, not much, but even a little throws me off. I had a migraine and am out of medicine, so I had to suffer through it. Thankfully it subsided on it's own sometime during the super stressful, very frustrating day.
We started a new free breakfast program at school and they were supposed to start serving at 7:30 so that by 7:45 kids were ready to take their sack breakfasts to class to eat. They didn't start serving until almost 7:50 and my kids didn't walk into class until 8:05 - 20 minutes late - so I was then behind 20 minutes. This is bad when you only have the kids for 2 1/2 hours before they go to the next teacher. Half the students in each of my two classes did not bring their homework which was to read and write about the story. They were talking constantly so we didn't get done half of what we needed to do. Tuesday, 9 in my morning class came without reading journals and/or no spelling homework - the same was true for 6 in the afternoon class. I am at a loss for how to make them do their homework and bring it back to school. I've yelled, threatened, the principal has yelled, I've sent notes home and made phone calls. Nothing has helped. I've never had so much trouble getting homework from so many students.
Then today...I had a meeting after work in Fair Park at the Women's Museum. The meeting was for school coordinators for Arts Partners, a program that funds field trips for Dallas ISD students. I am the coordinator for my school and my teachers have been waiting to find out how much money they have to spend. At the meeting I was supposed to find out how much money our school gets and the process for scheduling. However, I probably only spent a total of 30 minutes in this 2 hour meeting because on my way, my car broke.
I was driving along I-30 in the mix master when I heard a pop. I didn't know if I had run over something or if something broke. A low hum started a few minutes later and I knew something was wrong. Luckily, my exit was just up ahead and I was experiencing no real trouble. As I exited and slowed down, the low hum turned to a grinding and as I approached the light at Parry Ave and Grand by Fair Park, the grinding was so loud it sounded like I was dragging something metal along the pavement. I was having trouble steering, but I managed to get into the turn lane and stop but even when I stopped, the grinding kept going and I had lots of people staring at me. I called my mom sobbing and hyperventilating - "I don't know what's wrong and I can't afford to fix it..." She could hardly understand anything I was saying.
I turned on my flashers and jumped out and look under the car but there was nothing dragging. I got back in and slowly turned into the parking lot in front of the Science Museum. I kept driving around to try to find where I was going so I could make it to my meeting while watching all my gauges to see if anything more was going to happen. Once I reached about 10 mph, the grinding stopped, but it took every ounce of strength I had to turn the steering wheel to get around corners. I finally got to the right place and was starting to calm down after talking to my stepdad and then my mom again who started making phone calls to my insurance for a tow truck, an automotive shop so they would know it was coming and so forth. When I finally parked, I popped the hood and saw that I was missing a belt - shoot! And when I looked under the car again, I saw what remained of the belt hanging down.
I left the meeting at least 10 times to take phone calls from my mom, insurance company and the tow company updating me on when the tow truck would be there. However, it's Dallas, at rush hour, in the rain, and the guy was coming from Grand Prairie - the closest truck according to the tow company.
I sat in the parking lot for 45 minutes after the meeting was over. Thankfully, a sweet lady sat and talked with me while I waited so I didn't have to sit alone. Once the tow truck got there and loaded my car, the lady told me to pay it forward - which I intend to because she certainly didn't have to sit there.
I told the tow guy about what happened and he was puzzled at how the belts could break with no overheating and full functioning except for the power steering...We got to the shop around 7:30 and popped the hood again. Only one of the belts was broken - the one that controls power steering - the other two were fine. Thank goodness.
So I'm without a car, depending on others for a ride to and from work tomorrow and back to the shop to get mine (hopefully it will be done tomorrow).
I sure do hope the next two days are better than the first three of this week...I need them to be better.
Now, I'm going to bed early...
We started a new free breakfast program at school and they were supposed to start serving at 7:30 so that by 7:45 kids were ready to take their sack breakfasts to class to eat. They didn't start serving until almost 7:50 and my kids didn't walk into class until 8:05 - 20 minutes late - so I was then behind 20 minutes. This is bad when you only have the kids for 2 1/2 hours before they go to the next teacher. Half the students in each of my two classes did not bring their homework which was to read and write about the story. They were talking constantly so we didn't get done half of what we needed to do. Tuesday, 9 in my morning class came without reading journals and/or no spelling homework - the same was true for 6 in the afternoon class. I am at a loss for how to make them do their homework and bring it back to school. I've yelled, threatened, the principal has yelled, I've sent notes home and made phone calls. Nothing has helped. I've never had so much trouble getting homework from so many students.
