The roofer finally got someone to come and take a look at the hole in my ceiling this morning; and he had someone who could come over and begin work this afternoon. Instead of patching the hole, he cut out the entire square of the ceiling between the attic access and the walls then placed a piece of drywall into that hole. Speeded up the process dramatically from what we originally thought. The first layer of plaster has been applied, and now we just wait till tomorrow to see what else is needed.

I spent most of the day working on images for a comic book/strip vocabulary interactive. Most of the work is finding or designing little pictures that fit the definitions that the lesson plan writer has provided. They’re all fairly corny; but they’ll accomplish the goal. When I get it finished, it should be usable from the 3-5 grade band to secondary. Unfortunately, the MarcoPolo tool that I would use to make the interactive is down. So I can’t actually drop any of this work into place. Sort of disappointing. I wanted to see it in context. Guess I just have to be patient. Still I got a lot done because I was working at home all afternoon while I was getting plastered (har har). It’s amazing how much more you can get done when you’re not interrupted all the time.

During our team update this morning, I noticed, I think, that I go about things differently from Lisa. Maybe it’s just perception. She had her usual list of things to cover#151;lesson plans to review, proposals to respond to, and so forth. She worked down her list, telling us what she needed us to do. I thought about how my updates with Sharon go. Lisa works down through a list of what she needs from us. In my updates, I spend a lot of time saying what I’m working on. Maybe I talk about what I need too. But it just suddenly felt as if I go about things all wrong. Maybe I spend my time trying to justify things by going through that list of projects I’ve finished and the ones that I’m working on. Maybe if I peeked in on Lisa’s updates, I’d see her going through similar lists. The team meetings really aren’t the same as our individual meetings with Sharon. Still, I just had this revelation that I focus on the wrong things. And worse yet, I’m not quite sure how to change it. So much of what I do isn’t things that others can give me input on. I don’t need anything from them to update the server or work on interactives. Sigh… I guess I just have to try to listen more and then decide if I really am doing this all wrong.

I need to do a better job overall. I never get to work on time anymore, and people have noticed. I’ve been told that I have to improve. Soon. I wish I weren’t so messed up.

I watched something from Biography Channel on Dostoevsky. I wouldn’t normally have even known it was on, but I found it in the listings when I was scheduling the TiVo. So I scheduled it. Perhaps not the best thing I’ve ever seen, but it was at least one rerun of Spongebob that I didn’t watch—and I did get an overview of good old Fyodor. And there were lovely quotes to describe my life. Fyodor explores “what we are, not what we should be.” Now if I could only be happy with what I am, instead of what I should be. Then again, Dostoevsky focused on antiheroes, tortured loners on the outskirts of society. Maybe I’m trapped in a Dostoevsky novel, and I’m only just now figuring it out.

Now I have to go to bed. I MUST be at work on time or I’m going to be fired. I wish I could get more done and be better at all this. :(

Emeril is talking about how to make mushroom stock. I think I may throw up a little.

I got in touch with the roofer and the construction company, and someone is coming over to estimate the work on the hole in my ceiling tomorrow. No idea when the work will take place, but at least something is happening.

Another ReadWriteThink content report was due today, and we had two lessons: the 9-12 lesson, Defining Literacy in the Digital World, and a new K-2 lesson that went live today, Digging Up Details on Worms: Using the Language of Science in an Inquiry Study. Together, they hit three different areas that the NCTE Executive Committee has identified for our work this year. I also wrote up my Inbox column for tomorrow’s issue, but no hints.

Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
ReadWriteThink

Why do I feel like such a failure for eating one cracker? Yes, that’s all I’ve had today. I was late. I’m always late, so I didn’t eat anything before coming in. I had had nothing since I’ve gotten here. Not even water. But I caved in and ate a cracker. And now, I feel like the world’s largest failure. But I’m not really sure what I failed at. Maybe everything.

Well, the day is almost over, and I haven’t done anything useful. I’m such a slacker. I did begin the laundry, and I need to go down to the basement and deal with the load in the washer. Other than that I fiddled about with TiVo settings and watched various things on Food Network and TCM. I had some trouble with the desktop application for the TiVo transfers. I ultimately had to delete every file with the word TiVo in its name by hand; then do a reinstall. It’s working though, and I copied a file to my machine. Didn’t try a DVD burn though. I have three blank DVDs but they are fairly nice. I need to go buy some cheap ones to practice with.

