Vickir73 & The Chunky Dunk!! - pics of first show

[autumnprairie]

I'm so . I tried calling the school several times yesterday to find out when the deadline is to sign up to run for school board. Well, the secretary would never answer her phone. I called today and left a vm. She called me back now. The deadline was yesterday Elections aren't for another 2 years I'm so pissed. I guess I will just have to keep trying to make a difference as PTO President, even though I'm supposed to be elected out in September (we are only supposed to hold the office for 2 years, but usually no one else will step up so we've had the same treasurer for about 8 years.) but if it's the only thing I can do, I am going to keep doing it. I am determined to make a difference in our school and do my best to try to get it back to what it used to be. Our "new" principal that we got last year (who was a teacher at the school before that) has proven that she's just out to make trouble. I've caught her in several lies as well as others and our "new" superintendent that signed up at the end of last year, doesn't seem to be much better either. I'm so tired of these people taking these positions just so they have clout. Can we please get someone in the position that actually care about the school and want to see it improve?????

Yesterday, she decided that all the teachers and staff needed to take a tour (on the school bus) of the bus routes (mind you we only have 3). This is one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard of. 96% of the teachers and staff grew up in the school and in Leggett. They know more about the town than she does.

Sorry about the rant, but I'm just so upset. I need to think positive and continue to push for changes and continue to try and push parents and teachers to come to meetings and events.

Oh, and I went downstairs to go out for lunch and discovered I don't have my car key. My car key is 100 miles away on my kitchen table. Great. I will stay in town tonight with a girlfriend and have a courier to pick up my key from my ex's job site tomorrow (He's at my house today). Yesterday I had to leave early, so my ex picked me up and I left my car here because he was supposed to work today so we were just going to drive in this morning and he would drop me off. Well, last night he got a call that the parts that were ordered weren't coming in so he didn't have work today, but since we left my car here, he had to drive me to Houston to work. Tomorrow he will be working so he will take my key with him and I will have a courier go get it for me.

Meet the teacher went ok last night. We met Nic's teacher (although we already knew each other), Ms. Rivers. We started out on bad terms last year over a PTO run in. We both learned that the other can be a real bitch if need be. Well, I'm going to think positive and hopefully we will have a great year.

Tomorrow is Harli's 'Meet the Teacher' night. She'll have 2 teachers again this year. Her math and science (I think) teacher will be Ms. Jackson, our Pre-K teacher (She's been the pre-K teacher FOREVER, but our wonderful principal made a bunch of changes this year and this is one of them. Our wonderful, wonderful Pre-K teacher (who loved what she did) is now our 4th & 5th grade math and science teacher. Ms. Jackson is a wonderful woman, but I know she's not happy about the change, but I know she will do her best. Have I mentioned our principal is stupid? Harli's "home room" teacher is new, so we'll meet her tomorrow night.

Another change our principal made was that Pre-K and Kindergarten are now combined. This is so crazy. You've got one group of kids that are barely speaking in complete sentences to teaching another group of students the basics of reading and writing. I just don't see how she's going to effectively teach either group. Both groups are a handful (at ages 4 & 5) and deserve to have a teacher that doesn't have to bounce back and forth! Did I mention that our principal doesn't seem to make decision that are in the best interests of the teachers and students?

Don't even get me started on the changes she has made to the special ed teacher (who just happens to be my mother) - Our principal needs to go!!!!

I am always hear to listen

 

[Vickir73]

Thank you AP. I stayed in town with a girl friend last night and we went to eat Mexican food and I had 2 peach margaritas so that helped a little who says alcohol is a bad thing

So my ex had to milk last night. OH MY GOODNESS!! I tried to get him to milk over the weekend while I was there to show him how but he wouldn't do it. I told him there's gonna be times when I'm not here to milk and you are going to have to. If our DD (whose 10) can do it (and is quite good for never having done it before) you can do it too. Well, I've been getting about 2 quarts per milking (AM & PM). I tried explaining over the phone yesterday how he needed to do it. He said "I know how to milk a goat. I just can't get my fingers to work right." I texted him last night and asked him how it went. He got 1 cup!!!! I don't know if that's all he could get out or if the rest of it went on the ground or if the girls kicked the container over - no idea!! but I'm sure my girls are going to be ready for me to get home tonight. My poor babies - it's just so hard to get good help these days

We Meet the Teacher tonight for DD. She has 2 teachers again this year. Ms. Jackson, who was our Pre-K teacher forever and who is also my Treasurer for the PTO, will be teaching Math and Science, and Ms. McDuffie, who is new so it will be interesting. The little post card I got in the mail said it starts at 6 tonight, so I'm leaving the office at 4. My mom called today and said she thought it started at 5, well, I can't leave here at 3, so hopefully they won't start until 6.

