I finally hit a new low with my car today (and no, it has nothing to do with my keys this time!). The back window of my 18-year-old, 350K+ miles Honda Accord wouldn't roll back up today, so Derek and Alex had some bonding time together "fixing" my window. As they stood back and looked at the duct tape-laden car window with towels stuck down in the side to hold it up, Alex said, "We have a word for people like this in Spanish." I don't remember what the word was, but when I asked what it meant, he said, "people from the mountains!" I just got called a hillbilly in Spanish. cool.
So to all of my JMS co-workers, if I park beside you, I'm sorry!
To everyone... if anyone knows of a good, used car that's being sold, let me know! We'll be on the look out!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Diaphragmatic Breathing Lesson
This will be a quick post, but I couldn't resist sharing it. Seriously, this kid threw me a total curve ball, and I had no idea how to really respond...
I was teaching about diaphragmatic breathing to my 7th graders. We talked about how babies naturally breathe with their diaphragms, but as we get older, we change our habits, usually due to poor posture and laziness. Therefore, we have to re-learn it, and I told them that we would be doing some exercises on Friday to work on that.
After the whole lesson, one boy (we'll call him Timmy) raised his hand and we had the following dialogue:
Timmy: "Mrs. Kreider, what if you, like, don't agree with this stuff? Would you still have to do the activities?"
Me: "What do you mean, 'you don't agree with it?' Do you mean that you don't agree with it morally, or do you mean that you think all of this information is untrue?"
Timmy: "Well, like, what if you don't think it's right?"
Me: "Again, I'm not sure what you mean by that."
Timmy: "Well, like, you know, if God, or the Creator, or whatever you want to call him, made us this way, wouldn't we be trying to change ourselves if we make ourselves breathe diaphragmatically?"
Me: "Well, Timmy, remember that when we're born, we breathe correctly, and it's because of our own bad habits that we end up breathing the wrong way. So I think we're supposed to breathe with our diaphragm."
Timmy: "Yea, but, if we start breathing without our diaphragm, don't you think that's because God made us that way, to stop using our diaphragms?"
Me: "No, I don't believe that's the case."
Timmy: "So would you still have to do the activities?"
Me: "Yes, Timmy, I still want you to do the activities on Friday."
SERIOUSLY? I applaud the kid for trying to earnestly think things through about God, but REALLY? I still can't figure out if he was being serious or if he was just trying to come up with an excuse for getting out of an activity!
Retrospectivally, I wish I had asked him, "Well, Timmy, do you think we are supposed to lie? Well, obviously we've started lying throughout our lives, so if we start doing things wrong, don't you think that means God meant for us to do those bad things? So wouldn't it be wrong to try to change ourselves to do the good things the way God originally created us?" I don't mean that in a sarcastic way... just seriously think that would've been a good answer to get him thinking about how we warp the way God originally made us to be.
Interesting child and conversation...
I was teaching about diaphragmatic breathing to my 7th graders. We talked about how babies naturally breathe with their diaphragms, but as we get older, we change our habits, usually due to poor posture and laziness. Therefore, we have to re-learn it, and I told them that we would be doing some exercises on Friday to work on that.
After the whole lesson, one boy (we'll call him Timmy) raised his hand and we had the following dialogue:
Timmy: "Mrs. Kreider, what if you, like, don't agree with this stuff? Would you still have to do the activities?"
Me: "What do you mean, 'you don't agree with it?' Do you mean that you don't agree with it morally, or do you mean that you think all of this information is untrue?"
Timmy: "Well, like, what if you don't think it's right?"
Me: "Again, I'm not sure what you mean by that."
Timmy: "Well, like, you know, if God, or the Creator, or whatever you want to call him, made us this way, wouldn't we be trying to change ourselves if we make ourselves breathe diaphragmatically?"
Me: "Well, Timmy, remember that when we're born, we breathe correctly, and it's because of our own bad habits that we end up breathing the wrong way. So I think we're supposed to breathe with our diaphragm."
Timmy: "Yea, but, if we start breathing without our diaphragm, don't you think that's because God made us that way, to stop using our diaphragms?"
Me: "No, I don't believe that's the case."
Timmy: "So would you still have to do the activities?"
Me: "Yes, Timmy, I still want you to do the activities on Friday."
