Every day she gets up and goes to work with nary a complaint to be heard. She gets kicked, punched, beaten, pinched, her hair pulled, toys and chairs thrown at her, bitten, and slapped. She comes home, talks non-stop about how much she loves her job, and then does it all again.

She has the difficult kids. The ones with labels that the system feels is right for them. The behavior issues. The ones dealing with Autism. The kids the other teachers silently thank the heavens that they don't have to deal with.

She loves her job, and loves those kids even more. She is fiercely protective of them, and it infuriates her to see other teachers throw away the hard work her kids have done when they move up into a new class. She pushes them because she knows they can do it, even if they don't.

She believes in tough love, not only with her students, but with her coworkers. She won't baby them or hold their hand. She'll let them make mistakes, knowing the whole time that their plan will blow up in their face. Also knowing that next time they'll think it through a little harder and do a better job.

She spends hundreds of her own dollars to get her kids the things they need to learn. The things her school can't afford to provide them. She writes proposals on Donors Choose to get the things that she can't afford for them.

She's the only teacher in her school who's hung up the phone on her principal. The student having the meltdown was more important to her than being politically correct. When other teachers have a student with a behavioral problem, they come to her for help. Because she knows what she's doing.

She got her Master's degree while working full time. When asked if she'd go on to get her PhD, she said no. She doesn't want to be overqualified for the job she loves. She doesn't want to teach other people how to do her job. She just wants to do it.

She can't go 15 minutes without sharing a cute or funny story about one of her kids. Her eyes light up at the thought of them, and she'll talk about them for days if you don't change the subject. And yet you never want to, because her excitement and enthusiasm is contagious.

She teaches her kids the social skills they can't learn on their own. She wants them to sound like kids. "That's so cool," and "You're a rock star!" can often be heard in her classroom, rather than "Good job". She taught them to say "Peace out" and has been known to tell a kid to "Man up" every now and again.

She's only in her third year of teaching, and she's one of the final five nominees for Teacher of the Year in her district. A fact she's quite indifferent to. The fact she was nominated in the first place is enough for her. She doesn't need to be recognized for her efforts. In her own words, she knows she "kicks ass."

Whether or not she wins is irrelevant. Ask any parent of any student she's ever worked with, and you'll hear just what an impact she's had on their lives. There's no award that can come close to that.

In the immortal words of one of her favorite students: Hooray Miss Jen!

So my plan was to write a big post yesterday about it being the year anniversary of my kidney donation, and all that fun stuff. But then I realized you guys have heard it all before, and nothing has really changed. So instead, I’m going to tell you how I plan to make a minor but meaningful change to my life.

I am not a creative person. Coming up with an original idea is always very hard for me, but I actually do well at refining or working with other people’s ideas. Because the idea is never my own, I always feel bad about stealing from other people. But this time I don’t feel bad, since it’s such a great idea.

When we were kids (at least when I was a kid) we didn’t have e-mail or Twitter or text messages, or Facebook or any of the other thousand ways people keep in touch now. We had the phone and the USPS. I remember getting excited any time I got something in the mail, which was all of once a year for my birthday. When I got older, friends would send me Christmas and/or Hanukkah cards, and again I was excited. A couple months ago I was in need of a cute baby shower card, and I went to my card expert friend for advice. It was all downhill from there. I have become addicted to cards of all types (and subsequently made a new friend through visiting her shop). But, because of this addiction and a post made recently, I’ve also become inspired.

From now on I’m sending at least 2 snail mail cards or postcards to my friends or family each week. Just a note to say hi or happy birthday, or thanks for being a good friend. (Yes, Jenn, the misplaced Christmas cards are coming). I sent out a couple this week, and I was amazed at how happy it made me. I’m hoping, once the cards are received, that they’ll be just as pleased as I was. I also hope it inspires other people to do the same, because really, what’s better than getting random love from your friends?

The last couple of weeks have been busy for me, and yet every time I sit down to blog, I find myself with nothing of interest to say. So I'm going to fall back on bullet points, and if you want further details, you can go ahead and ask me.

