Commonly Misspelled Words

There are some words that people consistently have a hard time spelling. Like calendar, separate, column, correspondence, and vacuum.

Or Yakima. Not Yacama (please refer to my previous post).

Which is why when my Teacher Assistant, Beth, Googled for "Yacama," although I think she spelled it even differently than I thought it might be spelled, there was not a result. However Yakima is a city. In Washington. Near Seattle. And apparently, iCarly is set there. Thank you to Amy Hopper, researcher extraordinaire :)

So I stand wholly corrected.

Well, not totally, because I was right in telling my class that it is not a state or country. And it's also not in the desert.
I stand partially corrected. Okay, fine. I should have done a little more research before lecturing the kids on fiction versus reality. Jumped the gun on that one.

Now the real question is...should I tell the kids? Because here's the deal, I know what most of you are probably thinking. That kids should see adults make and admit mistakes gracefully and graciously. I believe in this too, I really do. There's nothing worse than a person who can't admit a mistake.

Here's what you might not know if you haven't been in a classroom of 20 eight-year-olds recently: If you (the authority) make and admit mistakes (which I do frequently) they will try to "catch" you making other mistakes and point them out incessantly until I use my mean voice and let them know that they are being rude.

Mrs. Taylor, did you mean to make your "a" that way?
Mrs. Taylor, did you mean to write "30" instead of "31"?
Mrs. Taylor, did you forget to give us our snack?
Mrs. Taylor, did you forget to properly enunciate the last consonant digraph in the word "four hundredth"?

It does not cease. And it typically gets a little attitude added in. Like a "too many kids too big for their britches" type of attitude.

But still. This mistake has a geographical (and potentially a spelling) lesson attached to it. I'll be gracious; I'll be graceful. I can admit when I'm wrong.

I'll just to need to brace myself for the interruptions that only twenty self-assured children can bring.

Sunbleached in Yacama...

It's a sign of the times, so to speak. Or a sign of my times, perhaps. My kids at school are making references to things I have no clue about. Due to my wonderful little siblings, I feel like I tend to stay pretty on top of kiddie pop culture. I usually know what my second graders are referencing when they talk about "Webkinz" or "Wii Sports." A few weeks ago, however, I was completely and utterly flabbergasted.

We were finishing our literature study about the desert. We had talked about animals and plants in the desert, cold and hot deserts, where deserts are found in the world, and on and on. In connection with this study, we were briefly discussing where to go to find out more information about the desert. The discussion went like this.

Me: Kids, if we wanted to know more about the desert, where could we go to look for more information?

Kids: The library. Books. Online. The Computer. Texas. Yacama.

Me, after processing that last statement: Yacama? What's that?

Kids, more and more joining in and nodding: Yeah, Yacama! It's like a state. Or a city. No, I think it's a country. Yeah, a country.

Me: No....Yacama's definitely not a state or a country. What is it? Where have you heard of this?

I look to the teacher assistant to find the same incredulous, clueless look that I have. More and more kids meanwhile, are nodding to each other and agreeing that Yacama would be the place to go to find out more about the desert.

Kids: Yacama, Mrs. Taylor. You know, from i-Carly.

Me, after another processing delay: What in the world is i-Carly???

Kids: You don't watch i-Carly, Mrs. Taylor???

Beth (my TA) who has now realized that she's heard of this show: She's a grown-up, kids.

So apparently, i-Carly is a show on Nickelodeon. A show geared toward pre-teens and young teenagers which is why my precious little siblings have not seen it. Which is why I haven't heard of it. And apparently, this Carly on one particular episode was or might be moving to a fictional town called Yacama. Which is where this whole train wreck about gathering more information got started.

Another sign that I am out of step with what second graders know happened a few weeks later. I was reading them some writing that I did about the poodle biting incident (you can read about it here if you haven't yet) and describing to them why Mr. and Mrs. Leather had that particular nickname. I was careful to indicate that it was not because of any natural skin tone of any kind, but a result of them being in the sun all hours of the day without sunscreen on, thus promoting the reddish brown skin of one who needs some aloe in a serious way.