Stayed up until 2 am this morning watching Leverage episodes at my girlfriend's house. I don't have t.v. at home, so when I stay in town, I have to get my fix I'm exhausted, but it was worth it

Bought me some ACV and am going to attempt my first cheese tonight. I'm hoping it's edible.

 

[autumnprairie]

how did meet the teacher night go?
Good Luck, let me know how your cheese comes out I love making cheese but I am currently not milking at the moment so they can pack on the pounds before kidding and winter

 

[Vickir73]

got to Meet the Teacher just as it was over. It took me 3 hours to get home damn traffic. It's normally about 1 1/2 - 3 hr drive, but 3 hours?????? Anyway, when I got there at 7 pm (left the office at 4 ) the teachers were all ready cleaning up and getting ready to leave, but I did get to meet the new teacher, Ms. McDuffie. She seems very nice. I didn't think to ask her about her background (just realized this - I'm kicking myself now. I should have thought to ask her about herself and not just talk about my DD) but did let her know about the issues we have had with DD in the past and how I think she is finally learning to deal with them a bit better. Ms. McDuffie is the home room and Ms. Jackson is the math and science. I did talk to Ms. Jackson for awhile about her plans for the math and science classes. This will be her first year doing this so it will be a trial and error process. I said if they would like to do some experiments with milk, I'd be glad to provide them with some

I am very thankful that we do have a small school and do feel like (although we may not agree on everything) the kids' teachers will be open in communicating with me any concerns they may have and will be interested in helping my kids (and others) get the best education they can give.

I also talked with Ms. Jackson (also my PTO Treasurer) and one of the other teachers, Ms. Boren, and told them I would probably be making enemies this year if I'm not replaced as PTO President. I told them that I am determined to try and make sure the principal, superintendent, and school board are at all school events. Now some may say, woo there missy, that's a lot of stuff; however, our school is VERY small (this past May we graduated about 18) and the only sport we have is basketball. (We do have a very small baseball team, but half of our people don't even know about it.) I think the principal, superintendent, and school board should set examples to parents and teachers and show them they are willing to support our teachers and students. I am very hopeful that if the students and parents see the principal and superintendent school board members at BB games and things like field trips (which are held on Saturdays so parents can attend) and on the PTO's Free Movie night - that that might encourage people to come out. Let's put it this way - I have no problem being a pain in the ass to get what I want and I didn't take the position as President to make friends - I took it to make a difference. I tell people - if I piss you off, well come to the meeting and vote me out - but you know what ?? I got you to a meeting. Either sit down and shut up and quit complaining or get up off your butt and help make a difference. There's a Christian song by Josh Wilson and I use a quote from their song in my signature line as PTO President "Cause I dont want to live like I dont care I dont want to say another empty prayer Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else To do what God has called me to do myself I could choose not to move But I refuse." This song makes me think about my position as PTO President every time I hear it. I feel like I was meant to do this and that I can make a difference. It's one of my theme songs

Here's what I posted under the 'Kitchen Tips and Recipes' forum. Any thoughts?


ok here's what I did.

used about 3 quarts of goat's milk. got it up to 195 degrees. took it off the heat and added 2 TBLS (Tablespoons) of ACV. lots of stirring. nothing. added 2 more TBLS of ACV. lots of stirring. got a few small curds. put it back on the heat brought back up to 190. added 2 more TBLS of ACV. lots of stirring. nothing. 2 more TBLS of ACV. nothing. 2 more TBLS. a little bit more small curds. I finally poured about 1/2 more of ACV in (about a cup total of ACV). Finally, got a bunch of small curds. Never got large curds like I saw in the pictures I was looking at. I did add sea salt to my taste. Finally said screw it and poured it in my make shift drainer. (A very think tshirt, knotted and fit over a bucket). I let it drain about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It looked like it drained very well. It put it in a covered container in the fridge for about 6 hours.

It's very dry and crumbly. Perfect for salad, but not as creamy as I'd like to spread on crackers. So I'm guessing maybe about 30 minutes to drain and then refrigerate?

