Saturday, November 7, 2009

[not so] sensational six for 11.7.09

this week has been a rough one. so much so, that i took friday off for a mental health day. i got some much needed rest, and a few things accomplished around the house for myself and the 'rents. this week really kicked my butt, which i will talk about here... i'll be making up for the extremely short list last week. if you make it to the end of this, i congratulate you.

1. sunday night i set out to have a GREAT week. i was ready for monday, for PD on tuesday, choir wednesday, a special rehearsal thursday and pizza/fun night on friday. monday morning i got an email around 6:50 from my co-worker addressing some issues that were none of her business. my immediate response was anger (not good before 7 am). i took about an hour to sort through the things i wanted to say. i did reply (coincidentally, she was out "sick" that day), and i was polite, yet firm in my response. basically telling her to butt out of my job and do her own... but not in those words. it has been one thing after another with her this year, and i know she wants her job back (my current job of 6th grade general music every morning and then a different elementary school every afternoon). i've been told her time with NLPS is limited, because she's been very dishonest on several fronts. and she pulls some not-so-cool stunts.

2. tuesday. PD all day. the morning session was actually quite interesting, and we're moving towards the responsive classroom. i'm super excited, because behaviors throughout NLPS is ridiculous. we had a district music meeting during my hour lunch on tuesday, and i was expecting a whole lotta drama. BUT... the music coordinator had touched base with all of my principals and said he got nothing but absolutely fabulous, positive feedback from all of them. they're all thrilled with the job i'm doing, and i'm glad that this was announced in front of my crazy co-worker. definitely the highlight of my week!

3. wednesday. i had a good day at the middle school. at the elementary school i had to confiscate marijuana from a 5th grader. the police came and the student is suspended for 10 days. 10 years old!!!! anyways, i had to come home to be interviewed by debra alfarone about my credit card and student loan debt. a few weeks ago they posted something on facebook about looking for someone to interview about their debt. i threw my name in the mix because i was hoping to get the free financial advice they promised. well, who knew... they picked me! ack! so, debra and her camera man, dave showed up wednesday at 3. good times. while they were here, i got a call from our security guard at the middle school. she left a message saying i had to call her back because she had a story for me. i called her back, and apparently, while i was gone in the afternoon busting drugs in the new london public schools, my crazy coworker was at it again. she. FLIPPED. OUT. crying. yelling "i can't do this anymore! these kids don't listen to me!" she slammed a door in the principal's face. and then: she left. walked out of school. gone. wow, this week just keeps getting better.

4. thursday. i was ready for the week to be over. i woke up not feeling well, exhausted and just not wanting to be at school. thursday was an after school club day, and i was at school around 4pm when my brother called. he was really quiet, making small talk and then blurted it out: "peg and i are done." WOW. this week REALLY DOES just keep getting better!!! i went to the high school practice field where he was watching josh practice. just wanted to talk to him, or if he didn't want to talk, just go visit and sit there with him to let him know he's not alone. it's been a long few months for him. he admits he's not the easiest person to live with, but i have witnessed first hand the changes he has made since july to make this marriage work. it's so sad to see it falling apart before my eyes. AND i realized the muckle kids marriages are only 50% successful. 4 marriages, 2 divorces. i guess it's the going rate these days. i hear the statistics and don't think much about it until it hits home like this.

5. friday. i took the day off. much needed day of sleep and work. i wasn't feeling well, but popped some advil and went to the JV fun night. i baked some cookies at the church, watched some dodgeball with rachel - which, by the way... it was pretty amazing that kyle and rachel stopped by! - ... i was nosey and snooped on a wedding rehearsal going on. overall a fun night until about 9 when i felt my advil wearing off. came home to help momma muck bake some pumpkin bread at 10pm and watched doubt. great, but sad movie.

6. today. i've done some dusting, laundry and washed my bed linens. they're currently hanging on the line right now, and i'm already excited about going to bed tonight with some great smelling sheets. i don't feel well, i think i have a sinus infection, but i'm looking forward to a relatively easy week. monday and tuesday i have school, wednesday i'm off but helping in the kitchen for church dinner, then thursday and friday are half days at the elementary school for conferences.

i don't see how this coming week could possibly suck as much as this week. i tried to find the positive in all situations this week... but i'm looking forward to church tomorrow and a new start to a new week.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

sensational six for 10.31.09

a quick sensational six this week:

1. hymns. LOVE them.
2. fires in the back yard. love them, too.
3. friends to hold me accountable. pretty bomb.
4. a potential visit from someone in early 2010..... amazing.
5. teaching 5th graders... i get a LOT of hugs!
6. 3 weeks and 6 days until christmas music, christmas decorating and christmas scented candles!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

sensational six for 10.24.09

1. just got back from pennsylvania! i was mike and thea's first house guest. LOVE the house, and the scenery! can't wait to go back.

