professional dress

Girl: Ms. Ebberts, I have a question for you.
Me: Sure, what is it?
Girl: Well, I'm afraid you might get offended.
Me: Oh no. What is it? Go ahead and ask.
Girl: Are you AMISH?
Me: Why, no, I'm not Amish. What gave you that idea?
Girl: You always cover yourself up with your clothes. Like, when you're wearing that one colorful dress, you put jeans underneath. You just don't show enough skin.

Potty time?

I gave a test about congruent triangles in Geometry today. Here's a conversation that happened in the midst of 3rd block:

boy: Ms. Ebberts, can I go to the bathroom?
me: Sure
boy: Uh, can I take my test with me so I don't waste any time?
me (trying to keep a straight face and not laugh at this boy): no

It was really hard not to laugh since all my kids were focused on their test and very quiet and I didn't want to be the distraction. It was equally hard to keep an unemotional face as the boy returned from the restroom a while later.

He was the last student in the class to finish the test.

Never a dull moment

Here's a conversation that occurred between me and several students in my 4th block Geometry class today. Of my 5 classes, they by far have the most personality.

[Girl walks in eating a lemon pastry]

me: you know, I'm not a huge fan of lemon flavored things.
boy #1: WHAT?! Not even Lemon Pledge?!?!
me: well, okay, I'm not a huge fan of lemon things except for Pledge
boy #2: yeah, I like to eat mine with wheat bread
me: hmm, yeah, I'd have to say I prefer to at least spray mine on a wood surface and then lick it off
pastry girl: what are you guys talking about?
me: how we like to eat Lemon Pledge
me: so boy #1, how do you like your Pledge?
boy #1: straight from the can


Later in class, boy #1 challenged me to a dance off. Also, boy #2 has told me he will pay me $15 to sing an entire class period.

I promise, I do teach my kids things.

November 1

boy student: MS. EBBERTS, ARE YOU GOING TO DO 'NO SHAVE NOVEMBER'?!?!?!?!?!

girl student: Yeah, are you? Are gym teacher last year didn't shave her legs and wore shorts everyday. It was disgusting.

me: No, I'm not going to participate

[Now, at this point, the kids are all over the place, the entire class is talking and I am trying to get class started for the day. So I do what I can to get their attention...]

me (saying this in a very serious, get down to business voice): Hey folks, listen, I need your attention. Folks, listen up please.

[Class is now quiet]

me: Listen, I only participate in "Mustache March." So, you can look for my stache then.

Happy November!!

Timekeeper

So, the clock on the wall wasn't working in my room. The teacher who's in there 2nd block (since I share a room) had taken it down when it was my turn to use the room.

3rd block: the lack of clock goes unnoticed.

4th block: cannot stand that there is no clock on the wall. they ask several times about where the clock is, why it's not hanging, what time it is, etc.

I try to explain to the class that it would bug them more to look at a clock that was the wrong time and didn't tick than to have a missing one, but they were persistent.

So I did what any teacher would do: I taped the clock to my lanyard that I keep my keys on and hung it around my neck and proceeded on with the lesson.

They called me Flava Flav for the rest of the hour and said I needed to get a grill. Someone also mentioned that I would look good with viking horns.

quote of the week

This past school week was Homecoming (theme "Coast to Coast"). Each day had a different destination and the staff was encouraged to dress for each. Thursday was "Naples Day" (dress like a retiree). Which to me translated into "Wear Gym Shorts, T-shirt, and Slippers and Get Away With It Day." So I walked around all day in a robe and slippers and what was ultimately my pajamas with a coffee cup full of water. Hands down most comfortable day of school ever.



Former student: Eeebs!! Your legs are pretty white for being a runner.

i gots tape worms

I am a math tutor. So, every 1st block on A-days, I get to help kids with their homework and help them study. It's really stressful, but also really fun, because there are some Calculus students that come in and we get to talk derivatives and what not.
I have my 'regulars.' I look forward to them because they aren't my own, but I've gotten to know them pretty well already over the course of the school year.

Here's a conversation between some of my Algebra 2 boys that come in:

Boy 1: You're a wrestler, you probably get ring worm or a staph infection or something
Boy 2: Nah, man, that's gross.
Me: Well, hey, at least that's better than tape worms, right?
Boy 1: No, I think I got those
Me (laughing): What? You do not have tape worms.
Boy 1: Yes, I do, I seriously think I have tape worms.


Anyway, I find this conversation really funny, because, well, I'm pretty fascinated tape worms. The idea of them are really gross, but I was really curious once in college and I ate one...No, actually, I just did a bit of research on them. Enough about worms.