Was I supposed to have to use that much ACV? Am I supposed to get larger curds (I didn't think to take pictures, but they weren't even pea size - maybe the size of small curd cottage cheese - and that's a big maybe)??

The feedback has been positive (brought it to work for the all the guinea pigs to try Good flavor but too dry for spreading on crackers, but perfect to put in a salad.

Does it normally dry out more once refrigerated? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Vickir73]

in a fowl/depressed/weird mood today. it started yesterday. not sure why. everyone likes the goat cheese tho and, in fact, one of our head hancho guys here at the office wants a batch of each (jalapeno and garlic) - you'd think that would improve my mood, now I've just got nervousness added to my lovely mood. Oh and I have another co-worker who wants to buy milk on a regular basis. I need to pray . . . or drink, maybe just need to go to church so I can take communion (wine) and pray - kill two birds with one stone.

First day of school went well. DD was really excited (she changed outfits about 4 times) and DS was better once some other students arrived. DD has 7 kids in her class and DS has about 12 I think, maybe 10. It's usually not until the 2nd week that they get a final count. Some people register and then change schools. Got first PTO meeting scheduled and first free movie night scheduled. I've found a vendor who will do the printing of the flyers for free. - I'll give his office a batch of goat cheese as thanks!

My DD did ok with her clothes issue the first day of school. She said her bra rubbed a rash, but by the time she got home it was gone so I told her we would try to find another one this weekend. She did say yesterday morning that being really tired really effects the way her clothes fit, so I thought that was a huge break thru. We set a timer last night for 8:45. By the time we got in bed it was 9:15 so we did better. She came and got me out of bed last night saying her legs were hurting. She has been eating a lot the last couple of weeks, I wonder if she's going thru a growth spurt. She said they didn't do anything yesterday at school any different than she's done any other day (no strenuous exercises during PE) but that it was either her calf muscles or knees - she didn't know which so I bagged up some ice and she put ice on them for awhile and said that helped.

I am just so not ready for my baby girl to be growing up. She's been so helpful the last couple of days - she's been a great joy to be around - I've only had to threaten to beat the kids a couple times in the last week so I think that's a great improvement

Sunday night we had a very sad moment. Momma Dog got a kitten my sister had brought over. The kitten was used to dogs so it wasn't afraid of Momma Dog. It only took Momma Dog a few seconds. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. It was so sad. I was so mad at my sister. If she would have kept the kitten at her house it wouldn't have been killed. It was such a sweet little kitten too.

 

[Vickir73]

pics of the kiddos on their first day My son's shirt said "3 things I'm good at 1. Making homework disappear 2. Annoying my sister 3. playing video games" Perfect.

pics of the dinner I made Sunday with goat cheese on top

can you spot the chicken??

 

[Vickir73]

lovely. Just got a call from my grandmother who was crying. Seems a pest inspector came to her place (within throwing distance of my place) and he said she has raspberry ants a/k/a crazy ants. I'm pretty sure I have them too. He will charge $1600 to come out and spray her house (not sure about my place). I called another big pest control company and they said depending on what the guy sprays and how much he sprays, the price he quoted is reasonable. Great! No idea where I will get $1600 . . .

Guess I need to get my ass back out on the corner . . . surely someone would pay an almost 40, overweight white woman $1600 to fake it

 

[autumnprairie]

 

[Vickir73]

http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/ants/rasberry.html

Hey Polk County had the biggest pot bust in the history of Texas a few weeks ago, now we have raspberry ants, which have mainly been reported in Harris County (home of Houston). Woooohooooo!!! pretty soon we will have overweight white women on street corners. Next thing you know people will be calling Polk County the "new Houston"!!

 

[Vickir73]

Well, my sister just called. We need to send some of the ants to A&M to find out if they are Caribbean crazy ants or Raspberry crazy ants. Oh, you mean there's a difference? Yes, she says. The Caribbean is supposed to be easier to kill. I say kill all the f()@$&^)(s! If we are gonna spend the money on buying the product and the time spraying, why half-ass it?? just kill all of them. Screw 'em. From what I've read, these things will even chase away fire ants!!! A guy out in the NASA area had to move out of his house because there were about 3 million of the f@%(@&$#)s !!! I'm gonna kill some sheeeeaat!!!! - it will just have to be after the chicken show Saturday