Here's how this discussion went:

Me: And that's why we nicknamed them "Mr. and Mrs. Leather."

Kid: Oh, so they were sunbleached.

Me: Yeah, sort- wait, did you say sun - bleached?

Kids, more of them nodding: Yeah, you know, sunbleached.

Me: I think you mean sunburned.

Kids: Nope. Sunbleached. Like, from Spongebob.

For the second time that month, we had to have the discussion about fiction and nonfiction on television. I basically told them that if it's not Animal Planet, Discovery, or PBS, it's probably fiction. That sometimes fiction can be realistic, but Hannah Montanna is not a real person, she's a character. There's an actress acting like a person named Hannah Montanna, and it's all pretend just like when they pretend they are explorers, Jedis, or princesses for crying out loud.

So the next time you're in Yacama, finding out about the desert, please for goodness sake, wear some sunscreen so you don't get sunbleached.

The Work and School Thing

So, I've decided that perhaps blogging about water in the soap is not the best topic if I want people to actually read this. I mean, really.
We originally intended for this blog to be one where we updated consistently about the wonderful and exciting things happening in our life. Maybe we don't do as many exciting things as we thought when we started this blog. I notice, for example, that whenever Ben talks to some of his family who doesn't live here, and they ask how things are going for us, he always says something like, "Oh, you know. Just doing the work and school thing."

That pretty much sums it up. The work and school thing. Maybe there are some work and school things that might be of note. That other people might want to know about.

For example, right now, Ben is about to embark on his fourth hour of studying for midterms/working on a huge project. That leaves me moping around. I've already practiced piano, watched The King and I on AMC, read the latest issue of Runners World and NEA Magazine, taken my Sunday nap, and talked on the phone to my friend.

I need a hobby. It always gets to this point somewhere mid-semester for me, when I begin to pout about my solitary evenings and watch mind-numbing television on the couch. Being the spouse of a person in school full-time is no picnic. Why don't I just do my own things? There are tons of productive, interesting things I could be doing, I'm sure.

Like finishing the last two kitchen chairs that need to be painted. Or going to the library and checking out a few books I've been meaning to read. Giving myself a manicure and pedicure, starting a new load of laundry, cleaning out the guest room closet. "Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera," to borrow a line from the movie I watched today.

Part of it is that I'm a little lazy. I don't like to do projects after dark. Unless I've started one in the daylight, which I clearly haven't today. Part of it is that what I'd really rather do, is spend time with Ben. I'd be happy to clean out a closet with him. Or paint chairs, or do laundry. It's kind of like living with someone who has work schedule that is totally wacky, or is out of town. Or who is a hermit. Except that he is there - just unavailable for conversation or activity.

Now I'm complaining. That's not going to induce anyone to carry on reading any more than my last "water in the soap" post. So I'll do what I know will help me to feel better.

Here are ten things I am grateful for about my current situation:

1. Ben cares about school and wants to do well at the things he does. This translates into everything he does, including mowing the lawn, cleaning the stove top, and communicating with me.

2. It's a cool night in October, and I am comfortably wrapped in a blanket on my couch.

3. We are healthy and happy with each other.

4. We both have jobs and are able to live within our means quite comfortably.

5. We have no debt other than house and school loans. Oh wait, and one car, which is soon to be paid off.

6. I have gently started running again, on flat surfaces only, walking up the hills, and it feels great. I did four miles on Friday morning, finishing with no pain, only a slight blister on my arch.

7. I have a week off for Fall Break this week, and have a few projects in mind. Plus the luxury of being able to exercise in the mornings instead of after work. Glorious!

8. We have a new mower (finally) and I was able to mow the lawn yesterday so that Ben could get in a few hours of study time without me bugging him.

9. Our cars work, and so do the appliances in our house. Knock on wood. Loudly.

10. We have everything we need and want to live a safe, healthy, comfortable life.

I am grateful for those things and a lot more. So, the work and school thing isn't bad. It's good, it could be a lot worse, and I need to remember that.

Any ideas for new hobbies I could reasonably start would be appreciated. Basket weaving perhaps...