The Cookies are Calling...

I have a Hallmark card that says, “The cookies are calling...” “Give in!”

Today, after school, I zipped open the first box of Girl Scout cookies. I ended up with two boxes this year. I usually buy one box from each child that asks and the number varies greatly. I pulled out the long, silver sleeve anticipating the chocolatey, mint flavor. I tugged open one end and slid out a lone cookie. I nibbled the edge, crunched the middle and caught the crumbs with my tongue. Three more would be today’s limit, I decided. I removed them, twisted the sleeve closed and pushed the rest back into the box for another day. Happily munching helped to satisfy that ever present after school hunger as I prepared for Monday morning. Yum!

Signs of Spring

Last summer I did an entry about Signs of Summer. It was inspired by Ali Edwards, but I can't find the exact post. Anyway, it certainly feels like spring here. Thank goodness! My school playground has no protection from the wind and it feels like we have been inside forever.



Spring Bulletin Boards








Disappearing Snow
& Mud Everywhere (My students have actually done a pretty good job of avoiding the mud. Yeah!)







Standardized Testing (Our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders are working hard. Our Stanford 10 tests will be in April.)








Light Outside at 5:30 p.m. (That's my watch and the view from the hallway outside my classroom. I'm sure the camera couldn't decide what to focus on!)







Sprouting Hyacinths (These are inside, but the ones outside are sprouting too.)




Happy Spring!

Detective Work at the Gym

I was winding up my stress relief at the gym by diligently pumping up and down on the elliptical when I looked at the book prop. This is what I saw - 2 books. My teacher’s edition of our current math topic. We have a new series which we are implementing with fidelity. So, I really need to look it over each day before teaching. I also had my latest library stash which is Sue Grafton’s newest book, U is for Undertow.

I began to wonder just how much these clues revealed to my fellow pedalers. Obviously, I am a teacher and it even discloses my grade level if you look closely. Good detectives will also deduce that I am a mystery reader. One might also infer that I must distract myself from the exercise by doing something else. Other clues that lead to this deduction would include the gum and the iPod! Perhaps, I should think about what I inadvertently reveal without even trying.

Feathery Alarm Clock

Scritch! Scratch! Thump! Thump! Thump! It sounded like someone was walking on the roof. I slowly opened my eyes and squinted at the clock. 6:30 a.m. I put on my glasses and looked up at the skylight above my bed. A black shadow appeared. Too small for a misguided roofer. Click. Click. Click. The black shadow began pecking on the skylight. A neighborhood crow had decided that it was time for me to get up. I turned over and pulled the covers over my head. I wonder how you “hit the snooze button” on a crow.

Out the Door

I threw on my favorite pair of work out pants and a bright pink long-sleeved t-shirt. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I headed out the door. I poked the garage door button, opened the car door and slid in. The engine roared to life with a turn of the key, unlike last year on March 1, when the battery was dead! I backed out of the drive and headed toward the gym. The hardest part was accomplished - getting motivated to get out of the house and just go!

Happy Casimir Pulaski Day!