Mel's Box of Chocolates

Gobble, gobble! I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving! May your table be surrounded with loved ones and overflowing with yummy food. Free Myspace Graphics

Has it really been a month since my last posting? Wow. Time flies. I'd love to say cause I've been having lots of fun, but not especially. This school year seems to be crazier than ever as the stakes are pushed higher for educators and I strive to meet them.  I would love for one of those crazy people who talk about how easy teachers have it, how they only work 6 hours a day, get off for all the holidays, don't work over the summer, and make the money they deserve, to follow me around for a bit.  I would bet that if I divided my salary into the hours/minutes I've been working this year that I'm probably getting paid change per hour. But, the other day one of my teacher friends emailed me this and I was reminded exactly why I do what I do... I MAKE A DIFFERENCE …That’s what I make! The Doctor wants his child to become a doctor... the Engineer wants his child to become an engineer... the Businessman wants his ward to become a CEO.... BUT a teacher a...

The kids and I drive 45 minutes one way to school. It's a long drive! Many days Zoe usually falls asleep and Dyl plays his video games leaving me to listen to some music or lose myself in my own thoughts for a quiet ride.  It used to be I would try to get a couple calls made, but with the new law, I find that I don't talk on my cell nearly as much since my bluetooth is a speaker phone and I don't like my conversation blared through the car. But, lately I've been trying to use our commute to have more conversations.  Of course we talk about school.  I never ask how their day was because that conversations shortly ends with "good" or what they learned because inevitably they learned "nothing" or "can't remember".  Instead I try to ask questions like what made them laugh, or who did they sit with at lunch {Dyl loves talking about lunch}, what did they read, or what did they play at recess. I found this book {affiliate link} helpful i...

September was a looooong month. I was so ready to kick it to the curb and welcome October with open arms. I guess I should have known considering it started with an earthquake, tornadoes and a hurricane ! This year going back to school has been rough.  Absolutely the hardest out of my 8 years of teaching. With so many federal mandates coming down the pike requiring paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork not to mention meetings, after meetings, after meetings, it's been quite overwhelming.  I go to school and hold my breath, hoping that I can tread the water and not drown today.  If only I could go to work and just, you know, teach!!  What a JOY that would be. When it comes to my students, they are what keeps me going!  I have 22 of the nicest children you could ever hope to have in a class.  Everybody gets along, they help each other, they smile, they laugh, and a month into school they are finally getting down procedures.  September can be qui...

It seems like I somehow lost a week there. Two Fridays ago, I came down with one big ol' mess of sneezing, coughing, runny nose, achy muscles. It landed me in bed all day that Saturday where I dozed on and off fighting a low grade fever.  Welcome back to school, I suppose! Sunday, I was feeling a bit better, but pretty weak so I took it easy although I did venture out of the house for a couple hours of errand running.  That wiped me out though and caused me to go right back to bed when I returned home. I knew it was going to be a tiring week going back to school while still fighting the plague plus it was a busy week with one college course on Monday, a Tuesday night meeting, teaching a college course on Wendesday, and gymnastics on Friday.  Thursday was actually the only day that I was slated to be home at a decent time and then I ended up not doing so because I stayed at school trying to get something accomplished there. So needless to say my exercise and track...

This looked fun when I saw it over at Run, Eat, Date, Sleep and decided to play. So here it is... The ABC Game A. Age: 33. If I remember correctly. B. Bed size: Queen. We had a King, but switched it out for a bed my parents were getting rid of because it was a newer mattress.  Our king is greatly missed and I'm sure will be coming home sooner than later. C. Chore you hate:   Putting away laundry, and folding it, and washing it.  I just don't like laundry.  D. Dogs: We said goodbye to our beloved dog Mako a few years ago and now Max is part of our family . E. Essential start to your day: My Keurig brewing me a hot mug of coffee and if I'm going to work a hot shower! F. Favorite color: If I had to pick just one I would probably say orange, but to be honest I like anything bright...greens, blues, pinks.  I just like color! G. Gold or silver: Silver H. Height: 5’3” is what I would usually say, but at my last doctors appointment I dis...

After Irene did her thing and left the Delaware coast, we went out to see what we could see. Thankfully we didn't have much damage here on the coast. The most flooding came from the bay and its canals rather than the ocean itself. Here is a picture of a bay beach access area. In the first picture you can see Dave sitting on the picnic table and on the second one, he is wading back to us. For a different perspective...here is a picture of us all set up for a day of wading, playing, and jetskiing in the exact same place this summer. Crazy!