2. skyped with tim, bridget and the boys today. i freaking love skype. it was like 3 of the 5 muckle kids were together in one room. a little more than a month and 4 of the 5 muckles will be together - for thanksgiving. can't wait!

3. mike and thea took me out to carrabba's last night. doesn't go well with the healthy eating thing, but HOLY MOLEY was it amazing!

4. mike and thea are getting a chik-fil-a about 10 minutes from their house!!! we passed it on our way to dinner last night. it looks about ready to open and there's a playscape there!

5. i thought i was short instruments for my kids, but God has an amazing way of providing even when i doubt. PTOs are buying a few here and there, and i'm piecing a few together. some kids have moved. it's been neat to see God work.

6. i only have ONE true, full week of school between now and christmas!!! ack!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

sensational six for 10.17.09

1. it is my dear brother michael's birthday today. he is 40! hard to believe that we're all getting so old!! i have been so blessed with an incredible family, and am so proud to be able to call michael james muckle my brother :)

2. iron sharpens iron: for women. pretty good day. learned a few things, but overall i'm a bigger fan of women of faith.

3. the kids in my district are pretty neat. i NEVER thought i would be able to say that. EVER. i LOVE my job. i LOVE teaching. i LOVE teaching in new london. WHAT? did i just say that? i never thought this day would come, but it's true :)

4. i made a pretty big decision about a week ago, and i'm excited about it. more info on that to come...

5. friends. i've been reminded this past week just how groovy mine are.

6. marquis. my job this year allows mwe tremendous flexibility. this past week i spent a period covering a resource class for 6th graders. marquis, a student in the resource class, shared his story of how he is a cancer survivor with me. he then proceeded to show me his prosthetic leg. he had to choose between recontructive leg surgery, or amputation. he was tired of being in pain, so at 9 years old he decided to have his leg amputated. his outlook on life is amazing, and this past week, he became my hero.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

sensational six for 10.10.09

i. am. so. tired.

but here's the sensational six:

1. Adah. She's seriously one of the THE happiest, most relaxed, easy going babies i've ever had the priviledge to be around. She is as cute as she is easy going. I've loved these past few days with her, getting to know her... and... putting her to sleep. The Baby Whisperer strikes again. Rachel, anytime you and Kyle can't get Junior to sleep, you give me a call.

2. Amanda. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun this girl is. I have had a blast being around Amanda. Always have; always will. I've only seen her one other time since June of 2008, and we never have had a problem picking up where we left off. Always good (read: inappropriate) times. Then when you add Rachel to the mix... it's just awful. We have the same stupid sense of humor and find ridiculous things funny. We love to laugh and there's never a lack of laughter when we're together.

3. Overtime. I was pretty ticked when I found out I had to spend the whole night... but in retrospect, I wouldn't want it any other way. We had a ton of fun. The praise and worship time was pretty incredible. I'm already looking forward to next year.

4. Fall foliage. I LOVE this time of year. And the foliage is looking pretty spectacular right about now.

5. Rachel's shower is today!!!!!!!! I am SO exhausted but SO excited! I think this will work out well because I can only sleep for about an hour before having to get up and get ready. I'll go to the shower, and then come home to nap for about 2 hours before going to Chili's. If I wasn't so busy I'd be sleeping all day and then wouldn't be able to sleep tonight so... it works!

6. Came to the Rescue. LOVE this song and SO excited to sing it in church tomorrow. I don't know what it is about this song... but I adore it. The Praise Team has worked hard on it, and it shows. I could sing it all day.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

sensational six for 10.3.09

what a crazy, long week! but, there was some good:

1. longer hair? i'm still going strong on growing out my hair. this is pretty exceptional. i think the last time i got my hair cut was at the beginning of august (if not earlier). 2 months and still going! when i'm tempted to get it cut, i look at pictures of my hair from the summer of 2007 for inspiration. goodness gracious, i loved my hair then.

2. shopping. nothing like retail therapy at the end of the week. i came home with a few pairs of pants for school, a long sleeved shirt, sweater and a dress for $100. courtesy of my save $50 coupon! i also came home with 3 new candles from yankee candle. buy 2, get one free! i LOVE autumn and can't seem to stop buying their harvest-y scented candles! i also hit up homegoods. love that store.

3. crazy love. this book is incredible. i'm keeping up with the reading, and have a feeling that i'm going to have to re-read it, because it covers a lot of heavy subject matter.

