You're Not Supposed to Question the Man Upstairs, but...
All my life I've been told that God has a plan for us all. We may not always agree or want to deal with the hand we've been dealt, but still we persevere. I do believe that God has a plan for us, but today I'm left wondering what His plan is supposed to be.

This morning I got the awful news that a co-worker's 16-year-old daughter had been killed in a car accident. Rachel was a beautiful, vibrant young woman, the kind of girl you hoped your daughter would turn out to be. Now because of a stupid mistake, she will never know the joys that other teenagers experience: prom, graduation, going to college. Her parents will never see their daughter get married and have a family. A boy now has to grow up without his big sister. It just stinks.

And it's not just Rachel's death that has me thinking this. Saturday night a football player for the San Francisco 49ers collapsed and died after a game. All of his teammates have described him as a happy young man, always laughing, someone who wanted nothing more than to help his family financially. Why him?

Death happens. It's a fact of life. I guess God doesn't want the bad ones. He only takes the good. But then as I wonder why these young people's lives were cut so short, I do feel good knowing that they are now guardian angels. I don't know. I know that God has a plan. I just wish He'd let me in on it.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Well, it is if you're not a kid. It's Back to School time! I still can't believe I'm beginning the ninth year of my teaching career. It's unbelievable! I had a busy summer, and I wasn't all that ready to get back to school. Now that I'm there, though, it's like I never left for the summer. My first two days have been great. I realize this may be the calm before the storm, but I'm hoping that's not the case.

I'm very lucky to teach in a great school. Our school gets a bad rap in the community. Many of our students do come from poor families and broken homes, but they're still kids. I love teaching them. Our faculty is so wonderful and supportive. I used to teach in a Catholic high school that prided themselves on being a "family." Yeah, right! The only way that school could have been a family is if it was a dysfunctional one. My current school truly is a family.

Today I received a wonderful compliment from a student. I began teaching 8th grade honors English this year. This group of students had the misfortune of going through about three teachers last year. One of the young ladies in that class came in my room at the end of the day to tell me that she was glad to be in my class. She said she was already learning. Her sweet comments totally made my day. It's kids like that who make my job so worthwhile.

I know it sounds cliched, but I want to make a difference in kids' lives. I know I can't reach every child, but if I can help just a few then I know I've done my job. I don't teach 7th and 8th grade; I don't teach reading and English. I teach kids.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar
OK, since the title of this blog is "Confessions of a Wannabe Princess," I have a confession to make. I am a big weenie. Oh sure, I seem crazy and outgoing, and I am to an extent. But when it comes to doing certain things I'm just a big wimp.

I am a really big wimp when it comes to guys. I have several close male friends, but I always strike out in the boyfriend department. One reason is because I have always lacked the nerve to talk to cute guys or ask a guy out. Give me a guy who wants to talk football and I am so there. Give me a guy I want to ask out and I am gone. I guess I've always been afraid of rejection. Heck, who isn't! Well, you'll be proud of me. Last week I finally got up the courage to ask out a guy that I've liked for some time. Unfortunately he said no, but I'm not crawling back into my corner and hiding. On the contrary, I'm quite proud of myself. I can't believe I actually took a chance like that. Things may not work out with this particular guy, but perhaps in the future I'll be more willing to take chances and ask out another guy.

I've talked about my problem with being spastic already here. Well, I have another accomplishment under my proverbial belt. I am not mechanically inclined at all! Can't fix anything, can't put anything together. The other day I bought a new CD shelf, and it needed to be put together. Last night I took a look at it and figured it couldn't be all that hard to do. It wasn't! I put it together all by myself! I was feeling pretty empowered, so tonight I took on another challenge. I put together a bookcase that I bought for my classroom. Except for a teeny bit of help from Dad, I put that bad boy together on my own! I am so proud! I can't believe I did it! Now it might collapse when I put books on it, but I did it.

The sky's the limit for me now. I can do anything. Maybe I'll call some old flames and see if they have any furniture they need assembled.

Things You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask
A few days ago my post consisted of questions from a survey I received in e-mail. Well I got another one, and since I think they're fun I'll answer the questions here.

