I’ve read other Thursday Thirteens in which the writer describes differences and similarities between herself and her spouse.  So this week’s T13 is a list for RT and Me.

(1) RT is an early-to-bed-early-to-rise person, but  I’m a night owl.  I very rarely can go to sleep before 10:30 or 11:00.  RT usually goes to bed each night around 8:30 or 9:00 - sometimes even earlier.  If I go to bed then, I just lie there tossing and turning.  If I wait till around 11:00, I go right to sleep and sleep great.  I think I simply don’t need as much sleep as RT.  It is what it is.

(2) We both love an all-vegetable meal (with cornbread, of course).

(3) Our choice of vegetables is different though.  RT likes some of the same vegetables I like (tomatoes, creamed corn, okra, new potatoes, broccoli, field peas) but he also likes turnip greens, green beans, rutabagas - and I definitely don’t care for those particular veggies.

(4) RT is incredibly strong physically.  I don’t think there is any physical task he can’t do.  I’m fairly strong for a woman but not exceptionally so.

(5) RT works harder than any person I know.   It’s part of his do-or-die personality.  I work hard, but I take breaks.  I don’t have the endurance to work nonstop for hours like RT does.

(6) While we’ve been building our new house, we’ve been amazed at how similar our tastes are in just about every area - from the floor plan to paint colors to granite to flooring.    We’ve agreed on virtually everything.

(7)  RT enjoys having a pet.  I’m just not a pet person.  I don’t dislike animals, I just don’t particularly enjoy having a pet.

(8) RT can do anything — well, almost.  If there is something to be made or something that has to be done, he’ll figure out how to do it and do it.  Installing shelves, doing electrical or plumbing work - he jumps right in and does it.  He has an amazing repertoire of skills and knowledge.

(9)  I love to blog.  RT just doesn’t “get” why someone would want to blog.

(10)  RT has incredible willpower.  He can decide to do something, and he sticks to it - however long it takes.  I sometimes give up too quickly or easily.

(11) RT travels with his job.  I almost never travel with my job.  Occasionally I might have a teacher conference or workshop that involves an overnight stay elsewhere, but 99.9% of my job time is spent right here in town.  RT has to spend several nights out of town a couple times a month.  I’m looking forward to retiring and being able to go with him on those trips.

(12)  RT likes to play the CD player in his car on HIGH.  When I say “high” I don’t mean loud.  I mean he plays it at a car-shaking blast.  I listen to either talk radio or I turn off the radio altogether. 

(13) RT would do anything in the world for me, and I would do anything in the world for him.

I enjoy checking my site meter and finding out the search words that people have used that brought them to The Median Sib.   Here are thirteen recent searches:

(1) Jordin Sparks - If We Hold On Together or I Who Have Nothing - I wrote about Jordin Sparks during “American Idol” and LOVED the way she sang the song “I Who Have Nothing” and “If We Hold On Together.”  So I wrote out the lyrics.    Apparently lots of people still remember Jordan singing those songs want to know the lyrics!

(2) Kristine Lefebvre - Playboy - I wrote about how Kristine Lefebvre, a contestant on “The Apprentice” would be in Playboy.  A very popular topic, I found.

(3) Re-marrying your ex -  I remarried my ex-husband last year, and I wrote about it.   I regularly get hits from people interested in the topic.

(4) Mary Winkler - It’s been over a year since I originally wrote about the Mary Winkler murder case, but I still get at least a few hits every day about it.

(5) Tomato-Mozarella Salad - Great recipe and obviously a popular one, too.

(6) Kelly Pickler Haircut- I wrote about Kelly Pickler’s appearance on “American Idol” with a new hairdo and new boobs.  Months later, a couple dozen people each day are still interested.

(7)  Quotes about siblings - I neveer realized how often people look for quotes about brothers, sisters and family. 

(8)  Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwich - I wrote about my  mother’s delicious Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches that she makes for bridal showers and other events.  I posted the recipe and people regularly visit TMS to get the recipe.

(9)  Dreaming of loved ones who have died - I wrote about a vivid dream I had about my father after he died.  Apparently lots of people dream about loved ones who have passed on.

(10)  Children’s sermons - I wrote about a children’s sermon I was asked to do one week.  Every Saturday since then, without fail, I get a bunch of hits from people looking for a children’s sermon.