• The dancing class Donald and I signed up for has been a blast. We skipped last week due to exhaustion, but the other classes have been great fun. You rotate partners, so you have to learn to dance with people that might not be as good as you'd like them to be. (See? Wasn't that nice?) Everyone there is really nice, despite some lack of rhythm, memory, or  in some cases, deodorant. When this class ends, I want to try and get into another one.
• I've started a new hobby! I am big on taking pictures of things, and keeping mementos of events, (ticket stubs, cards, parking passes, etc.) but I never have anything to do with them. A couple of my friends are big scrapbookers, but I'd always rejected the idea since I have no creativity. As it turns out, you can copy other people's ideas using your own pictures and paper, and it comes out looking great! So I've started scrapbooking. I took a beginner's class last week, and really enjoyed it. And a friend generously sent me some stickers, vellum phrases, tags, and an album to get started! I'm taking it slow, because it can be REALLY expensive, but I'm enjoying it!
• I also joined the Ontario Reign Booster Club. I've mentioned on multiple occasions that I've become a huge Reign fan, and I thought joining the Booster Club would be a great way to get out and meet new people with the same interests. I'm notoriously shy, but I've been trying hard to get past that. My first step was the small scrapbook class I mentioned, and now I'm jumping into a booster club with both feet. I have no idea what I'll be doing, but it'll be a way to get out and meet people, rather than sit at my computer wishing I had more friends to hang out with.
• Mia got a new vet and I LOVE her. The first thing she did was look at Mia's medical history and get downright pissed off that they (the clinic) had been treating her for 5 years but hadn't figured out what was wrong. In her words it was "unacceptable!" I couldn't agree more. She basically suggested an "overhaul" for Mia. She has all new prescription food, a firm restriction on treats (she can't have ANY), and she got several skin cultures, blood tests, and different shots to help treat the problem. It cost me an arm and a leg, but at least now I have a vet who wants a permanent cure, not just a temporary fix. The best part, in my opinion, is that the vet called me the next day to go over everything she'd done, since she didn't get to see me when I picked Mia up. The previous vet NEVER called me to talk about what happened. In fact, it's something I've complained about to the clinic. They do a whole battery of tests every time I come in, and then I hear absolutely nothing about the results. I go back 3 or 4 months later and lather, rinse, repeat. This time I'm getting answers and I am THRILLED!
• Donald and I have decided to move in together in the next couple of months, so I've been going through my stuff and getting rid of things I just don't need or want. All day yesterday I sorted through boxes and boxes of junk, taking out what was salvageable for Goodwill, and putting the rest in bags for the dumpster. I made 8 trips to the dumpster, and had a full bag of clothes and a box of odds and ends for Goodwill. And I'm only about halfway done with my second bedroom/office/junk storage room.

I think that about covers everything. I feel like I should have so much more to say, but I just don't.

The Mia, she is sick again. Yet another rash on her skin, this time under her neck where her collar resides. I removed it and gave her a bath with her special hypo-allergenic shampoo, paying special care to wash the area thoroughly, but not irritate it further. It seemed to work for her, as she stopped scratching it for a few hours and the redness went away.I thought maybe it was just dirt that had bothered her. But at 2:30 AM she woke me up with her unrelenting scratching. I was afraid she was trying to rip the skin off of her neck. I gave her some Benadryl (works the same for dogs as for people, according to my vet) and tried to distract her so she wouldn't scratch anymore. The only thing that worked, however, was my rubbing her head, and as I drifted off to sleep, the rubbing stopped and the scratching began. Not willing to stay awake all night with my dog, I did the next best thing. I got her an empty water bottle to play with, and put her in the living room so she could chew on it. (Water bottles are LOUD and not welcome in my bed. Especially when I am trying to sleep.) That lasted about 10 minutes. She spent the next 2 hours scratching at my bedroom door, trying to get back in. Finally, I let her back in, sans bottle, and the little twerp crawled right under the covers and went directly to sleep. I could have cheerfully killed her in that moment.

She has yet another appointment at the vet on Friday to get this new rash looked at. Every time I think I want another dog, I get a vet bill for the first one.

So the plan this weekend was for me to finish all the work that needed to be done on the new site, and then post a grand opening post over here inviting you all to see the new place!

