Counting Calories

Today I did not eat a 240 calorie Hershey bar, nor did I go to a baby shower at work where I peeked in and saw 1000's of calories glaring back at me in their luscious,chocolate costumes. I jumped back, slammed the door shut, with my back to the door, and breathed hard at such a narrow escape. Later, George and I went to an amazing quilt show (some of which were more amazing than the Mona Lisa)(Yes, REALLY!) and did not buy a $15 bag of sugared cashews. I will estimate this bag at about an additional 1000 calories. So if one pound equals 3000 calories, I only have 260 more calories to lose one pound. Using this sort of logic, I have gained exactly 10 pounds.

The More You Give 'Em, The Less They Appreciate It

Lori is an aide at Silver Crest where I work. She and her husband had one son and then couldn't have anymore children so they adopted a little girl at birth, Jenna. She has been nothing but trouble. When she was 14 she ran off with an older teen age boy to California to carry out a suicide pact. By a miracle, Lori drove down and retrieved her before it happened. They took her straight to a program for troubled girls where she stayed for a year. Jenna has been home six months now and Lori just found out that she called her old dysfunctional friends and they have been smoking pot at lunch time. She also had bolts screwed into her hip bones and they got infected. The other day Lori lost it and started screaming at her. Lori is the mildest person you can imagine, but she screamed everything she had been thinking for the last few years and more. The daughter just sat and looked her with no emotion. Lori hit bottom and said that she finally realized that nothing she did, was going to help Jenna. She came into my office crying yesterday and I was able to share some of my insights. But right now, Lori hates Jenna. It is painful to watch what Lori is going through.

Saag, Chapter One

I go to Indian restaurants and eat Saag and just love it! Even if it is ugly. Then I go home and make it following a recipe (I wonder if I have ever in my life actually followed a recipe with no deviations)and it is so ugly I can't eat it and no one else will either. Here I go again. I'm going into the kitchen to make Saag.

Gratitudinizing

I have been interested in positive psychology lately. Shawn Achor maintains that there are five simple things to do to improve one's happiness quotient, 1) Write three things you are grateful for every day, 2) Write and describe in detail one positive experience every day, 3) Meditation, 4) Do a random act of kindness, and 5) Exercise.

This is April 28, 2011. Today I am grateful for Shanone, who rode to Idaho with me to visit our mothers last weekend. We had such a wonderful time soaking at Lava Hot Springs, eating and talking. I am also grateful that she is on my team at work and that Sheila and Jessica, who are also on the team, are on the team. Also, I am glad that I am at two beautiful, new school, where I have very nice offices and bright surroundings.

Something good that happened today: Miss Obrey stopped me in the hall to give me a "hall referral" and I asked her to email me so I wouldn't forget. When I took her the Permission for Counselling, she said, "Thanks, you are awesome." Also when I told KP that we had a parent meeting set up for Monday for an at-risk student, he said, "Perfect." Made me feel good. I enjoy working for him.

Minutia

I had such a pleasant day today. When I got up I started writing a list of possible things to do. At the time of my first interruption, I had one thing on my list: Clean car. I accomplished this task at 4:30 p.m.

George bought an airplane today. An airplane with a history. A couple of months ago we read in the news that some guy had been killed when he wrecked his homemade airplane into someone's yard. Yes, that is the airplane George bought.

Go for the Gold!

No pun intended, but when I made the uneducated choice to go to Midas Creek Elementary, I struck gold. It is a beautiful, new school, with a wonderful, supportive principal (who told my supervisor that he couldn't say enough good things about me)(love that guy), and I have a big gorgeous office. But best off all, my team rocks! We are all from Idaho, three from the Blackfoot area and me. Sheila is the resource teacher and team leader. She is about my age, funny as hell, we even weigh the same! Best of all, she loves buying clothes! I can't believe my luck! We shop together and create outfits to show each other. The other day when we were lamenting our middle age middles, Sheila came up with the idea that whoever lost 8 pounds first could have something from the other's closet. We have been tormenting each other ever since, mentioning the most very expensive items in the other's wardrobe as possible rewards. This has had such a motivating effect on me. I have gained 3 pounds.

Story of My Career That I forgot I Wrote so Wrote it Again

My career started when my youngest child got on the bus to go to kindergarten. I pondered a few options: 1)Work at the Children's Center, a therapeutic preschool for children with behavioral issues. I gave them a call and yes, they had openings. For someone with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, like me, the pay scale started at a whopping $5/hour, minimum wage at the time, and I think they really wanted me. But, I was insulted. What a useless degree! Why did I sweat blood for that degree? 2) Check groceries. I couldn't bring myself to even pursue it, although I really like the grocery checkers that I do business with. They are my good friends. Maybe it would actually be a good way to practice my well-honed psychological and social skills. 3) Teach school. Even though the thought of teaching school gave me a hard, tight lump in the pit of my stomach, I went down to the BYU Center in Salt Lake to see how long it would take me to get certified. Two more years. But the pay was great! Starting at $22,000/year, pittance even then, I would actually even get health insurance, something our family had never had. And the hours were good for someone with 7 children at home. I would do it I told myself, even though the words just augmented that nasty lump. On the way home, I was just driving around aimlessly when I happened upon the Jordan School District offices. My Suburban practically drove in the parking lot by itself. I looked nice in my red coat, and blonde, smartly cut hair. I asked the receptionist who I could speak to regarding the job market for teachers, and she directed me to speak to George Welch, who I found out later was an Assistant Superintendent. Why she didn't just send me down to Personnel, is part of the miracle of this story. He talked to me for quite awhile and asked me about my background. When he found out I had a useless psychology degree, he got a little more animated because he said there was a dearth of School Psychologists. I remember in my younger years, leafing through college catalogs, coming upon the School Psychology Department and having a visceral reaction because, if I were smart enough, which I wasn't, that would have been my dream job. He sent me down to Fulvia's office (Guidance Program Specialist). Next miracle: she wasn't busy. She gave me an excited pep talk about going to graduate school, having a job waiting for me at the top of the pay scale, and told me I was yet a pup. I was 43. As I walked out of her office I told her I would be back in two years to apply for a job. I was so stoked! That day provided me with enough psychic energy to take two GRE prep classes, take the GRE, apply to the University of Utah and BYU, attend an intense School Psychology program for two years, and do an internship. And yes, there was a job waiting for me at the end of it all, at the top of the pay scale, with benefits. My life was changed forever, in almost every way.