Week in Review

This week I:

learned the word "Hermbes" (pronounced "herms") means "greatly struggling" and can be used in a phrase such as, "Ms. Ebberts, I'm hermbes-ing right now."

claimed September 14th was "National Cheese Product Day" and that I wore Pancake scented deodorant (and my kids believed me)

ran with a pile of mud on my head.

was chased (and attacked) by former students with shaving cream.

played a dice rolling game where the loser had to take 2 Ex-Lax pills before they went to sleep.

Just a typical day at school:

boy: Uh, Ms. Ebberts, how come your shoes never match your outfit? (khaki shorts and a green Rock Bridge t-shirt)
me: You don't think this matches? I like my colorful shoes (red peeptoe flats).
boy: no
me: You'll find that I don't really own a normal color of shoe. I like to mix it up.
boy: So, can we buy you some new clothes?

[sidenote: after class, I learned this student intends to go college for fashion design. So, I suppose he was justified in his inquiries]


girl: ms. ebberts, do you know how to get crisco out of hair?
me: hmm...no...why? do you have crisco in your hair?
girl: yeah, some boy put it in my hair while we were playing volleyball last night.
me: well, let me go look it up.

SO, while my kids were working on graphing stuff, I go to my desk and google: "how to get crisco out of your hair." and wouldn't you know, there are answers: baking soda and water or apple cider vinegar. I then proceeded back to the girl and decided to sit down at her group. I proceeded to tell my students about my own experience of conditioning my hair with mayonnaise. it was quite the bonding experience.

I'm 24

So, my students like knowing how old I am. They ask. I usually respond with, "How old you think I am?" I've mentioned this before last school year and I usually will get responses between 27 and 35. But, I'm revisiting the issue because today was an especially funny "Guess Ms. Ebberts' Age".

Well, my new students start yelling (literally) out ages. I, of course, have no reaction to any number they say.

boy:"Will you tell us if it's too high or low?"
girl: "45"
me: "That is WAY too low"
other boy: "after you tell us your age, will you tell us your weight, too?"

Then, the light-bulbs go off in their heads: Ask Mickey. He had Ms. Ebberts last year, he'll know. (You see, he didn't pass either semester last year. I am the only teacher who teaches this particular course at my school, therefore, Mickey gets the privilege of being in my class again)

So, in my mind I'm thinking "Aw, man, the game's over. Mickey's going to tell them I'm 24." BUT then, I hear him telling his group members, "She's either 32 or 33. Somewhere in there." (and he's serious about this. I find this really humorous because Mickey witnessed several of these same debates last year in which I told them my actual age)

me: "Fine, Mickey, tell the class my age"
He does.
class: "So which one is it?! 32 or 33?!??!" (they really are yelling)
I just smile
class: "YOU'RE 32!!!!"

Now I'm laughing and continue back with the lesson.


Earlier on in the day:

me: "Do you all have any questions for me? Anything I can help you with?"
student: "Do you think chinchillas are soft?"
me: "Well, I don't know. I've never touched one. Martha Stewart grows them"
other student: "She grows them? From like a plant?"
me: "Well, I mean she raises them. They roll around in dirt and don't take baths or something like that"
another student: "Wait. Chinchillas grow on trees?"
me: "Yes. You've never heard of the chinchilla plant?"

school

Well, almost finished with full week #2 at school, and it's all a blur.
I'm getting close to knowing the names of all my kids, but there's still some that I find ways to avoid calling them by name (not good).

I cannot recall any memorable phrases from my new students. But, I did have one ask me to dance for the class today because he heard from my former students that I had 'cold moves.' I guess that's good? Anyway, my reply was, "You know, I just have to feel it, the moves just kind of come to me, and I'm not feelin' it right now."

summer

Well, teacher meetings start tomorrow. I meet my new kids on Thursday. I am hoping my students will be funny this year so I can talk about them here.

Until then, here are some of my favorite pictures of the summer:

my cat, gizmo. her favorite activities include sleeping and scratching people.


i tried to get a 'candid' photo of my brother and sister while we were out to eat.


i have never been good at snapping the headshots of me and another person.


my grandparents, pretty much the coolest people ever. i found out that my grandpa help the world record for 'most situps in a day' for 24 hours.


i graduated from cake decorating class. a good friend pointed out that the only 'diploma' of mine she's seen is this one. i made a bigger deal about this than getting my Master's degree.



I'm pretty pumped about this school year. I haven't really calculated anything all summer, so I'm ready. Plus, I think I have a new approach to looking at Geometric figures. Okay, I need to stop.

Summer Cake

When given the option to bring a side dish or a dessert, I'm going to bring a dessert. It's not that I can't cook, I just choose not to. I was invited to a cookout this weekend, so I wanted to bring something 'summery'. First thing that came to my mind: strawberry shortcake (that's summery AND patriotic, right?). I found a recipe from another blog that looked so good I just had a try it: Strawberry Shortcake Cake

here are some highlights of my baking experience

I sifted for the first time. I usually skip this, but I figured, go big or go home. ya know?