SERIOUSLY? I applaud the kid for trying to earnestly think things through about God, but REALLY? I still can't figure out if he was being serious or if he was just trying to come up with an excuse for getting out of an activity!
Retrospectivally, I wish I had asked him, "Well, Timmy, do you think we are supposed to lie? Well, obviously we've started lying throughout our lives, so if we start doing things wrong, don't you think that means God meant for us to do those bad things? So wouldn't it be wrong to try to change ourselves to do the good things the way God originally created us?" I don't mean that in a sarcastic way... just seriously think that would've been a good answer to get him thinking about how we warp the way God originally made us to be.
Interesting child and conversation...
Monday, August 22, 2011
Keys are my Enemy!!!
After my last status update, I decided to write a blog chronicling all my key mishaps. Also, while the suggestions on my status were all very nice and welcomed, I have tried them all. So I thought I would tell you of my three most embarrassing key moments.
3rd Worst Key Moment:
This past weekend had to take the bronze medal for my worst key moment. Usually I lock myself out by being on the phone, not paying attention, and leaving the keys in the ignition. So, my mom constantly nags me about keeping a spare key in my purse, because I lock myself out so much! Well just recently, at my mom's urging, I asked my cousin Jessie to sew me a cute little coin pouch for my spare change and for a spare key! I thought it was pretty genius! (By the way, the little owl coin purse, along with my apple kindle cover, is AWESOME! Thanks, Jess! See it on her sewing blog here.) So this past weekend, I thought my mom would be so proud of me because I put my spare key in my purse before going to the game!
Before going to the game, we had the worst time ever trying to actually make it there! I figured out at the last minute that I left the printed tickets at my school on Friday, then our internet took FOREVER to print the stubhub tickets (literally 30 minutes for 5 tickets), then we of course had the slowest sandwich maker EVER at Publix who meticulously placed each slice of cheese and meat on the sandwich perfectly, and then we got stuck in traffic. So since I was supposed to be meeting 2 other friends at the game and had their tickets in my possession, I was quite frantic that I was running so late!
So anyway, we actually somehow managed to get there with like 5 minutes to spare, so I jumped out of the car, and Derek even said, "Don't lock your keys in the car!" So I specifically took them out of the car and put them in my purse, which was on my arm. Then I walked around to the other side of the car to take some stuff out that we were taking into the game. That's when I said, "Derek, don't you have your wallet? So I don't need to lug in my purse, right?" And that's when I put my purse back in the car and shut the locked door! Unfortunately Derek only had his motorcycle key with him instead of his car keys, so he didn't have a spare key, either! Uh oh!
So usually my parents are my go-to saviors, because they have a spare key to my car with them. But unfortunately they happened to be visiting my sister in Virginia this weekend. But luckily my aunt was house/dog-sitting at their house, so she got the spare key and drove all the way out to Atlanta after going to a Bachelorette Party to give us the key at 11:30 p.m. So although we had friends who lived close to there who could take us, she actually provided us a spare key for us to be able to get home with our car that night. It ended up being a fun night, so it wasn't a huge deal. I just felt like a loser.
Bronze Medal: Locking my keys and my spare key in my purse in the car!
2nd Worst Key Moment:
The silver medal goes to the first time I ever locked my keys in my car. I was visiting my friend, Emily, at Furman University in Greenville, SC for the first time our freshman year. It was late Sunday night, and I was just starting the trip back to UGA. Emily was going to some sorority thing, which is why I left when I did.
On my way back before getting on the freeway, I stopped and got some gas. Of course, I was distracted again while talking to my mom on the phone, telling her about the weekend. So after getting out and getting my gas while talking, I tried getting back into my car. And that's when I discovered for the first time in my life that I had locked my keys in my car! Luckily I had my phone in my hand, and, conveniently, I was on the phone with my mom. So I told her what I had just done. I tried calling Emily, but she was in her meeting and didn't answer.
So I went inside the gas station and asked the nice attendant if there was anywhere I could sit for the next 2 1/2 hours while my parents came to bring me a spare key. So I sat in a dingy gas station, on a beaten up stool, in the back of the creepy store, talking on the phone while waiting on my parents for 2 hours. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good area, so there weren't any fast food places or anything near this gas station. So I got a lot of talking time with my sister! The only redeeming factor of the night was that my mom LOVES (I mean, LOVES LOVES LOVES) Jack in the Box, which is in Greenville. So she was quite happy to come pick me up so she could get some Jack in the Box tacos! :-)
Silver Medal: Locking my keys in my car 2.5 hours away from home with no spare key.