(11) What principals look for in teachers - I read an article that had a list of qualities that principals look for in teachers.  I felt the list was a bunch of hooey, and so I wrote what I felt were the REAL qualities of good teachers. 

(12)  Fever blister treatment - I get fever blisters occasionally, and I found that Valtrex, which is a medication for genital herpes, works great to get rid of a fever blister quickly.  I regularly get hits about that topic.

(13)  DRA testing - The DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) is a reading assessment I give very often.  I’ve written about it on TMS, and people look for information on the DRA quite frequently.

To celebrate the 100th edition of the Thursday Thirteen meme - and my personal 67th edition - I am linking to my favorite Thursday Thirteens from THE MEDIAN SIB

1.  My 13 favorite hymns

2.  Thirteen things about summer that should be against the law

3.  Thirteen reason why I hate moving

4.  My thirteen favorite Bible verses

5.  Thirteen of my favorite photos

6.  Thirteen of my favorite quotes about reading

7.  Thirteen reasons I’m glad I remarried RT

8.  Thirteen reasons I love the USA

9.  Thirteen reasons I hate poison ivy

10.  Thirteen quotes from American history

11.  Thirteen things I’d like to write in the sand and a quotation for each

12.  My thirteen favorite education-related posts

13.  Thirteen words to make you sound smarter

Thirteen Reasons I Want A New Computer

Okay - of course I don’t NEED a new computer.  I want a new computer.  The computer I have is enough to take care of my NEEDS.  However, I really really WANT a new computer.  It would make my life simpler on several levels.  Here are my reasons:

(1) My current computer is seven years old which, by computer standards, is pretty darn old.

(2) It is very VERY slow.  We have DSL, but it still is very slow - especially at peak hours.

(3) Something that takes me only a few seconds to handle on my work computer takes me at least four or five times longer on my computer.  And I REALLY need to not handle personal stuff on my work computer.  I DO make sure that I don’t spend longer than my lunch period handling personal stuff at work, though. 

(4)  It is frustrating to spend so much time on something that shouldn’t take that long.

(5) The time I spend waiting for pages to load could be better spent doing something else.

(6) I don’t do many things I’d like to do online because it just takes too long to navigate the pages.  So when someone tells me about a great site - I often don’t even try to look at it unless I have the time to wait. . . and wait.

(7) A new laptop would enable me to not be tied to my desk - figuratively speaking.

(8)  I REALLY want to write a second edition of my cookbook, but the file is so large that I won’t even attempt it with my current computer.  Even opening the cookbook file takes forever.  When I wrote the cookbook four years ago, I didn’t have so much stuff on my computer, and it was able to handle it better.

(9)  I would like to help my mother with her own book, but again, my computer makes it too much of a hassle.  I don’t want to offer something I can’t complete.

(10)  I’d really enjoy doing more writing - both blogging and other writing.  However, I don’t do it because it becomes so frustrating.

(11)  I’d like to work on school stuff at home sometimes.

(12) There isn’t enough memory left for some programs that I’d like to use.  In order to make it not completely worthless, I had to either delete a lot of programs and files or copy them to CDs.  It made it better for awhile, but now things are slowly building up again.

(13)  I’m just tired of my old computer, and I want a new computer!   WAHHHHHH!

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In Honor of Mothers’ Day, I present

THIRTEEN QUOTES ABOUT MOTHERS

(1) “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”

~Sophia Loren~

(2) “Mother: that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.”

~T. DeWitt Talmage~

(3)  “You don’t really understand human nature, unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around, and why his parents will always wave back.”

~William D. Tammeus~

(4) “My mom is a never ending song in my heart
of comfort,
happiness,
and being.
I may sometimes forget the words
but I always remember the tune.”

~Gaycie Harmon~

(5)  “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”

~Tenneva Jordan~

(6)  “Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.”

~George Cooper~

(7)  “All mothers are working mothers.”

~Author Unknown~

(8) The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.

She never existed before.

The woman existed, but the mother never.

A mother is something absolutely new.”

~Rajneesh~

(9) “Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”

~Marion C. Garretty~

(10)  “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.”

~Oprah Winfrey~

(11)  “A man’s work is from sun to sun,

but a mother’s work is never done.”

~Author Unknown~

(12) “It would seem that something that means poverty, disorder and violence every single day, should be avoided entirely, but the desire to beget children is a natural urge.”

