By Elisabeth Boothe | 29th Jul 2010 | Filed under just here, teaching
Hey y’all.
First off, EIGHT comments on how cute my hair was? I have to tell you, that completely made my weekend. Seriously. THANK YOU FOR THE EGO BOOST! We all need that, every once in a while. The validation made the price of getting the hair cut worth it… mostly!
I have spent the past two weeks in a district writing program. All LA/English teachers are required to take this in the first 3-4 summers of their time in the district, so I just wanted to get it over with.
It was pretty good. I got some good ideas –not TWO WEEKS WORTH of ideas, mind you– that I could probably use here or there.
I also wrote a piece for our “anthology”, as we were sometimes playing the role of writing students. I will share pieces of it on here. It’s fairly long, so I’ll have to break it into parts. It is mostly true to life, BUT give me some lee-way, as I was only 8 or 9 when it happened and I wanted to make the flow work out.
By Elisabeth Boothe | 29th Jul 2010 | Filed under teaching
The summer I realized that my mother was not completely in control of every aspect of the world stunned me. My very talented mother had a successful life (singer, dancer, businesswoman, stay-at-home mom) in my eight-year-old point of view. No one matched her talents and abilities. She was SUPERMOM. Whether flying to the rescue with left-behind lunches and school projects, making great dinners, or singing in church, Mom could do it all, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. Then Grandma got sick.
I trudged into the house carrying my gym bag, tired from gymnastics. Could I get away with just leaving it by the kitchen table, or would she notice?
“Elisabeth, don’t forget to take your bag to your room,” my mother called as she followed in after me from the garage. “I just cleaned up downstairs and we don’t need the clutter!”
Guess not.
“Ugh… OK,” I sighed and headed for the stairs.
As Mom followed me (to ensure that my bag truly made it to my room, no doubt), she paused by the office door. “Hmm, your grandmother called while we were gone,” she remarked, and hit the PLAY MESSAGES button on the answering machine.
“Karen…..uhhhn….please come…soon as poss… I think…uuuhhh… I fell… Call me…” I couldn’t understand all the words because many were slurred and garbled. The voice sounded strangely familiar.
My mother stood next to the answering machine, frozen to the spot. Her back was to me, posture stiff.
“Mom, who was that? That wasn’t Grandma, was it? Is everything okay?” I asked.
My words jerked her into motion. Mom spun around. In that moment, her face said the words she was too stunned to say aloud. Yes, it was my grandmother, and no, something was not right. She abruptly walked toward the phone in the kitchen. I dropped my bag on the stairs and rushed after her. I had never seen the panicked look in her eyes before.
“Dave!” She spoke into the phone, addressing my father by his first name.A sick feeling quickly grew in my stomach. Usually, in front of me or my brothers, he was always Daddy, while Dave was used only for arguments or quick questions.
“Elisabeth, did you put your bag upstairs yet?” Mom asked briskly as she noticed my gaze. Her rough tone disoriented me, but I saw the tears threatening to form in her eyes. Shaking my head, I retreated towards the stairs, out of sight, but not out of hearing range.
“Dave,” Mom said again. Her words tumbled out, sounding thicker, raspier than usual. “My mother called. Something isn’t right. I have to go pick up the boys from swim lessons now, but I need to check on her. She sounds like… like she had a stroke or something. I can’t tell. I’ve never heard her speak like that before. I don’t know what to do—” She broke off; no way to mistake the tears infiltrating her voice now.
I couldn’t make out my father’s response, but I could imagine his voice quietly, quickly trying to reassure her, tell her that he would go to my grandmother’s apartment to make sure she was all right.
As my parents ended the conversation, I sat in the stairwell, lost in thoughts about the event so much that I didn’t think to sneak upstairs with my gym bag. Mom rounded the corner.
“Elisabeth Ann!” Her voice was harsher now, her face blotchy red as she tried to hold back tears in front of me. “I told you to put the bag away! How many times do I have to ask you to do anything? We don’t have time for your shenanigans now. Get going!”
My eyes filled with tears as I ran to my room with my bag. My eight year old mind couldn’t make out why my mother would be so angry with me about a stupid bag. Couldn’t she tell I was worried about my grandma, too? Grandma was my best friend. We had sleepovers together where I confided all my secrets to her. She came to all the important events in my life. What would I do without her if she was truly sick?
I threw the bag onto my bed, rushed back down the stairs, and jumped into the van with my mother so we could get my brothers and find out about Grandma.
By Elisabeth Boothe | 14th Jul 2010 | Filed under Stevie, just here
Have any of you seen those Red Robin commercials where there are kids playing hide and seek, or the UK Grenadier Guards (The ones in the hats that aren’t supposed to move or talk no matter what) and they get a reaction when the phrase “Red Robin” is sung? (They have to respond “Yum”.)
Nuh uh. I can’t stand those commercials- so annoying.
I recently decided it was time for me to watch what I eat again, so I’m currently on the South Beach diet, phase 1. Meaning no carbs, no fruit, no sugar, really. That’s pretty difficult for me, but I’ve recently come to terms with it when I get to have delightful meals like Seafood Caesar Salad.