1st Worst Key Moment:
And now the best story. The gold medal goes to the time I locked my keys in my car during student teaching. And the reason that this particular time was so special was because I locked my keys in my car... while the car was still running!!! I'm sure there are other people out there who have done this, but I'm sure it's a small, elite club of us real idiots!
Continuing with the pattern, I was once again running late and distracted. I met the other student teachers in the Kroger parking lot, and I was afraid I was making everyone else late. So I sped into the parking lot, slammed on my brakes, jumped out of my car, got my bags from the back, and shut the door. That's when I got embarrassed when I noticed my car was still running. And that's when I got REALLY embarassed when I noticed that my car was still running, with the doors locked! ALL TIME LOW!
So once again I called my dad. This just happened to be the time that he was out of work, which was convenient only on this one occassion. I drove off my the rest of the student teachers because I still had to get to student teaching and I wasn't just going to sit in the parking lot by myself. So while I was driving from Athens to Dacula, my dad drove from Dacula to Athens. We literally passed on hwy-316. He used his spare key to open the car, turn it off, and then drove to Dacula Middle School to give me my keys. I was super embarassed when I had to explain to my 6th grade math students why the lady in the office buzzed my classroom to tell me that my dad was there with my keys. :-(
Gold Medal: Locking my keys in my car while the car was still running!
So I'm sure you're going to have tons of suggestions for me, and I welcome them in case there are any random ones I haven't done. So now I have a spare key in my purse, I have a spare key at my parents' house, I have a spare key in my desk drawer at school, I have a spare key on my husband's car keys, and I'm going to be putting a spare key in one of those magnetized boxes that goes up under your car. In fact, I think I'm going to get about 6 of those magnetized boxes to put all around the car, since I've tried the box thing before. (I end up having to use it, but then put it in my car and forget to put it back by the wheel.) And actually, I think I'll give Alex a key to my car to put with his keys to the house. Are there any teachers at my school who want to keep a spare key to my car? haha.
I know that someone is going to be thinking, "Catty, don't tell everyone that you're keeping spare keys hidden around your car... someone might try to steal it!" And my response is, "Honestly, if you stole my 1994 Honda Accord with 350,000+ miles on it, you'd be doing me a favor with the insurance claim I could file." So if anyone's up for the task, you know where to find my keys... :-)
3rd Worst Key Moment:
This past weekend had to take the bronze medal for my worst key moment. Usually I lock myself out by being on the phone, not paying attention, and leaving the keys in the ignition. So, my mom constantly nags me about keeping a spare key in my purse, because I lock myself out so much! Well just recently, at my mom's urging, I asked my cousin Jessie to sew me a cute little coin pouch for my spare change and for a spare key! I thought it was pretty genius! (By the way, the little owl coin purse, along with my apple kindle cover, is AWESOME! Thanks, Jess! See it on her sewing blog here.) So this past weekend, I thought my mom would be so proud of me because I put my spare key in my purse before going to the game!
Before going to the game, we had the worst time ever trying to actually make it there! I figured out at the last minute that I left the printed tickets at my school on Friday, then our internet took FOREVER to print the stubhub tickets (literally 30 minutes for 5 tickets), then we of course had the slowest sandwich maker EVER at Publix who meticulously placed each slice of cheese and meat on the sandwich perfectly, and then we got stuck in traffic. So since I was supposed to be meeting 2 other friends at the game and had their tickets in my possession, I was quite frantic that I was running so late!
So anyway, we actually somehow managed to get there with like 5 minutes to spare, so I jumped out of the car, and Derek even said, "Don't lock your keys in the car!" So I specifically took them out of the car and put them in my purse, which was on my arm. Then I walked around to the other side of the car to take some stuff out that we were taking into the game. That's when I said, "Derek, don't you have your wallet? So I don't need to lug in my purse, right?" And that's when I put my purse back in the car and shut the locked door! Unfortunately Derek only had his motorcycle key with him instead of his car keys, so he didn't have a spare key, either! Uh oh!