I feel badly. Partly, if not all physical. I so have physical symptoms and whatnot. But maybe it’s partly mental. My brain is stupid, so it’s probably partly my brain. I was having bad thoughts today about my life. I kept thinking that I wanted to just be a housewife, to stay home, keep things tidy, sew, cook for someone. I want to just do that. Maybe I just want someone who is mine to take care of. But that’s an all-wrong thought and my women’s studies training slapped my conscience around for such inappropriate thoughts. I think all the wrong things. Maybe I’m just still having nostalgic loneliness for the things I used to be able to do when I was home for the holidays, for the things I wanted to do but didn’t get to. I don’t know. I often think that I was born in the wrong time period. I just know that sometimes, like today, I think things that I know I’m not supposed to, that everything I’ve ever been taught says are wrong. I don’t know why I think such wrong things, so many different wrong things.

woohoo! I now have the TiVo working through the Airport. Wireless :) It took FOREVER to download that software and update the box. In that time, I read/skimmed the manual. Turns out TiVo is a Linux box. I’m so entertained by that. If I had known, it would have been another reason to choose it.

The cool part of all this is that now that TiVo is on the network, it’s just like another computer on the LAN. Well, actually it IS another computer on the LAN. I can copy recorded shows from the TiVo to my laptop and then burn them out as DVDs or save them as Windows Media files to play on another computer.

Now it’s time for sleep, but when I get up, I’ll go about scheduling things so that it records things while I’m at work or asleep. I know I’m being a lazy, gluttonous brat; but it’s too late now I guess. I already have it, and it’s all set up.

I am TiVoed. I rearranged the pile of electronics to new heights and untangled and then retangled a million wires. The update to the latest version of the software is still going on, but it’s working even now. The download is taking a lifetime, because it uses the phone line. Once I get the latest software, I can get it on the DSL connection. For the time being, however, I’m entertained.

I also (finally) unloaded nearly everything from the car earlier this afternoon. Some of it it still sitting in the kitchen, and other bits are scattered around. Most of it is not unpacked. But it’s not in the car anymore. That has to be enough. That and I got the trash to the street. That is the best I seem able to do today.

Karla and Dickie finished up the work on the C&W proposal. I may never have done less to create a conference proposal. I don’t deserve to even be included, but they tell me it’s too late now.

I just made an amazing sandwich, working from a Food Network recipe that I saw on Friday on Quick Fix with Robin Miller for Monte Cristo Sandwiches with Swiss and Ham.

I didn’t really have the right ingredients, so I made up something similar yet different. They layered combination of flavors is absolutely, wonderfully unreal.

So that I can do this again, here’s the recipe as I modified it—different ingredients and to make only one sandwich. It’s not really a Monte Cristo anymore, but I haven’t come up with a new name for it:

Cooking spray 1 large eggs (I used Egg Beaters instead) 1 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard (I didn’t have dijon) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon sugar (I couldn’t find my cinnamon. I added extra since it was diluted) dash of salt dash of ground black pepper 1 tablespoon sugar-free apricot preserves 2 slices oatmeal bread 3 ounces sliced honey turkey 1 slice sharp cheddar cheese Coat a large griddle or skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium heat. In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper. Set aside. Spread apricot preserves on the slices of bread. Top with turkey and cheese slices. Top with second slice of bread and transfer sandwiches to egg mixture. Turn to coat both sides. Transfer sandwiches to hot pan and cook 3 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown on the outside and cheese begins to melt.

I would never have put my spicy honey mustard with things like apricots and cinnamon, but it was a great layering. Mmmm. I cut the egg wash part of the recipe in half, because I it was simpler than trying to cut it to 1/4s for just one sandwich. I had a bit of the wash leftover, but that was simpler than trying to figure out a 1/2 an egg.

I’m not sure that I can call today a day of tidying, but parts of the house look better. I put piles of books away and rearranged things slightly. Moved all the Girl Scout books to a thin bookcase in the bedroom, which freed space up for the tons of young adult lit books and books that incorporate computer technologies in one way or another. Put away the piles of books that have been out since I went to Michigan as well. Yes, I am so slovenly that I have had books piled up in the way since June. That pile also included a lot of paper that has gone into the trash. I really haven’t accomplished much. Everything is still in the car, save the small things that I’ve brought in. I need to get all that stuff out of the car. I never seem to get enough done :(

A lovely Friday the Thirteenth, more or less. The Service Engine Soon light went back off. My TIVO arrived, not that I’ve set it up yet. I’m still trying to tidy things, and I may rearrange that entire television area. I even got dressed and left the house, even though I took the day off. I went by Bed, Bath, and Beyond and got a new pillow and skillet—not to be used together. The pillow is divine. I have tried it out several times. It’s lovely, sinking my head down into such soft fluffiness. I also did the traditional grocery store trip, and I bought mostly things that are good for me, even though I’m about as horrible at dieting as a person can be. A bit after I got home, a full contingent of fire trucks and emergency vehicles showed up in the block south of me. We never did figure out exactly what they were doing. The neighbor and I decided the wind must has knocked something onto a transformer or something of that sort. It was wickedly windy. I didn’t really do much in the way of cleaning. Okay, I changed two burned out lightbulbs, and I threw two empty boxes down the steps. Surely that counts as cleaning. I’m counting it anyway.