NOW we can say YUM.
Shrimp grilled in EVOO and some minced garlic, a bit of crab, salad, and voila- A beautiful, tasty lunch! Pretty fulling too. And a whole lot cheaper than eating out. I am pretty happy with the results so far-about 4 lbs in 6 days. (I promise, it’s necessary!)
I hope I can stay to this- chocolate and mexican food have been an integral part of my diet and I struggle not having them!
Besides trying to chill in my last week of true vacation and diet, the dogs are keeping me busy. We had a small playdate with a couple from Jared’s work that went really well. They have a puppy (27 lb puppy…) named Bonny. It was so much fun to watch Bonny chase a tennis ball, our Bonnie chase Bonny, and Stevie then chase OUR Bonnie.
Apparently Stevie’s the wimp- while Bonnie chased a dog 3 times her size, Steve went after a dog that’s smaller than him (1o lbs to his 13).
Bonnie’s also healed up amazingly well from her spay last week and has been pestering her brother nonstop. We are all happily busy and enjoying this summer weather!
By Elisabeth Boothe | 8th Jul 2010 | Filed under family
All right, well, it came back today in FULL FORCE, but the rest of the weekend while our in-laws were here was lovely!
Saturday we had an outing to San Antonio to check out the Alamo and the San Antonio Riverwalk. We took a risk because there was still a chance of rain, but it paid off! It was a beautiful day, despite the crowds that had the same ideas.
There was supposed to be a craft fair around the riverwalk (hence being there on the weekend), but I think many of the people were scared away by the rainstorm issues, so that was a bit of a let down. The scenery was beautiful, and it was a fun experience to have with the family!
Monday: Bonnie got spayed. Yes… She had to wear The Cone of Shame and all that stuff. I hate having to put her through this, but it is for the best for her. She was pretty out of it on Monday, but she was back to her peppy self Tuesday.
Today she’s putting ME through the paces- I have to constantly stop her from running around because she’s forgotten that she went through MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY Monday. Really? How is that possible?
Since most of my summer is full of training and other things, I am going to enjoy the remaining week and a half of my vacation now. Maybe I’ll go cuddle with my dogs.
By Elisabeth Boothe | 2nd Jul 2010 | Filed under family, just here
I can’t believe I’m even saying that.
This time last year, we were in full-on drought mode, and making a run for the summer with the most 100 + degree days. We were PRAYING for rain.
The reason that I am more unhappy about the weather is probably because my in-laws are here and we had some awesome plans that have now been washed away with the rain. We were able to check out The Hula Hut down town yesterday and walk around before the rain got too bad.
By the way, The Hula Hut and Mozarts are both at a very cool location- right on the riverfront, with some beautiful views. And the food was pretty awesome too.
Today it has been raining NONSTOP, ALL DAY. Bad because
1) The dogs are wimps about going outside in the rain for bathroom breaks, meaning more accidents to clean up inside the house.
2) The dogs are wimps about going out in the rain, meaning we can’t get some of their crazy ADHD energy out through a walk (which Bonnie desperately wants).
3) Today we were gonna hit up San Antonio: The Alamo and River Walk.
But no. It has to be all wet and stormy thanks to has-been Hurricane/Tropical Storm Alex. Thanks Alex. Now I get to watch Jared set up his SURROUND SOUND STEREO SYSTEM.
Despite our weather woes, it’s been fun having David and Phyllis here. We went to see the movie “Knight and Day” today to escape the gloomy weather, and for an action-comedy-romance movie (think along the lines of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) it was pretty good. Even though I don’t really care for Tom Cruise or Cameron Diaz.
I’m just hoping the weather clears up soon so I don’t get cabin fever! There’s a lot I’d like to do while Jared’s parents are here… if the weather and my health allow it.
Because if it’s not one, it’s the other. So it goes…
By Elisabeth Boothe | 29th Jun 2010 | Filed under family
So, in my last post, I didn’t get to mention that my not-so-little baby brother left for a mission for the LDS Church last Wednesday.
He will be in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) at Provo, Utah, for about 7 more weeks before flying out to his final missionary destination, in FIJI. Yes, you read that right. FIJI- island in the south pacific. Is this work, or a vacation in disguise?
I’m incredibly proud of Jacob, and I know he will put his heart and soul into what he will be doing in Fiji. I also think it’s neat that he’ll get to learn Fijian. I’ll miss conversing with him on the phone as often, but he’s going to be doing a lot of good things for the people of Fiji, and I’m sure he will learn a lot from the experiences.
Good luck, Elder! You are awesome.
P.S. These pictures are courtesy of my wonderful Aunt Linda… I took them off her blog… thanks!
By Elisabeth Boothe | 29th Jun 2010 | Filed under teaching
AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.
wha????
Actually, it’s a really cool theory or process. This was the training I was at in Dallas all last week. (By the way, let me start out by saying Jared survived my absence remarkably well…. the dogs kept him busy enough not to have time to even miss me!)
Basically, there’s the “School Game”. This is where some of us figure out when a teacher says, “This is important,” or, “This may be on the test,” we who know THE GAME take out a sheet of paper and start to write furiously. Most students don’t pick up on that. Or the fact that a textbook has subheadings, bold, italicized, underlined print, and/or pictures and figures for a reason–emphasizing (ideally) the important information.
