Randon Kid Conversations

I have always loved being a teacher. Teaching is in my blood. Being a TEACHER is not only what I do, it is who I am.

I love random kid conversations. So far, I have had two really funny random kid conversations:

In English class with my Fantastic Four Freshmen, we were discussing grammar, when to use a colon and a comma when writing a letter. When writing a formal letter, one should use a colon after the greeting. After I shared this with students, I gave this example: (note the colon...)

"Students, use a colon after you use such greetings as 'Dear Sir or Madame:' or 'To Whom It May Concern. '"

*Larry pipes up and says, "or 'You People:'"

I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair!!

then after lunch...

*Liberty was discussing using air freshener after one goes "poo" in the restroom. She said that if it is an apple scent, it smells like "someone just pooped an apple." I laughed soooo hard. I have often thought that many air fresheners do not truly cover up the poo smell. Then I said, some air fresheners smell like some one just pooped a tropical breeze... and of course there was another round of laughter, as we each began to come up with the next funniest poop smell.

Ahhh, yes.. I love teaching.

~~~~~~~~~

*I have changed students' names to protect the guilty... er innocent, that is.. ha.

My Cinna-Bun.

Last Saturday Brandon and I decided to get out for an Indiana countryside drive. We started out headed to Nappanee which is about 25 minutes from here, north by northwest. When we got there, nothing was going on; we drove through the town in two minutes, then decided that we'd rather head over to Shipshewana, which was in the exact opposite direction and about an hour away. But, what the hay! We were out mainly to just be out. The sun was shining, the breeze was cool, and the Amish were out in droves! Brandon drove, I rode shot-gun, and we chatted, enjoying the view. Black Amish buggies clip-clopped along the side of the road, baring their safety orange triangle. The "shoulder" of the road is used as a buggy lane, which we called the "poo" lane. Much horse poo covered both shoulders, signifying much buggy activity. We laughed about the poo lane, and taking Poo Avenue into town. A couple times we saw two young Amish girls in a small rig pulled by a loyal pony. They were so cute as they reigned the pony into the poo lane; the pony trotting along, doing its duty proudly. (Not realizing he is an Amish pony and that trotting proudly is a sin.) The countryside was beautiful. Farm after farm. The Amish homes are easily reccognizable. They do not have electrical wires running to the house, and they have paddocks with big, Belgin work horses; several paddocks had foals.

In Shipshewana there is a store called E & S Sales, a bulk food store that has wonderfully delicious spices, flours, cheeses, butter, bacon, baking supplies, etc. So we decided to stop by there and pick up a few items, since we were in the neighborhood. We arrived at 4:30, they closed at 4:00! Bummer. There is a well-known restaurant, hotel, and shopping plaza know as Das Dutchman Essenhaus or "Essen-house", as we "English" call it. ("English" is what the Amish call the non-Amish.) The food there is wonderful!! and is reasonably priced, but the parking lot was full. So, instead of wading through the crowd, we decided to patron a small restaruant called The 5 & 20. (I could not find a weblink for this one...) Brandon wanted pie, good Amish pie. I am not much of a pie eater. I prefer cake, but as I skimmed over the menu I saw they had cinnamon rolls. I was thinking Pilsbury size, you know, the ones that come out of the can, you unroll, slap on the baking sheet and bake. But, oh no! Not in Amishland. To my surprise and delight, the server, a modern "English" woman with long, curly auburn hair and bright green eyes, set the colassal, awe-inspiring cinnamon roll in front of me. The aroma of its buttery goodness intoxicated my senses. Immediately I was enveloped in its yeasty spell. It was served on a small plate, making the treat look even larger! Right then and there I made a decision: Yes, I WILL eat all of this. I enjoyed every sweet, yeasty-cinnamon-butter-filled bite. I made soft "yummmm" humming sounds as I chewed and washed it down with the perfect cup of coffee. A couple of the Amish servers looked at me oddly, then seemed relieved to know I was a married woman.

Our day out was well worth the drive.

Beware. Pictures of the cinnamon roll are included in this post. Be fore-warned that these picutres will cause you to drool.



(Yes, I find it ironic that I was able to find internet weblinks to Amish stores and restaurants...)

Decisions, decisions

Sometimes I don't like being a grown-up. Making those hard decision is just no fun. But, we have sorted our priorities, and we "Boot-Strap" Wilhites have pulled ourselves up by our proverbial boot-straps and are marching forward!

Those hard decisions include:

1. Continuing to live with Grandma & Grandpa until spring or even next summer. Rents are sky high, and at present, buying a house is out of the equation. Living here is quite comfortable. We mostly hang out in the basement, entertained by a large big screen TV with losts of comfy couch space. Oh, and did I mention Grandma fixes dinner every night! Mareth-Dale & Tilly are quite comfy and occasionally they grace Grandpa with sitting in his lap, which we believe he secretly likes.

2. Brandon is planning to get another job, in addition to teaching. We love teaching at the school, but it does NOT pay nearly enough to live off of. For now, trading has been put on the warm back-burner. As many of you have seen in the news, the economy and markets are NUTS. We were hit pretty hard, but are faring much better than some. I am proud of Brandon's gallant efforts to keep our boat afloat!

Those are the main two decisions. I have not updated in awhile, due to the fact that we have been battling these decisions in full battle armor, including flaming arrows, swords and shields. We have a few wounds healing and some battle scars, but we are, of course, rising VICTORIOUS!!

For now, I am out of metaphors... so, I'll close this entry. More soon.