1. What color are your kitchen plates? Whatever color paper plates I bought the other day.
2. What book are you reading now? Nothing currently, but the last one I read was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
3. What's on your mouse pad? Other than the mouse? I have a New Orleans Saints mouse pad.
4. What's your favorite board game? Trivial Pursuit
5.Favorite magazine? Creating Keepsakes
6. Favorite smell? Warm Vanilla Sugar Wallflower from Bath and Body Works
7. Least favorite smell? Farts and cat poop.
8. What's the first thing you think of first thing inthe morning? What time is it, and what day is it?
9. Favorite color? PINK
10. Least favorite color? poop green
11. How many rings before you answer the phone? At least 2
12. Future children's names? Brent and Madison
13. What's your goal in life? To make a difference in a child's life and to wear really cute clothes
14. Favorite actor? Tom Hanks
15. Favorite actress? Julia Roberts
16. Favorite non alcoholic drink? Diet Coke
17. If you could meet anyone, alive or dead who would it be? Jesus
18. If you were stranded on a deserted island, who would you want with you? Mom, Dad, & Debbie
19. How many brothers and sisters do you have? 1 baby sister
20. Favorite alcoholic drink? Chardonnay
21. What is your sign and birthday? Scorpio--November 18
22. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? Nope
23. If you could have any job what would it be? I like the job I have now, being a teacher.
24. If you could have any color hair what would it be? I like my hair color now, dark brown with blonde highlights.
25. Is the glass half full or half empty? Half full, always!
26. Favorite movie? Gone with the Wind and all of the Harry Potter movies
27. Do you type with the right fingers on the keys? Yes
28. What's under your bed? Storage boxes and cat hair
29. What is your favorite number? 8
30. What is your favorite food? Stuffed artichokes
31. What is your single biggest fear? You know, I've never really thought about it. I guess it would be not being able to go shopping.
32. Favorite CD? Geez, this one's hard. "Decade" by Duran Duran. I don't know.
33. Favorite TV show? "Survivor" and "American Idol" They're also the only reality shows I like.
34. Ketchup or mustard? Actually, I prefer barbecue sauce.
35. Hamburgers or Hot dogs? Hamburgers
36. Favorite soft drink? Diet Coke
37. The best place you have ever been? Edinburgh, Scotland
38. What screen saver is on your computer right now? A slide show of the pictures I've uploaded on the 'puter
39. Burger king or McDonald's? McDonald's
40. Favorite pet? My wonderful furbabies: Puddy, Kirby, & Ollie. I wouldn't mind having a penguin, though.

School Daze
Ahhh, those lazy summer days with nothing to do. Yeah, right! All too soon I will be going back to school. Now don't get me wrong, I love being a teacher and can't imagine doing anything else. It just seems like the summers are getting shorter. Usually by this point in the summer I'm ready to go back and see the kids and my colleagues. Not this year. I worked this summer, but I worked the previous two summers as well so that's not it. I don't know.

This year we start school on August 15. That seems awful early to me. I remember as a kid that we never went back to school before August 25 or so. We didn't get as many holidays off either, so maybe the school year seemed faster. Back in the day when my parents went to school, they didn't start until after Labor Day. (I just love saying "back in the day"!) That would make sense to me, but I don't have that power. The first school I taught at was a private school, and they go ten days longer than everyone else. I think we started on August 5 or something crazy like that!

Something else I remember about my school days is the hot weather schedule. Our district's schools weren't air conditioned until a few years ago. Because the heat in August was so stifling, the schedule was adjusted so we would be out by the hottest part of the day. For example, our high school schedule was 7:30-2:30. The hot weather schedule was something like 6:30-1:30. Getting up early wasn't fun, but we liked that early dismissal! Now that I think of it, I really don't remember being all that hot without air conditioning in the schools. I guess we were so used to it that it didn't bother us.

My classroom is just about ready, the lesson plans are being worked on, and I've even bought a couple of new outfits for the upcoming year. I may not be ready now, but once the kids are in the classroom it'll all just fall into place again.