Many students just don’t get it. They think they are just dumb–especially kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds, kids that potentially are going to be the first generation to go to college, kids that are in the foster care system, etc. NOT TRUE! AVID is preparing them to
1) Understand how to make it through high school through difficult classes (like AP classes);
2) Find out ways to apply for colleges and find ways to fund it; and
3) Once in college, successfully stay there and graduate and be successful in their own careers.
It’s all about enabling these students. Letting them know that we know they CAN do these classes, can make it to college, that it’s OKAY to be successful in school…. And lets face it- those of us who made it to college on our own still made lots of little mistakes that we wished we hadn’t, right? Did poorly in some classes- couldn’t figure out exactly what professors were after, etc. AVID gives them strategies to become successful (And really, everyone could really benefit from these strategies- I wish I had them when I was a young student…).
Anyways, I had a lot of fun. We got to stay in the very nice Hyatt Regency hotel.
when we got to break down into smaller groups for individual subject matter and levels of AVID knowledge, I got to go to the beautiful Adolphus hotel. It had a great, inspiring theme, perfect for the English teacher in me. It’s the kind of hotel you could write a ghost story about with it’s great antebellum south feel.
And, while riding the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transportation system/subway) I noticed a lot of the trains had these awesome “Poetry in Motion” plaques on the inside, where you could read a variety of poems as you waited to get to your location.
How awesome is that?! Okay, yes, I am a nerd, but you all knew that anyways because I chose to be a teacher (of literature/language arts/english) of all the other awesome professional options out there!
I made some really great friends on the trip, and hopefully I can get some of their much nicer pictures (ones NOT taken with my grainy little cell phone quality). I had a fabulous time and learned some great strategies and ways I can be a better teacher for my kids!
I’d write more, but the baby Bonnie lass has awoken and is using one of my hands as a chew toy… so I better pay attention to here before i lose a finger to those sharp little teeth! Lets end with a pic of the puppies in a better, non-chewing moment:
By Elisabeth Boothe | 20th Jun 2010 | Filed under Uncategorized
Today we gave had Bonnie for 7 days.
She is one little clown.
I can’t believe what a puppy she is. She chews ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Fingers, toes, shoes, Stevie’s elbow, photo albums… etc.
She has invented several little games that Stevie never thought of, like Pull-the-Tissues-Out-of-the-Box. While both of them go for shredding used tissues, Bonnie discovered an even better way to get her tissues- straight from the box. I have to tuck in all the tissues into the box so she’s not tempted to pull them out.
She also likes to hide her treats. I also caught her with her dingo (a little doggie raw-hide bone) in her mouth, scratching at the carpet by the couch. It took me a second to realize she was trying to save it for later. I have never seen a dog do that before, other than in cartoons. All my previous animals are into the “eat it allllllll now- PIG OUT!” methods.
Not Bonnie. I’ve caught her hiding it in the couch crevices, behind the TV, under the dog bed, etc. I’m sure that if she could, she would bury it in the dirt outside, but this is cleaner… i guess?
I’m actually impressed. We’re gonna have our work cut out with this brainy pup. She knows how to sniff out trouble!
This week, I have an awesome opportunity to go to Dallas for an all-expenses paid training. (This would be one of the great things about going to the new middle school). I’ll be there Monday-Friday in a ritzy hotel. I feel kind of bad though- Jared will have to manage the dreadfully darling dogs on his own. I have been overwhelmed with both of them WITHOUT a lot of outside things going on- he’s gonna have normal work on top of these two little handfuls!!!
I know he’ll be fine, but send happy thoughts his way just in case!
Life is good, even with the new craziness that has been added in.
By Elisabeth Boothe | 12th Jun 2010 | Filed under Uncategorized
Today, we added another member to our family.
Everyone, meet Bonnie Jade Boothe. Stevie now has a little sister!
We recently got in contact with the same breeder that we got Stevie. We had been thinking about getting him a “little sister” for quite awhile, and she actually had a perfect girl for us.
Bonnie has a sad story. When she was four months old, the breeder had been planning on keeping her for a show girl. However, somebody visited her trying to learn more about about the Italian greyhound breed, and while holding Bonnie, didn’t keep a good handle on her and dropped Bonnie on a tiled floor. Bonnie broke her right front leg.
A few months later, about $2000 in medical bills and multiple surgeries, Bonnie’s leg has completely healed, but the tendons in her paw has turned her paw slightly outward, rendering her as a poor show candidate. She’s still a gorgeous, happy little girl, but since the breeder shows a lot of dogs, (she has about 10 other pups in her home) she needed a good place to settle Bonnie.
Enter us.
Bonnie is a sweetie pie, and has enjoyed tormenting her older brother all day. She also LOVES to go on a walk, and will happily try to give a hint by finding a leash and then carrying it up to us.
Here’s our little girl playing with her new toy.
And, finally, after a long day of torment and playing and exploring, Bonnie finally cuddled up to her dad on the couch to fall asleep.
And I really needed a haircut.
