Yeah...it Didn't Happen.

Does that surprise anyone?  Sadly, it didn't surprise me.  

After waiting the ENTIRE 30 days of their "estimated completion time" of 30 business days, I was politely denied a teaching license from the state of Florida.  

The reason?

I applied for an Elementary Teaching License (K-6) and my original degree was in Early Childhood Education (Pre-K - 3) which is what my transcripts stated.  I later went back and extended the degree to include (1-8) but that is not stated in the original transcripts I sent them!  

Ugh!!!!!

Now I have two choices;  Apply again but this time apply for an Early Childhood Certificate.  This will cost another $75.00 for the application fee and will take an additional 30 business days to process.  Or get my transcripts sent that state I took the necessary classes that would make me eligible for the elementary license.  This will also take an additional 30 business days to process but also add a week or two for the transcripts to even reach them.  

Neither option is viable right now so I really don't know what I am going to do.   

Stay Tuned...

Found the Spot

HHN - A First Impression

I made it to HHN last night for a couple hours, which is not a long time, but it was enough to do one house, three scare zones, and two shows.  

The scare zones:  

Dead Man's Wharf
When a fishing vessel named Annabel Lee never returned to the harbor and was lost forever, the wharf was left uninhabited as a memorial to her. Now, a strange fog has rolled into the village. And the long-lost fishermen’s spirits seek to punish the town that left them.
Overall, I liked this scare zone.  I liked the lighting and the fog added exactly the right element and, most important, wasn't overwhelming.  But the walkway was pretty narrow and therefore tended to feel very crowded.  

Vamp 1955
Welcome to Hollywood High School’s 1955 Homecoming Parade. Everything is in place, until the greasers roll into town with fangs instead of switchblades.
This scare zone was on point. Boys wearing football uniforms and letter jackets with rolled up blue jeans.  Girls wearing prom dresses and poodle skirts.  You are actually taken back to 1955.

A Chance in Hell
Get ready for the audition of a lifetime. As the alarms ring and the bloody remains of those who tried to stop her lie around, she’s busy recruiting cellmates to join her biggest act yet.

I was not all that impressed with this one.  It was a bit underwhelming.   

The House

Krampus

I liked this house a lot...but then, I like anything that has a Christmas theme so I may not be the best judge in that aspect.

The Shows

Bill and Ted

There is a new "Ted" this year but I thought he was very good and the thought that he was a different Ted from last year hardly crossed my mind while watching the show. 

Academy of Villains: House of Fear

This show was really, really good and showcased some amazing talent.  

Looking forward to much, much more. 

HHN Commence

I have been waiting for this day since November 1st.   Unfortunately, financial circumstances as they are, I could not buy a Frequent Fear Pass this year.  I can still get in for free with my word ID, but I will not be able to go through nearly as many houses.  

I am still looking forward to the atmosphere, the scare zones, and, maybe most of all, the Bill and Ted Show.  

C.J. is probably there already but I won't go in until about 9:00 or so and will see Bill and Ted and maybe go through one house depending on how long the lines are.  

Weekend Recap

Eventually I hope to get back to blogging about more than just our weekends but, for now, school has been kicking my butt!

I love, love, love my kids!  but they are a handful.  I am pretty strict and require a lot from my kids as far as following directions, self control, and doing what they are supposed to be doing, and this morning was the very first time I could say that they acted nearly 100% the way I wanted them to. This afternoon was more like 70%...but was still an improvement over past days.  

Also, test results have confirmed what I have felt all along...that several of my little loves are functioning well below the 2nd grade level.  I attribute most of this to their tumultuous year last year but, at any rate, we have a lot of work ahead of us.   Thankfully, one of my absolute favorite things to do is to work with struggling kids!!!!
I love to see their growth and their looks of pride when they achieve new goals. 

Thursday after school, I drove to Daytona Beach.  We met my mom and dad at Wendy's and then I picked up Bonnie and we went to the funeral home.  Zack, Ollie, and I drove over to my parent's house to sleep overnight and I did 3 loads of laundry.

On Friday, the funeral was from 11-12.  As a whole, I am not fond of the Catholic Mass but, despite that, it was a nice celebration of his life.  We were going to stay for the luncheon but decided to leave and just eat at home sine my mom was having surgery later that afternoon and could not eat.  After packing up and grabbing a sandwich, we drove back to Orlando, picked up Jon, and headed home.  Jon helped Zack with his Math assignments and I cleaned.

Saturday I decided to try a new Target on John Young Parkway.  It is about the same distance as the one I normally go to but the area around the Millennia Mall is always sooooo busy and I was hoping this one would be easier to get to.  It was easier, but unfortunately, it was not a Super Target so the food choices were minimal.  Then Zack and I had a ball watching the Gators chomp up and spit out Kentucky!   I'm still unconvinced that they will be any good this year, but at least we got one fun game out of them.  

Sunday I watched some football and got things ready for the week ahead.  

Next weekend:  HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS

Another Boring Pictureless Weekend

I can't remember the last time I took a picture with my camera...

Anyway, Friday I came straight home from work and Zack and  I had leftovers for dinner from our Thursday night at Chilis.  I took Ollie for a walk, lit my pumpkin scented candles, and watched the Downton Abbey marathon on our PBS station. 

Saturday college football started which means the TV belongs to Zack all day long!  I did the grocery shopping, did our laundry, and then began the herculean task of cleaning out Zack's room (with his help).  For dinner I put a pizza in the oven and then we watched a little of the Gators game.  That is, I watched a little of it...Zack watched the whole thing.  I went in my bedroom and watched some Toddlers and Tiaras.  

Sunday I did my lesson plans, helped Zack with some of his schoolwork, and watched some more of the Downton Abbey marathon.

Monday - bonus day off.  I helped Zack with his History final  (yay!), packed my lunches for the week, and made a couple meals for the week ahead.  

I have to go to a funeral on Friday so it will be a short week.  I am very sad to say that another member of my second family has died.  In July of 2015 we lost Tom suddenly and now the man I called Dad S has died.  


We will miss you Dad S and we will keep your memory alive in our hearts.  

Adventures in Second Grade

So I thought after 20+ years of teaching I had seen it all ---- turns out I am a foolish foolish person...

This week's happenings in my 3 ring classroom included

- two girls pouting during indoor recess because they did not get the color Play Doh they wanted!  Seriously!  8-year-olds! Pouting over Play Doh! ALL RECESS LONG!!!

- A (a girl) told N (a girl) that they were no longer friends because I picked N's name to answer a question instead of hers! Incidentally, A was the common denominator in the Play Doh incident too.   And for the record, I put my student's names on Popsicle sticks and then pick the sticks to answer questions so that I am not accused of not being fair.  

But this one still leaves me shaking my head...

- we were playing a game called sparkle using their spelling words so first, I took a couple minutes to explain the rules...the students take turns spelling the word one letter at a time and then when the word is done, the next person says sparkle, and the next person has to sit down and is out of the game.  So I called out the first words, the game began, and 11 students later we came to a little boy who DID NOT EVEN KNOW WE WERE PLAYING A GAME!!!   He, instead, was playing with two pieces of paper on his desk.   I have often had children who were not paying attention and were unsure what letter we are on or whose turn it was, but never have I had a student not even realize we were playing a game.  I got to him and he says, "what?  wait...what are we doing?"