Then today...I had a meeting after work in Fair Park at the Women's Museum. The meeting was for school coordinators for Arts Partners, a program that funds field trips for Dallas ISD students. I am the coordinator for my school and my teachers have been waiting to find out how much money they have to spend. At the meeting I was supposed to find out how much money our school gets and the process for scheduling. However, I probably only spent a total of 30 minutes in this 2 hour meeting because on my way, my car broke.
I was driving along I-30 in the mix master when I heard a pop. I didn't know if I had run over something or if something broke. A low hum started a few minutes later and I knew something was wrong. Luckily, my exit was just up ahead and I was experiencing no real trouble. As I exited and slowed down, the low hum turned to a grinding and as I approached the light at Parry Ave and Grand by Fair Park, the grinding was so loud it sounded like I was dragging something metal along the pavement. I was having trouble steering, but I managed to get into the turn lane and stop but even when I stopped, the grinding kept going and I had lots of people staring at me. I called my mom sobbing and hyperventilating - "I don't know what's wrong and I can't afford to fix it..." She could hardly understand anything I was saying.
I turned on my flashers and jumped out and look under the car but there was nothing dragging. I got back in and slowly turned into the parking lot in front of the Science Museum. I kept driving around to try to find where I was going so I could make it to my meeting while watching all my gauges to see if anything more was going to happen. Once I reached about 10 mph, the grinding stopped, but it took every ounce of strength I had to turn the steering wheel to get around corners. I finally got to the right place and was starting to calm down after talking to my stepdad and then my mom again who started making phone calls to my insurance for a tow truck, an automotive shop so they would know it was coming and so forth. When I finally parked, I popped the hood and saw that I was missing a belt - shoot! And when I looked under the car again, I saw what remained of the belt hanging down.
I left the meeting at least 10 times to take phone calls from my mom, insurance company and the tow company updating me on when the tow truck would be there. However, it's Dallas, at rush hour, in the rain, and the guy was coming from Grand Prairie - the closest truck according to the tow company.
I sat in the parking lot for 45 minutes after the meeting was over. Thankfully, a sweet lady sat and talked with me while I waited so I didn't have to sit alone. Once the tow truck got there and loaded my car, the lady told me to pay it forward - which I intend to because she certainly didn't have to sit there.
I told the tow guy about what happened and he was puzzled at how the belts could break with no overheating and full functioning except for the power steering...We got to the shop around 7:30 and popped the hood again. Only one of the belts was broken - the one that controls power steering - the other two were fine. Thank goodness.
So I'm without a car, depending on others for a ride to and from work tomorrow and back to the shop to get mine (hopefully it will be done tomorrow).
I sure do hope the next two days are better than the first three of this week...I need them to be better.
Now, I'm going to bed early...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Maintenance
Car maintenance that is. I've become fairly adept at maintaining my car on my own. I can change the air filter, the battery, the headlights, taillights and windshield wiper blades by myself. I could even change a flat tire if I needed to, but on the side of the road I would probably still use USAA. I would like to learn to change my own oil, but until I can find someone to teach me, I'll stick with paying professionals to do that.
Two years ago, my stepdad and I replaced the belts in my car. A year and a half ago, I learned how to change my own brakes and shocks when they needed to be replaced and I didn't want to spend the money to pay a professional to do it. My stepdad patiently stood over my shoulder and told me what to do while I did the work and then checked just to make sure all the bolts were tight enough before I drove off. Six months after that, I replaced my own O2 sensor so that my car would pass inspection. It almost killed me last February when I needed a transmission overhaul, my clutch replaced and my a/c fixed because those were things I couldn't do myself and it ended up costing me over $3000 - OUCH!
Well, now, those same belts that were replaced 2 years ago are squealing again at fairly regular intervals, but only when the a/c is turned on. I checked them myself this morning and they look ok to me - no cracks visible to my eye and they didn't look loose - but still they squeal. Problem is, I don't really have the money to replace them right now. Not that they are terribly expensive, but to a dried up pocketbook, just about anything is expensive. I'm wondering if there is anything I could do, possibly lube them, that would help with the squealing. Does anyone out there have any ideas or suggestions? It would be a great help...
By the way, the first week of school went really well - only 35 more to go!
Two years ago, my stepdad and I replaced the belts in my car. A year and a half ago, I learned how to change my own brakes and shocks when they needed to be replaced and I didn't want to spend the money to pay a professional to do it. My stepdad patiently stood over my shoulder and told me what to do while I did the work and then checked just to make sure all the bolts were tight enough before I drove off. Six months after that, I replaced my own O2 sensor so that my car would pass inspection. It almost killed me last February when I needed a transmission overhaul, my clutch replaced and my a/c fixed because those were things I couldn't do myself and it ended up costing me over $3000 - OUCH!
