Day by Day with Gina

New Posters for My Classroom

posted by Gina @ 8:51 PM 6 comments

Actors in True Form

Each Wednesday night, I sit down to watch videos for my Master's Degree. These are often boring experiences that ilicit mumbling explicatives from the husband and me. You might ask why I watch them. Well, I have to watch them so I can take this five-question quiz each week and write a short paper.
This evening, after my weekly grocery trip, I sat down to watch my video for the week so I could take my quiz before bed. Ben was "enjoying" the video with me, and we began to actually enjoy ourselves when we saw these fine teachers who were in the audience. I swear, they must be professional actors. They are so authentic-looking.

posted by Gina @ 9:30 PM 0 comments

Drugs...good...

So, in classic Gina style, I messed myself up yet again doing something quite stupid. Remember the s'mores incident? This runs in the same vein.
Monday morning, I drowsily got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. While I was in the shower, some water got into my ear, kind of like when you go swimming and get water in your ear. Whenever I get water in my ear, I just tilt my head to the side and hop up and down until the water comes out. I have probably done this a hundred times in my life.

I guess this quarter-century-old woman couldn't take the one hundred and first time. Apparently, I don't know my own hopping strength. I majorly pulled the muscles in my neck. I immediately knew it, too. I went downstairs to take some medicine and get my ice pack. Ben had to help me finish getting ready by drying my hair and pulling my sweater over my head for me. I pulled my muscles so badly that it hurt constantly, not just when I moved. And when I say hurt, I mean throbbing, shooting pain. All from a little water in the ear.

I bravely went to work and pumped myself with ibuprofen. Teaching is tough to do when you can't move your neck. If my kids had a question, they had to hold the paper up in front of my face because I couldn't look down. When trying to scan the room and "monitor," I had to turn my whole body 180 degrees instead of just my head. I was surviving, but it was pretty pitiful. And everyone was having a really good laugh on my account.

After the ibuprofen wore off around lunchtime, though, I took some Tylenol because the school nurse didn't want me "ruining my stomach" with ibuprofen. The three Tylenol I took didn't even put a dent in the pain. I started getting nauseated, it hurt so badly. I finally caved, got a sub for the afternoon, and carefully went to not one, but two doctors before I made it home.

Dr. #1 gave me a shot in the rump, a pain-killer prescription, and a muscle relaxer prescription. Dr. #2 (my chiropractor) gave me some muscle work and therapy and strict orders to stay home today. "I'll even write you an excuse note," he said. This was the first time all day that I smiled.
"Well, as much as I hate to be out of school, I guess I have to if you tell me to stay home." :)

Muscle relaxers roxxor, as my friend Eric would say. Combine that with not going to work, and I woke up feeling pretty darn good this morning.

And the funniest part of the day? When I went to the chiropractor's office, the nurse asked me how I hurt my neck. I said, "Well, it's a bit embarassing."
She whispered, "Were you having sex?"
I wish! At least then it would have been worth it!

posted by Gina @ 6:47 PM 6 comments

If the card fits...

My birthday was on the 24th of February. The celebrating began on the 23rd with a cake and a few presents during our hanging out with friends. It has continued with various cards, contacts, and celebrations. It will continue into next weekend, at least, with a couple of shopping trips with my mom and mother-in-law and a dinner promised me by my very kind husband. I think this will be my most lengthy birthday celebration evar- possibly as long as three weeks! Whoa. I really like dragging out birthdays, don't I?

So, I wanted to share some of my very cool cards I have received...so far. More may be coming. With all of this celebration of my day of birth, I just don't know what to expect!

I just have to say, this is one of the coolest cards I've gotten in awhile. It was given to me by Mr. Jason during the fambly birthday celebration yesterday. It described my birthday celebration perfectly.
As if this wasn't enough to honor my birthday awesome-ness, Miss Pamela gave me a homemade card with an original poem in it, to my ultimate delight. This construction-paper backed poem is so massive, I have to scan it in two separate parts. Even more exciting, Pam wrote this card in one draft. That is impressive. I must be pretty darn inspiring to elicit words like these!

Wow. I'm speechless! Well, not quite...
Now, for those of you out there who didn't write me a birthday poem (everyone else but Pam), feel free to include it in the comments since you've now been inspired by Pam's originality and artistry.
After all, I am birthday incarnate!!! Worship me for my birthdayness with pomp and poetery!!!

posted by Gina @ 10:42 AM 5 comments