The Joys of Middle School

In my classroom, we have a survivor theme. Students are put into tribes and compete in math challenges and to earn the highest averages on the exams. The students are allowed to choose their tribe names and color.

This is list of the top rejected (by me) tribe names my kids came up with (all of these brilliant ideas were from all boy tribes, I know, you're shocked):

Summer of 69
The 69ers
The Perfect 69
XXX
The Sexy + Math = The Sexiest
The Big Bananas
The KKK's

and my personal favorite,

The Pink Wholes

What's in a Name?

Before I came to Guatemala, I liked my last name... Most people I know even call me by it, instead of my first name. It never occurred to me that "Sola" being a Spanish word--even though its an Italian name--would pose any sort of problem. Well... it does down here. Every time someone asks for my name I tell them "Andrea", then they ask for my last name and the problem begins. When I respond "Sola", which for all you non-Spanish speaking people means "alone" or can mean "only", they think I am telling them I go by only Andrea (like Madonna or Cher). Its all very confusing and is only cleared up when I pull out some sort of ID and show them that, in fact, Sola is my last name. To which they ALWAYS respond, "funny name". :)

True Story

So, I decided to go for a run today. My aunt's neighborhood is nice, flat and low traffic... and also apparently dangerous. I get about a third of the way into my run and suddenly I hear barking. Now, this is no surprise since everyone in this neighborhood has a dog, but they are all USUALLY inside the fence. This barking sounds a little louder. I look behind me and there are four huge white dogs chasing me! I freaked out for about 5 seconds and then decide I should probably just relax and walk and maybe they would stop chasing me. Finally, they got bored and left me alone. I quickly decide not to venture down that way again and continued with my run.

A little while later, I'm running along, minding my own business again, and 3 deer pop out of nowhere and literally almost run me over! Seriously, 3 deer and not 5 feet away from me! The fresh air is nice and all down here, but I think I liked it better when all I had to worry about was watching out for the cars.

I think I also now understand why Texans are all apart of the NRA and carry their guns with them at all times.

Mug Shot

Apparently the government is trying to be much more prepared. They've decided to save a little time and energy on mug shots. So what they do is require your passport photo to do double duty. I was strictly informed not to smile, forced to remove my earrings, and asked to tuck my hair behind my ears (because, as I was told, the ears MUST be showing). Now this last part really baffles me. Maybe there is some new highly advanced way to identify someone by their ears? Who knows. But for now, not only do I have a valid passport, I am one step ahead of the game if I decide to turn to a life of crime.

And they lived happily ever????

Once upon a time, there were two girls, Michelle and Andrea.



Andrea decided to move to Texas and her wonderful (and brave) friend, Michelle, volunteered to tag along and help. Andrea's other very gracious friend, Trish, volunteered to store all of her belongings in her basement. So, on the day before the big move, the three beautiful girls, with the help of two trolls, transferred all of Andrea's furniture to Trish's castle. Andrea and Michelle then decided to tackle the feat of packing the rest of her belongings in her carriage. After several frustrating and long hours, the two girls realize that not everything will fit in their car. So, they decide to call it a night and try again in the morning. The next morning, the two girls were able to get more in the carriage, but a few items had to be left behind.



So, the girls set out on their journey to the mystical land of Texas, one very cold morning. For a couple of hours all goes well. The girls pass through the land of Muskogee.



Here they visit a beautiful castle..



and observe the strange native tongue.



Soon after leaving the land of Muskogee, weird things began to happen. The musical enchantment feature in Andrea's carriage suddenly stopped and silenced ensued. Michelle and Andrea were very perplexed. After a few minutes, music began again. The girls were relieved and began to dismiss all thought of an evil curse, but soon the suspicions returned. A little further on, the music stopped again as well as all other enchantments. The girls were now passing through the land of McAlester and decide to stop and get help. Andrea contacted the AAA and they agreed to send out a knight to rescue the two girls. Loyd, the knight in shining armor, arrived on his galliant steed.



Sir Loyd was wonderful. He helped figure out what was wrong with Andrea's carriage and transported the two girls to a place where a magical wizard could repair it.



After inspecting the carriage, the wizard agreed that he could repair Andrea's carriage. However, the wizard was unable to find all the parts required. So, Andrea and Michelle decide to rent a larger carriage to tow Andrea's smaller carriage.



Andrea was very hesitant about driving such a big carriage, but was willing to give it a try!



Finally, the girls arrive in the land of Killeen. The journey that was to last 10 hours, lasted 15. Andrea has settled in and Michelle has flown back to her native country. The surroundings are very different and will take time for Andrea to get to used to...



But at least the neighbors are friendly! :)

Note to Self

If you lock your keys in the trunk...

Here's what you should do:

Stay calm. Open driver's side door. There is this magical button behind the steering wheel that automatically opens the trunk. The owner's manual calls it the "trunk release". Problem solved!

Here's what not to do:

Laugh hysterically with your friend and say, "Oh no! What do we do??" Then crawl in the backseat and attempt to lay the back seat down. When you can't figure it out, ask her to get in the glove box and get the owner's manual out for the car that you've owned for the last 4 years. Look up "back seat" and realize that the button to release it down is also in the trunk. Then climb out of the back seat and sit in the driver's seat and mindlessly chat with your friend for the next 15 minutes or so. Then, suddenly notice the magical button mentioned above. Push it, look at the friend in utter amazement and burst out laughing because you've literally just locked yourself inside your own car.

My New Friend Polly

So, I've had these sinus issues going on for a couple of months now--stuffy nose, sneezing, headaches, breathing issues, etc. Last week, it moved in to my ears and now I'm walking around feeling like I have earmuffs on all the time. I've had sinus and ear problems my whole life (we're talking over a dozen surgeries in 12 years) and can deal with a snotty nose, but when it hits my ears I'm done.

I know what you're thinking, "Why didn't I go to the doctor?" Well, lets just say I'm a tad stubborn. #1 I hate the doctor and I especially hate taking medicine. #2 Everyone was telling me I should go and, being me, I stubbornly refused to just because they said so.

But now that I can't hear and have gotten really tired of saying "huh?" eighty times in a conversation, I've gone to the doctor. The diagnosis: Nasal Polyps.

Yes, that's right, Nasal Polyps. Not a sinus infection, not an ear infection, not anything remotely normal... NASAL FREAKING POLYPS! Who gets these??? Me, that's who. I call my mom to give her the doctor's report and she laughs and says, "Oh, you used to get those all the time." So apparently this is a recurring visitor.

So, world meet Polly the Polyp, but don't get too attached she will not being staying long thanks to my even newer friend Nasonex.