Well, now, those same belts that were replaced 2 years ago are squealing again at fairly regular intervals, but only when the a/c is turned on. I checked them myself this morning and they look ok to me - no cracks visible to my eye and they didn't look loose - but still they squeal. Problem is, I don't really have the money to replace them right now. Not that they are terribly expensive, but to a dried up pocketbook, just about anything is expensive. I'm wondering if there is anything I could do, possibly lube them, that would help with the squealing. Does anyone out there have any ideas or suggestions? It would be a great help...
By the way, the first week of school went really well - only 35 more to go!
Monday, August 25, 2008
and the worst part was...
And the worst part of today was...definitely the blisters on my feet! The first day of school is always crazy, and today didn't fail to meet expectations, but at the end of the day, the pain of blisters on my feet overshadowed everything else that happened. I hate wearing shoes, especially dress or work shoes...I spend my summers barefoot or in flip flops so putting work shoes on my tender feet makes them very susceptible to blisters.
I'm teaching 2nd grade for the 7th year in a row, but what makes this year different is that I no longer have one set of kids all day long. We are team teaching so I am teaching reading/language arts and social studies and my team teacher has math and science. I have to learn the personalities, strengths and weaknesses of 41 students (so far) instead of just the 21 on my homeroom roster. The challenge today was that I had maintenance stuff (such as enrollment info and sorting school supplies) to accomplish with my homeroom class and that took up all the time I had with them plus some, but since I didn't have to do all that with my afternoon class we had a lot more "free time". I don't want one class to get ahead of the other, so 2C (the afternoon class) and I spent time getting to know each other just by talking.
Nothing crazy happened. In my homeroom, I have 12 boys and 9 girls - a much better ratio that last years 6 girls and 12 boys; in my afternoon class I have 11 boys and 9 girls. The end of the first day came much faster than I was ready for...I guess that just means I have extra to accomplish tomorrow. We'll see how it goes...and if I can avoid any more blisters.
I'm teaching 2nd grade for the 7th year in a row, but what makes this year different is that I no longer have one set of kids all day long. We are team teaching so I am teaching reading/language arts and social studies and my team teacher has math and science. I have to learn the personalities, strengths and weaknesses of 41 students (so far) instead of just the 21 on my homeroom roster. The challenge today was that I had maintenance stuff (such as enrollment info and sorting school supplies) to accomplish with my homeroom class and that took up all the time I had with them plus some, but since I didn't have to do all that with my afternoon class we had a lot more "free time". I don't want one class to get ahead of the other, so 2C (the afternoon class) and I spent time getting to know each other just by talking.
Nothing crazy happened. In my homeroom, I have 12 boys and 9 girls - a much better ratio that last years 6 girls and 12 boys; in my afternoon class I have 11 boys and 9 girls. The end of the first day came much faster than I was ready for...I guess that just means I have extra to accomplish tomorrow. We'll see how it goes...and if I can avoid any more blisters.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Summer is ending, a new year begins...
Since my last post, my summer has wound down and come Monday, it will officially be over. I went back to work last Monday, but the 25th makes it official because that is when the kids come rolling in.
My last activity of the summer was a weekend trip to New Braunfels with my singles group to tube down the river - if you've never done it, I highly recommend it. Tubing down the river made me reminiscent of my old college days - it was so relaxing, but it was hot and after just 3 hours or so I was burnt to a crisp (yes...I applied sunscreen - twice...I learned that the spray on kind doesn't work for me). We topped off our Saturday afternoon of tubing down the Comal River with dinner at the Gristmill http://www.gristmillrestaurant.com/ (a wonderful meal, but you always have to wait at least an hour for a table) and a concert at River Road Ice House http://www.riverroadicehouse.com/. Most of my friends spent the night at a hotel in San Antonio, but Michelle and I crashed with my cousins in town. Sunday, they were all ready to spend another day on the river and headed out to tube the Guadalupe (they didn't finish tubing until after 6 pm and then had to drive back to the Metroplex). I chose to spend some time with my cousins, Billy and Margie and on Monday morning I took off on the 2nd part of my weekend get away.
I left New Braunfels around 7 a.m. and took a 7 hour drive to the far northeast corner of the state where I spent 2 days with Kim and Owen. I hung out at the Pop Pop Shoppe with Kim, Paula and Owen and learned the art of making gourmet popcorn.
On Wednesday I headed home for a few days of absolutely nothingness - it was wonderful. The following week I had 3 days of staff development training for school - I learned a little, but not a lot. I spent the week of the 11th up at school painting my classroom, moving around furniture, throwing out old stuff that never gets used and finding places for all my frogs. The paint, a blue gray and light yellow, turned out great and really gives the room a calming feel - much better than the dingy white it was before.