That didn't exactly happen.

What did happen was errands upon errands, a hockey game, a concert, and a visit to the theater, all crammed packed into three glorious days. So today, rather than an exciting post telling you all about changing bookmarks and reader feeds and fun things like that (which should let you know that soon you'll have to change bookmarks and reader feeds and fun things like that should you desire to continue following me) I'll tell you about my weekend. And you can pretend to care!

Since the economy sucks, and shockingly people aren't spending money on playgrounds right now, my employers have been tightening the belts. Our hours have been reduced, so that I now have every other Friday off not because I work a 9/80 schedule like I used to, but because they can't afford to pay us for a full pay period. I am incredibly thankful to have a job, even if the fact that my job is cutting hours and wages in an attempt to stay in business doesn't exactly have me dancing on tables. But I still get a paycheck twice a month and I'm almost keeping my head above water.

Because of that, I had Friday off, and my plan was to sleep in as long as possible and then go run errands. The gardeners had other plans. At precisely 9am, I was ripped from sleep by a leaf blower being used under my bedroom window. Why must that happen on a Friday morning where there's a good chance that someone is trying to enjoy a three day weekend? Isn't it more likely that people are not home on Wednesday mornings, and that might be a better time for early morning noise? (Before I get called a snob, let's make it clear that I live in an apartment and therefore do not get any say in when or where the gardeners work. I am quite content to sweep my own porch (which is what the blower was crudely being used for) or mow the community lawn outside my living room, if it means I can do so later in the day when I'm already awake.) (Also, before I get a lecture on the temperature being more outdoor labor friendly in the mornings and that's why the noise, let me please point out that the landscape company is on our property ALL DAY. They just happen to start my section in the morning. I'd just rather they wake someone else up, that's all.) So at 9am, I was wide awake and completely unable to get back to sleep. Considering the amount of errands I had to run, I decided I should just get up and get them over with, so I could enjoy a peaceful afternoon nap. After dropping my bedspread at the dry cleaners, exchanging my POS router for a new one, perusing the bookstore for various titles, a supremely yummy bagel sandwich lunch, a quick manicure (my personal indulgence and reward for not biting my nails), and picking up a jersey and hat for Donald, I went back home to try and catch a nap.

That didn't exactly happen, either.

I made the mistake of trying to mess with something that was working just fine, and ended up breaking the entire thing. So I spent my last remaining free hour attempting to fix that, which caused me to be 15 minutes late for meeting Donald at the hockey game. The game, however, was awesome and the Reign won, making me forget that I hadn't slept like I planned. After a fantabulous dinner at Boston's (I highly recommend the pasta with creamy tomato sauce. It's to die for) we headed home and I passed out.

I slept in Saturday and planned on working on the aforementioned new site once I got up. And I did! But not for half as long as I wanted to, and then I was off and running more errands before picking up Donald and heading out to Anaheim to see Reba McEntire perform. Ladies and gents, she is phenomenal. Simply fantastic. She didn't employ her trademark costume changing, but at least she wasn't singing in a bingo hall. Sadly, they don't allow cameras in the Honda Center for certain events (which I think is total crap) so I was unable to document the experience. But I assure you it was unforgettable!

Sunday, Donald and I drove out to LA to see RENTat the Pantages. Second only to Wicked, RENT is the greatest play ever to grace the stage. This is the second time I've seen it in the theater (though I've seen the movie countless times), and it was awesome. Two of the original Broadway cast members are currently reprising their roles, as are two of the final Broadway production cast members. It's a great play with any cast, but these actors make it so much better. It's not your typical theater production, which might be one of the reasons I love it so much. I mean, at one point the audience is asked to moo. Like cows. How many plays does that happen in? The music is great, the story's fantastic, and the characters are people you feel like you know. If you're in the LA area, I wholeheartedly suggest you make time to go see it before it's gone. Actually, it's on tour now, so if it's coming near you, LA or not, you should go see it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

And so there you go. My weekend in a nutshell, and the reason that the new site isn't done yet. It's going to be another busy week for me, but I plan on carving out some time to get the final tweaks done so you can see what I've been working at for so long. Hopefully you'll like it!