Jinx

If you’ve been keeping up, you’ll know that we adopted dog number three not too long ago. After getting to know her better, I must say that she is one of the sweetest little dogs ever. She has fit right in with our other two babies.

With winter coming up fast, she has started shivering to make me notice that she needs a sweater of her own. Jinx has the shortest fur—and no clothes yet! If you are scandalized by this news, you’re not alone. Boxi and Chance have their own sweaters.

I made the mistake of putting Boxi’s clothes on Jinx one day. Boxi looked at me accusingly, but Jinx stopped shivering. Now, I can tell you Jinx can be quite dramatic when it’s cold or rainy outside. The last few days have been a bit wet, so I have had to literally carry her out to potty. Once there, she gets down to business fairly quickly. She doesn’t want to get any wetter than necessary! Since I’m on the other end of the leash, I’m all for that!

I guess the next step is to head to Koko’s Palace and let her shop for her clothes….

Jinx was only slightly shivering.

Jinx was only slightly shivering.

She's our little drama queen.

She’s our little drama queen.

The Chicken Chick

Dance Etiquette

How many times have our kids heard us say, “Well, in my day X didn’t happen“? I am about to do it again. In my day, friends didn’t ask to dance with a friend’s date. (Girls in my school wouldn’t even consider pairing up with a boy in a lower grade (or two!) like they do nowadays, but that’s another story!) Times sure have changed!

I was taught that you dance with the one who brought you, your friend’s fellow was off-limits and there was a line between being friendly and being flirty. Are mothers not teaching daughters these things anymore? Am I being ridiculously old-fashioned? It feels like there are no boundaries too sacred to cross. If I had a friend who bluntly asked to dance with my date, I would have been so mad! I have seen it happen various times in the last few years. The girls today ask the guy if he’ll save her a dance, but shouldn’t they clear that with their gal pal first? Respect, please!

Shoes for All!

Once upon a time, a friend of one of the parents at our school had a shoe store. The owner made the decision to close the store, then she donated the remaining shoes to our school. What a kind thing to do! Once the shoes arrived, the secretary made an announcement for the girls to find time to stop in the office to try on some shoes.

There were some really happy girls at the end of the day! My daughter snagged two nice pairs to add to her accessory wardrobe.

New shoes make girls happy!

New shoes make girls happy!


Pretty shoes, happy feet!

Pretty shoes, happy feet!

Accidental Minion

I came to school planning to check out costumes for Homecoming Week, and ended up in the middle of things. The theme of the day was “movie character,” so as I walked down the hall I saw Batman, Tom Cruise, a pair of bunnies and some Ninja Turtles. I knew the principal and some teachers were dressing up as characters from Despicable Me, so I wanted to make sure I got a picture. The principal saw me and said, “We need another minion! Come here.” Huh. That’s how I became a minion.

One of many minions....

One of many minions….

Videos for Homework?

I have been doing a lot of reading about blended learning and flipped classrooms, so I am actively searching for good videos to assign as homework. If students get to watch a video, it takes the work out of homework.

I have found a few good ones to explain the proper use of each of the two past tenses in Spanish, so I guess I’ll see which students actually do the homework when I give a quiz next week.

Family History

My cousin Heather did a lot of work to uncover our family history. Another cousin did a lot of work before he died of cancer, but his widow wasn’t willing to add to what Heather already knew. Based on my copy of Heather’s work, she had to have put in hundreds (thousands?) of hours searching records, copying documents and making notations. My mother had quite a few photos to supplement many of Heather’s documents.

My mom also had a treasure trove of pictures from our branch of the family tree. The most fascinating for me is the stained sepia picture of my grandmother’s mother. Nanny’s name was Eva Clair Blankenship. Her mother, Virgie Orey, married Grover Cleveland Blankenship. Every time I look at Virgie’s picture, I wish I could have met her. In my opinion, she is beautiful and mysterious. Is it odd that I can study the photo for hours searching for answers to my many questions?

Grandma Virgie O. Blankenship----Grover's wife

The Chicken Chick

Concert Time is Coming!

I took my Spanish Honor Society students to a Spanish language concert last year. The performer, Ennio Emmanuel, was sponsored by the Justo Lamas Group. Justo always puts on a fabulous show, and Ennio didn’t disappoint either. Both singers are inspirational, approachable and adorable. This year I will be taking a smaller group (due to our school athletic calendar), but we plan to have a great time. I am looking forward to the concert in October (as you can probably tell!).

Justo and Ennio both work hard to motivate students to speak Spanish and enjoy it. The audience members get plenty of chances to go on stage and sing or dance. Even teachers get into the act! Look the guys up on Facebook, and if you’re a Spanish teacher, consider hosting a concert. You won’t be sorry!

I still have the rose!  :)

I still have the rose! 🙂

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