~Phyllis Diller~

(13) “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.”

~Jewish Proverb~

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Things on my desk at work

1.  A coffee cup half full of coffee leftover from yesterday

2.  A coffee cuup half full of coffee leftover from today.

3.  Stapler

4. a tub of highlighters

5.  my eyeglasses

6. a bottle of glue

7. eleven assorted children’s books

8.  a container of Clorox disinfecting wipes

9.  a tape dispenser

10. a business card holder with some of my business cards

11.  a desk calendar

12.  a caddy with some CD’s, pencils, rulers and various other office things

13.  three cassette tapes that have lost their corresponding books

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Thirteen Quotes from American History

1. “National honor is national property of the highest value.” By James Monroe (first Inaugural Address)

2.  “Our country!In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.” By Stephen Decatur

3.  “Liberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint.” By Daniel Webster

4.  “The office of government is not to confer happiness, but to give men opportunity to work out happiness for themselves.” By William Ellery Channing

5.  “The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trust, bestowed for the good of a country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party.” By J.C. Calhoun

6.  “War is cruel and you cannot refine it.” By William Tecumseh Sherman

7.  “Men are not superior by reason of the accidents of race or color. They are superior who have the best heart – the best brain.” By Robert Ingersoll

8.  “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire – conscience.” By George Washington

9.  “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” By Patrick Henry

10.  “Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny.” By Carl Schurz

11.  “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.” By Philip Brooks

12.  “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” By Abraham Lincoln (1863, The Gettysburg Address)

13.  “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.. . . The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it – and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” By John F. Kennedy (1961, Inaugural Address)

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This week is TCAP week at my school (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program).  That’s our annual high-stakes, standardized test, and it takes four days of testing the children all morning to complete the test.  Here are thirteen ways that this week is different than other weeks of school.

(1) No reading groups for me to teach this week. No individuals - no classroom lessons. 

(2) Recess duty!  This is the only week all year that I have recess duty.  All the non-classroom teachers take over extended recess times in order to give the classroom teachers a break.  I enjoy it - as long as it doesn’t rain.

(3) The halls are very quiet all morning. Very quiet.  Unnaturally quiet.

(4) I can catch up on my reading in between monitoring runs of the group I’m testing.

(5) The children are unnaturally quiet.  I know I mentioned it before, but it’s worth mentioning again.  The kids CAN be quiet!

(6) Apparently I am the tester of all children who misbehave in third grade.  Since Monday my “small” group has grown from 9 on Monday to 10 Tuesday to 11 children on Wednesday.  I wonder how many I’ll have on Thursday.  The new ones are children who misbehaved in their regular classroom.  So now they must join my group. 

(7) I’m not sure how I feel about being the teacher that the “bad kids” are sent to for TCAP.  That’s not at all the image I have of myself as a teacher.

(8) After recess duty each day, my rest of my day is completely open to finish whatever work I need to do in my classroom - and there is a lot to do.  I like “being my own boss.”

(9) Teachers are looking stressed.  They monitor during the test and absolutely DIE when they see kids answering items incorrectly - items they KNOW they’ve gone over repeatedly in class.  Since I’m not a classroom teacher, I don’t have those same worries - and I’m thankful for that.

(10) The principal gives peppy messages first things every morning.  “Take your time and think through your answers. You’re going to do SO well!” If you SAY it often enough, they will do it.  We hope.

(11) The following dire announcement is made each day to the children: “Be sure to use the restroom before you go outside for recess because you will not be allowed to come back into the building until recess is over.”  Knowing how I feel about not allowing children to go to the restroom when they need to, you can imagine what I think about that!  Sometimes teachers just have to keep their mouth shut when they disagree with something.

(12)  Teachers are praying extra hard for NO rain because rain means INDOOR RECESS - words that strike fear in the heart of any teacher - something that is probably an appropriate punishment for someone who has committed a great sin.  A hundred and thirty second and third graders in one gym.  Lord help us - no rain please!

(13) Relief!  When Thursday noon rolls around and the last test is finished, there is an almost audible sigh of relief all around the building - by students, teachers and administrators.  It’s done.  No more cramming.  No more quizzing on all the little nitpicky things that might be on the test.  The rest of the school year will be noticeably less stressful.

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