On the 18th, Dallas ISD employees reported back to school, along with many other school districts across the state. We had two days of inservice training on campus and then on Wednesday we all (some 20,000 Dallas employees) headed to the American Airlines Center for a school year kickoff celebration. We were welcomed back to school by the likes of the mayor of Dallas, the DISD board president and through video, Nolan Ryan, Cynthia Izaguirre and John McCaa (Channel 8), Marty Turco (Dallas Stars), state senators and representatives from the Dallas area, Barney (the big purple dinosaur) and many others. The superintendent spoke for a while about where the district is heading over the next few years in attempt to become the premiere urban school district in the country. He discussed how far we've come since we began this journey in 2006, how far we have to go to meet our goal by 2010, and the things we need to do to get there. About 10:45 he finally introduced the keynote speaker for the morning - this is one of the most dynamic speakers I've heard in a very long time. Dalton Sherman only spoke for about 10 minutes but his message was powerful and touched the heart of every teacher sitting in the AAC. Dalton is a 5th grader from one of the Learning Centers in Dallas - after listening to his speech, I can only imagine the great things in store in his future. Take a few minutes to listen to Dalton's speech and see if you aren't moved by it...http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm.
Well, in about 48 hours, my first day of second grade (for the 7the year in a row) will be coming to a close. I'll let you know how it goes and post some pictures of my home away from home. For all the teacher out there (new and experienced), and all those going back to school or sending their little ones off to school...Happy School Year 2008 - 2009!
My last activity of the summer was a weekend trip to New Braunfels with my singles group to tube down the river - if you've never done it, I highly recommend it. Tubing down the river made me reminiscent of my old college days - it was so relaxing, but it was hot and after just 3 hours or so I was burnt to a crisp (yes...I applied sunscreen - twice...I learned that the spray on kind doesn't work for me). We topped off our Saturday afternoon of tubing down the Comal River with dinner at the Gristmill http://www.gristmillrestaurant.com/ (a wonderful meal, but you always have to wait at least an hour for a table) and a concert at River Road Ice House http://www.riverroadicehouse.com/. Most of my friends spent the night at a hotel in San Antonio, but Michelle and I crashed with my cousins in town. Sunday, they were all ready to spend another day on the river and headed out to tube the Guadalupe (they didn't finish tubing until after 6 pm and then had to drive back to the Metroplex). I chose to spend some time with my cousins, Billy and Margie and on Monday morning I took off on the 2nd part of my weekend get away.
I left New Braunfels around 7 a.m. and took a 7 hour drive to the far northeast corner of the state where I spent 2 days with Kim and Owen. I hung out at the Pop Pop Shoppe with Kim, Paula and Owen and learned the art of making gourmet popcorn.
On Wednesday I headed home for a few days of absolutely nothingness - it was wonderful. The following week I had 3 days of staff development training for school - I learned a little, but not a lot. I spent the week of the 11th up at school painting my classroom, moving around furniture, throwing out old stuff that never gets used and finding places for all my frogs. The paint, a blue gray and light yellow, turned out great and really gives the room a calming feel - much better than the dingy white it was before.
On the 18th, Dallas ISD employees reported back to school, along with many other school districts across the state. We had two days of inservice training on campus and then on Wednesday we all (some 20,000 Dallas employees) headed to the American Airlines Center for a school year kickoff celebration. We were welcomed back to school by the likes of the mayor of Dallas, the DISD board president and through video, Nolan Ryan, Cynthia Izaguirre and John McCaa (Channel 8), Marty Turco (Dallas Stars), state senators and representatives from the Dallas area, Barney (the big purple dinosaur) and many others. The superintendent spoke for a while about where the district is heading over the next few years in attempt to become the premiere urban school district in the country. He discussed how far we've come since we began this journey in 2006, how far we have to go to meet our goal by 2010, and the things we need to do to get there. About 10:45 he finally introduced the keynote speaker for the morning - this is one of the most dynamic speakers I've heard in a very long time. Dalton Sherman only spoke for about 10 minutes but his message was powerful and touched the heart of every teacher sitting in the AAC. Dalton is a 5th grader from one of the Learning Centers in Dallas - after listening to his speech, I can only imagine the great things in store in his future. Take a few minutes to listen to Dalton's speech and see if you aren't moved by it...http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm.
Well, in about 48 hours, my first day of second grade (for the 7the year in a row) will be coming to a close. I'll let you know how it goes and post some pictures of my home away from home. For all the teacher out there (new and experienced), and all those going back to school or sending their little ones off to school...Happy School Year 2008 - 2009!
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