So usually my parents are my go-to saviors, because they have a spare key to my car with them. But unfortunately they happened to be visiting my sister in Virginia this weekend. But luckily my aunt was house/dog-sitting at their house, so she got the spare key and drove all the way out to Atlanta after going to a Bachelorette Party to give us the key at 11:30 p.m. So although we had friends who lived close to there who could take us, she actually provided us a spare key for us to be able to get home with our car that night. It ended up being a fun night, so it wasn't a huge deal. I just felt like a loser.
Bronze Medal: Locking my keys and my spare key in my purse in the car!
2nd Worst Key Moment:
The silver medal goes to the first time I ever locked my keys in my car. I was visiting my friend, Emily, at Furman University in Greenville, SC for the first time our freshman year. It was late Sunday night, and I was just starting the trip back to UGA. Emily was going to some sorority thing, which is why I left when I did.
On my way back before getting on the freeway, I stopped and got some gas. Of course, I was distracted again while talking to my mom on the phone, telling her about the weekend. So after getting out and getting my gas while talking, I tried getting back into my car. And that's when I discovered for the first time in my life that I had locked my keys in my car! Luckily I had my phone in my hand, and, conveniently, I was on the phone with my mom. So I told her what I had just done. I tried calling Emily, but she was in her meeting and didn't answer.
So I went inside the gas station and asked the nice attendant if there was anywhere I could sit for the next 2 1/2 hours while my parents came to bring me a spare key. So I sat in a dingy gas station, on a beaten up stool, in the back of the creepy store, talking on the phone while waiting on my parents for 2 hours. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good area, so there weren't any fast food places or anything near this gas station. So I got a lot of talking time with my sister! The only redeeming factor of the night was that my mom LOVES (I mean, LOVES LOVES LOVES) Jack in the Box, which is in Greenville. So she was quite happy to come pick me up so she could get some Jack in the Box tacos! :-)
Silver Medal: Locking my keys in my car 2.5 hours away from home with no spare key.
1st Worst Key Moment:
And now the best story. The gold medal goes to the time I locked my keys in my car during student teaching. And the reason that this particular time was so special was because I locked my keys in my car... while the car was still running!!! I'm sure there are other people out there who have done this, but I'm sure it's a small, elite club of us real idiots!
Continuing with the pattern, I was once again running late and distracted. I met the other student teachers in the Kroger parking lot, and I was afraid I was making everyone else late. So I sped into the parking lot, slammed on my brakes, jumped out of my car, got my bags from the back, and shut the door. That's when I got embarrassed when I noticed my car was still running. And that's when I got REALLY embarassed when I noticed that my car was still running, with the doors locked! ALL TIME LOW!
So once again I called my dad. This just happened to be the time that he was out of work, which was convenient only on this one occassion. I drove off my the rest of the student teachers because I still had to get to student teaching and I wasn't just going to sit in the parking lot by myself. So while I was driving from Athens to Dacula, my dad drove from Dacula to Athens. We literally passed on hwy-316. He used his spare key to open the car, turn it off, and then drove to Dacula Middle School to give me my keys. I was super embarassed when I had to explain to my 6th grade math students why the lady in the office buzzed my classroom to tell me that my dad was there with my keys. :-(
Gold Medal: Locking my keys in my car while the car was still running!
So I'm sure you're going to have tons of suggestions for me, and I welcome them in case there are any random ones I haven't done. So now I have a spare key in my purse, I have a spare key at my parents' house, I have a spare key in my desk drawer at school, I have a spare key on my husband's car keys, and I'm going to be putting a spare key in one of those magnetized boxes that goes up under your car. In fact, I think I'm going to get about 6 of those magnetized boxes to put all around the car, since I've tried the box thing before. (I end up having to use it, but then put it in my car and forget to put it back by the wheel.) And actually, I think I'll give Alex a key to my car to put with his keys to the house. Are there any teachers at my school who want to keep a spare key to my car? haha.
I know that someone is going to be thinking, "Catty, don't tell everyone that you're keeping spare keys hidden around your car... someone might try to steal it!" And my response is, "Honestly, if you stole my 1994 Honda Accord with 350,000+ miles on it, you'd be doing me a favor with the insurance claim I could file." So if anyone's up for the task, you know where to find my keys... :-)
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