4. the fire pit in the back yard. kathryn and kim came over last night, and we were outside until after midnight, just talking around the fire. i plan on using that sucker a few more times before it gets too cold!

5. babies!!!!!! so, i have done some counting. 9 friends have had a baby within the past 5 months, and i have another 13 friends that are expecting between now and april. holy moley!!!! unbelievable! i guess my circle of friends are experiencing a baby boom! i'm loving it :)

6. friends! amanda, adah AND becky plungis come home this week! i am SO excited to see everyone! i'm not looking forward to everyone leaving, though! that part will stink. but, while they're here i will refuse to think of the sad saying goodbye that will come at the end of their visits!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

sensational six

yeah, i'm copying rachel. so what?

i'm pretty bored waiting for my pumpkin bread to finish baking, so instead of doing a fab five on friday, i've decided to do a sensational six on saturday. i'm not sure i have anything so sensational, but here goes:

1. i made a pot of homemade chicken soup today. first soup of the season! it's so easy and i'll have it all week to bring to school for lunch. it is a bitter sweet soup season, because i won't be able to bring my soup to gramma this year. booo.

2. pumpkin bread. i noticed a can of pumpkin in the pantry the other day, and i decided to make a loaf about an hour ago. smells yummy!!

3. chili's. i love chili's. the girls went after praise team practice thursday night and i hope i can speak for all of us when i saw it was a BLAST! getting together with the ladies doesn't happen often, but it's always good times when it happens.

4. praise team practice. i always look forward to praise team practice. it's just a neat way to end the week. i love having that few hours set aside to praise the Lord, laugh with the rest of the praise team, and share about our weeks.

5. i bought a new laptop friday. i was convinced my next lappy would be a mac, but i just couldn't do it. i was sick of my dell, and it's been crapping out for over a year now, so i went to best buy and bit the bullet. here's my new baby.

6. AMANDA AND ADAH COME FOR A VISIT A WEEK FROM TUESDAY!!!!! i'm just a little excited. momma muck is getting to see what she calls "one of the happiest babies" she's seen. all she's seen is pictures, so far, and well... momma muck is stoked. so is poppa muck! all the mucks are ready.

well, this helped quite a bit. only another 10 minutes until the pumpkin bread is done! i'm going to go finish reading so i'm ready for my book club tomorrow!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

it's here!


i'm off to read!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

crazy love

more than a year ago, i stumbled across the blog of angie smith. she and her best friend jessica have teamed up to form the bloom book club.

unfortunately, this book club started on the 13th. i'm 2 chapters behind, but feel that i can catch up fairly easily. i ordered the book here and got a free upgrade to 2-business day shipping. i paid $8 total, getting the book for a fraction of the price.

the current book is Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . from what i'm gathering from angie and jessica's week 2 video, this is going to b e a pretty neat experience.

one of the things i want to do each week is blog about the chapter we're reading. i'm hoping to be disciplined enough to do that. there are discussion groups online to get involved in, but i'm hoping to use this as a place to put my own thoughts.

i've always wanted to join a book club, but felt that would be just one more thing on my already packed plate. i'm hoping this is a way to check one more thing off my to-do list! :)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

this and that

so much excitement!!!!!

- gall bladder surgery was successful. had the surgery on tuesday, 8/25... and was at work friday 8/28. i was sore but i was there. had my follow up last week and my surgeon lifted all physical and dietary restrictions. my insides still hurt, but the incisions are doing well. too bad i suffered for 2 years with that pain... but i'm incredibly relieved that i'll never feel that pain AGAIN!!

- rachel found out this past week that she's having a BOY!!!! AHHHHHHHH so many babies! and i'm LOVING it.

- i got an amazing surprise when i returned to work: i'm officially the 6th grade general music teacher and 5th grade instrumental teacher!!!! no more 7th and 8th graders. pretty stinking cool. i still get to see my 7th and 8th graders, but i don't have to deal with them and their craziness every other day! God is good!!!!

- mike and thea close on their house this coming friday!! holy goodness gracious that 5 weeks went by FAST! i foresee many, many trips to pennsylvania in the future :)

- amanda and adah's visit is a mere 16 days away!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! we're planning a pretty rad baby shower for rachel, which has been a BLAST. i love planning things like that. i've planned and thrown a few showers before, but they've always been bridal showers. baby showers are SO MUCH FUN too!!

- we're moving into week 4 of school already... 14 days down... 166 to go!!

- today's weather was pretty much perfect. sunny and about 68 degrees. autumn has arrived!!!

- got a blackberry tour today and i'm pretty much in love.

- year of transformation. i've been praying for brokenness lately and it's been neat to see what God has been doing... hopefully i'll be able to post more on this tomorrow.

- going to fold some laundry before heading to bed!