A Little Bit O' Flab

                  

One morning while making breakfast, a man walked up to his wife,  pinched her on the butt and said, "If you firmed up, we could get rid of your control-top panty hose". While this was on the edge of intolerable, she kept silent.  

The next morning, the man woke his wife with a pinch on  each of her breasts and said, "You know, if you firmed these up, we could get rid of your bra."   This was beyond a silent response, so she  rolled over and grabbed him by his "wackie".   

With a death grip in  place,  she said, "You know, if you firmed this up,  we could get rid of the gardener, the postman, the pool man and your brother."

OMG... If this is marriage, no wonder I'm single. =.)

Hello Journal Buds...

Here you find me again, trying to add another entry. Seems as if it's getting harder and harder to do that. Could it be that AOL is getting slower instead of faster? Sometimes I try to add an entry and AOL logs me off and I have to try and try several times, and yet, no entry goes into my journal. It has become so frustrating and so time-consuming that it has become more of a job. I have become so disappointed in AOL that sometimes I feel like giving up on my journal. Sometimes I feel that it would be better to hand-write my journal the old fashioned way. Do any of you ever feel that way?!!!#

Getting organized seems to have taken over January 2006, but getting organized at work has created major headaches. Because the person before me turned in all of his files, I have been working the cases he left behind by braille. It's like the blind leading the blind! Learning how to do my job got me behind, but not having his files pushed me even further back!

MY PLAN: TO MAKE MY JOB EASIER

Service Plan Tool: I finally got his files back on Friday of last week, so I created a tool to keep on top of those service plans. Now, I just have to add new plans as I get new students. 

Assessment Tool: I am still working on this. It will include all the information I will need to evaluate and monitor the student's progress: schedule, personal info, grades, attendance, discipline, LEP, teen parent/pregnancy, etc. Once I get this completed, I will only need to add the new ones and I will only have to continue monitoring the ones I already have. I hope to complete it this week.

Group Schedule Tool: I am still working on this. I need to get creative because their schedules are all different. I am thinking of continuing groups via their electives, but including breakfast or lunch times to focus on teen parent group, career group, arts group (art, theatre, dance), anger management group, etc. Getting the groups organized is a horse of a different color because they all have different schedules, so I need to get really creative on that one. I have been working on it this weekend. Hopefully, I will complete this one this week also. I have to, because when my caseload increases to 100 students, I will really be behind and lost. 

I have been burning the candle at both ends~ going in early (7:30am) and staying until 9pm sometimes. Working too many hours is taking it's toll and I am getting burned out. My work schedule is only from 8am to 4:30pm. Will I ever be able to get myself to keeping to that schedule?! It would be nice to only work late once or twice a week. Yep, that is the plan.

The principal at my school is very structured and tough. The only time I have seen her smile is in the online picture. She is kind of scary. She made me nervous when she walked into my group last week. It took me a little while to calm down from the nervousness of having her standing there while I was conducting group, but I didnt even notice when she left. I wonder if she showed up because you can see through the Glass House where I have the groups. (Isnt it funny that the Woman in the Glass Box does groups in the Glass House?) I wonder if someone saw us playing the balls game and told her about it. She doesnt want me to allow kids to come in to do their work unless if she approves it. That means that I have to be more creative about their tutoring, because it is a service that needs to be included. 

I havebeen trying to get a speaker in for the past two months. I did not expect the principal to approve the speaker for Monday, but she did. Wow! I hope everything goes well tomorrow and I hope all the kids show up. My speaker is a man from the military. He will be doing a Power Point presentation on Substance Abuse. 

When I spoke to the principal to request permission for the speaker, I was surprised that she told me that I am doing a good job. Wow! She says that she wants me to continue to do counseling. And to top it off, that same day, the assistant principal and one of the counselors recommended two new students for my program. Wow! That's scary if they know I am good! How do I disappear into the woodwork now?! ha ha

This month, we have been discussing resolutions, dreams, and goals in groups. I know the substance abuse speaker does not tie in with that, but I guess it could if drugs get in the way of your dreams/ goals.

February is the month of love, so I plan for activities, games, and discussions that focus on relationships: self, girlfriend-boyfriend, family, friends, career, etc.

HOME/FAMILY: I pulled a drive-by visit to see my youngest daughter and her family and deliver their Xmas presents. They had plans last weekend, so I didnt stay. It warms my heart that my grandaughter loves to have me visit. We had a lot of fun together and she loved the dress-up clothes I got for her. My grandson is four months old and he weighs 14lbs. He is a little butterball, so cuddly to hold. I was disappointed that I wasnt able to see my other daughter and her family, but I dont think she would have appreciated a drive-by visit...

My mother showed up unexpected two weekends ago. She brought me some oranges and grapefruit. I wonder if she is losing her eyesight, because when I got back from my trip (which was only for Friday night and Saturday morning), my apartment was full of fruit flies. The whole bag of oranges was pulvurized. Amazing. I choose to believe it was her eyesight and that she didnt do it on purpose, but who knows....

Diet and Exercise:I know the plan was to lose a minimum of 2-3 lbs every month, but I havent been good about what has gone into my mouth this month. My best friend says she snacks all day and goes without supper, but snacking all day has had me snacking all night, too. Not a good game plan for me! I will need to go back to what works for me.

I am pleased to report that I have been keeping up with exercising at least 2-3 times per week, though.

I havent had the courage to get on the scale, but the month isnt over yet. It would be great if I surprise myself with a 2-3 lb loss this month. We'll see.

Well, everybody, thanks for stopping by. I know this entry was kind of boring. That's why it started out with the joke. ha ha... Thanks for laughing even if you didnt think it was funny. ha ha again...

Real friends laugh at your jokes even when they are not funny.

4EVER FRIENDS,

Win =.)