Cool Cucumber

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I’m in love with my new dog. He’s so sweet and I let him sleep in my bedroom last night. He calmly slept on the floor while the cat was at the foot of my bed… no fighting or anything. Maybe he’s been around cats in the past?

Today I came home from school and Royal was really sluggish and slow… he had a vet appointment and I had to rush to get him in the car and take him there, and I noticed that he didn’t seem to be feeling well.

As I was turning into the vet’s office, I clipped the curb with the back tire of my car, and I heard this loud hissssssssssssssssssssss sound. “SHOOT!” I muttered, pulling in to the parking spot. As we were waiting in the vet’s office and I was trying to locate a tow truck and tire shop that could replace my tire, I realize that my new dog was definitely sick. He lay there in the vet’s office with his head on the floor, even amidst the cats and dogs walking past him… a passerby commented that he looked “gloomy.”

Yep, he had a 104-degree fever, and dogs should be around 102. We’ve started antibiotics and I hope he starts feeling like himself soon. I’m sad that my dog feels so crummy; it’s almost painful for me. It’s obvious in the way that he kind of shuffles around the house without too much movement.

To solve the tire issue, I found that Pep Boys was open until 9:00. I had the car towed there, walked the dog home slowly and then had friends whom I had dinner plans with pick me up and then drop me off to get my car.

My day has not been as planned, but I feel that it was incredibly rich. I have a beautiful dog. I got to take an unplanned autumn walk this afternoon. I have loving friends who had me over for dinner, and they helped me end my day with laughter. And… tomorrow is Jeans Day at school.

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I am so giddy. My new dog is sleeping downstairs in his crate as I type this. I found him at the Humane Society today and fell in love… he’s a Labrador Retriever/German Shepherd mix. He has been introduced to the cat (while on a leash) and was curious, but not aggressive.

Cleo is FREAKED out. I feel bad for her. She continues to stand at the top of the stairs to make sure that the dog is still in the crate and has not escaped.

I know it’s not the right thing to say but I am just in love with Royal already. He has been affectionate and cuddly with me since I met him- and very calm. I took him to PetSmart to get some quick supplies this evening and he stayed right with me- I had strangers tell me how well-behaved and polite my dog was. (I wish I could take the credit!) So far, so good!

More dog updates later… I am exhausted.

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This is Scully, a German Shepherd and I’m going to go check her out tomorrow at the Humane Society. She is beautiful, isn’t she? In my heart I really want to rescue a dog from being euthanized or kept in a pen for months and months, but it’s a little scary to just blindly take home a pet when you don’t know its background. I called today and tried to pry some information out of a woman on the phone, but I guess you never really can tell much about an animal that’s been found as a stray. I find myself praying for a strong “gut feeling” when I see her- a clue to whether she is what I want. If I do take her home tomorrow, I’ll have a 2 week trial period in which I can slowly and safely introduce her to my cat… I just don’t want to take chances when it comes to Cleo. I’ll keep you guys updated on how the visit goes.

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The Olympic flame that came through CO

My first pets on my own.

Three different class pets in 4 years

My first (town)home

My very first cat and her crazy ex-roommate.

You have served your purpose , dear hp photosmart 318, but frankly, I’m going through rubber bands and AA batteries like crazy just to keep our relationship alive. And… there’s someone else. His name is Kodak EasyShare C340. I’m sorry to tell you this way, but we’re very happy and I think we’re in love. I wish only the best for you.

Sarah

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The beautiful homemade pesto and whole wheat linguine I made this weekend. Mmmm…

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Tell me this-

Is it bad manners to post something on a stranger’s blog? Because I don’t know that many people with blogs, and I tend to discover cool ones all the time. I do have a lot of time on my hands, and I like to let people others know if I appreciate their writing, taste in music, or even pictures of their chinchilla.

This strange thing happened this weekend- I found a cool blog and I commented on it. Twice. I checked back today to see if my comment had been commented on, and both of mine had been deleted! Just like that! It makes me feel like I did something wrong by commenting. I’d like to think that it was a mistake; that maybe this blogger hit the wrong key (twice). After all, I myself deleted a post that I had made this weekend, and apparently the comment with it as well (sorry Vaughan- I did get the comment via e-mail, though!).

My impression is that if someone posts pictures and stories of their life online with comment options, they are open to the idea of strangers looking at and sharing their experiences. I hope that this is right.

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My class earned a party by filling up their marble jar (I drop in a few every time they’re being angels!). This is the list of ideas we came up with. I didn’t want to lose all of these creative gems for the NEXT time they earn a party, so I simply photographed it. The class really liked the fact that I took a picture of the board.

Sidenote: Extra recess won this time by a large margin.

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All right, I love the pics of cats that I see on Ali’s site, so I’m starting a Cat Blog Friday ritual myself. I’ll need to get a new camera soon- you’ll notice that all of my photos are old. (I’ll post that sad story soon.) This picture was taken a while back of Cleo- one of my favorite photos.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I’m so relieved that it’s here…

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Today at school we held Field Day- the first one to occur in September instead of May. Anyone who’s familiar with my part of the country knows that spring/early summer means lots and lots of afternoon rain, so they decided that fall weather would be more predictable.

So, wow- what a great day. I was expecting to not enjoy myself as much as spring Field Days, simply because the weather wasn’t as warm and you don’t have that ‘Yea- the year’s almost over!’ feeling you do in May. However, I had a great time… I got to know a lot of my class better (yes, we’re still bonding and learning to appreciate each other and work together as a whole) and I feel like I have some fantastic memories as a result. I also have some killer sore hamstrings, due to a few intense 50-meter dash races and an ongoing long jump rivalry.

I have always competed in Field Day alongside my class (well, not exactly competed, but more like “played along”). One of the few simple joys of teaching, though, is that when you compete against another adult in front of the kids, they really think you are the most incredible athlete in the world, and they cheer for you with vigor! One of my teaching partners last year barely squeaked by me in the 50-meter dash, so I demanded a re-match. This year- I crossed the line just ahead of her. So much fun…

Also, when we do the relays, I jumped in on a team that had a lot of slower kids- I ran one leg and ended up helping them win 2nd place ribbons… one kid who’s not very athletic at all said with extreme pride, “My first red ribbon ever!”

One funny story… at the end of the day, we do a cross country run, around our school field. They dismiss one class at a time to run, then greet them with popsicles at the finish. So I started running with my class when all of the sudden I practically tripped over a kid who looked to be about 3 years old, walking on the pathway. I stopped to help him up, when he started walking the opposite direction, toward the stampede of kids behind us. What does a gal do??? I grabbed him, picked him up out the of the way, and set him on the sidelines. I felt like such a hero. I tried to find who he belonged to, but I had to run on with my class. I bet some parent on the sidelines was saying, ‘Why is that teacher touching my child?’… but I just got scared and saw horrible things if he was in the pathway of 100 3rd-graders.

Awesome day today. These kids and their senses of humor make my recent breakup seem a little more distant.

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