Isn't she (my mixer) a beauty?

The cake came out with a nice crispy brown outer, but yellowy fluffy inside.

I 'marinated' strawberries in sugar to use as a filling.

I made cream cheese icing for the first time. It was baller.
(I added 1/2 pound less powdered sugar than what the recipe calls for)

Finished product. The thing was LOADED with icing.

The strawberries soaked into the cake. It was mushy (but not a gross mushy) and marvelous.

Oh, and I got a new camera! Can you tell?

cupcakes

I decided to have a little fun with decorating for a good friend's bachelorette party.
Photos by Breezy Torres

For the cupcakes:

Hershey's chocolate cake recipe
I added chocolate chips and coconut to some of the batter for an added surprise.

For the icing:
Wilton's Chocolate Buttercream Icing recipe
However, instead of using milk, I use water, and I substitute the butter for shortening. This way, you don't have to worry about the icing going bad and you don't necessarily have to store it in the fridge. Huzzah!

my first cake

This is my first creation from the cake decorating class I'm taking at Michael's. Next week, we're doing cupcakes!

the mystery of the 99 steps

Nancy also knows French! She travels to Paris with Bess and George in order to help their friend, Mrs. Blair, figure out why she has been having a recurring nightmare since she was three years old. The nightmare includes 99 steps. It is up to Nancy and crew to figure out the significance of the 99 steps.

Overall, this was a pretty involved mystery. I learned a lot about alchemy. And something was brought to my attention about the number 9. It's multiples (up to 90) add up to 9. For instance, 18: 1+8 = 9, 27: 2 + 7 = 9. So, I appreciated this piece of numerology.

Something that still doesn't sit well with me: Nancy freaking got hit by a car! And then, she's like, "oh, I'm okay, let's go to the party so I can investigate." WHAT??!?!! OKAY, sometimes she is a bit too hard-headed. OH, and also, after that, someone messed with her car and made the breaks not work and she almost got in a car wreck. I just, I don't know, that's just so scary. I would not be as eager as Nancy to continue to get to the bottom of the mystery. Nancy puts her life on the line for the people that come to her for help, which I suppose is very admirable. Anyway, the situations she gets into makes me very concerned for her life.

I am taking another 'break' from Nancy. I want to read some other books this summer, so I'm putting her on hold for a bit, I still have 13 more in the series until I am finished.

Words of Wisdom

At the end of each semester, I like to give a survey to all of my students, which allows them to tell me what they liked and didn't like about my class. And I also get their feedback on what they think I need to improve on for teaching in the future.
I added a couple of new questions this time around: 1) What advice would you give to a future student taking my class and 2) Any additional comments?. I got A LOT of really great feedback. Students are very willing to be honest and I am definitely taking into account for next school year.

Here are some funny responses I got from several students:

Stay Swag

Ms. Ebberts has her moments. Her mental abilities go blank. She will be fine. And oh yea she has heat flashes, so just bear with her.

I love you beautiful creature

She gets excited which causes her to get hot sometimes...let her get some water. And...she has the "gremlin" thing sometimes.She's not crazy.

Don't get lost on the way to the bathroom because when you get back she will think you went to the cafeteria.

Laugh at her jokes even if they aren't funny. It helps her self-esteem.
(I got a lot of comments of students saying the did NOT like my jokes. I, however, will continue to tell them...)

If you want to be a teacher's pet bring oatmeal for her or a Bavarian cream pizza from CiCi's

Don't dance around her. She will dislocate your knee or send you to intensive care.
(i told all of my classes about my junior prom experience: i definitely sent a guy to the emergency room dancing to "I'm Sorry for 2004" by Ruben Studdard")

The Phantom of Pine Hill

Who knew the town of Emerson (where Ned Nickerson attends college) had so much history to it?! The gentlemen of Omega Chi Epsilon put on a pageant to explain the settlement of the Indians in the town. Ned even got to play the role of Chief (but does that surprise you?)

Here's the premise:
Nancy is asked by Mr. Rorick to come stay at his house because of some spooky happenings that have been occurring. You see, Mr. Rorick's, house keeper, Mrs. Holman, thinks there is a phantom who can walk through walls that has been disturbing the house. Nancy, who makes it very clear she does not believe in supernatural things, and Bess and George, set out to get to the bottom of it. Well, this mystery turns out to be more than what the sleuths originally expected. You see, the Rorick Family has missing treasure on a sunken ship, Lucy Bell, and well, you can bet your bottom dollar that the phantom wants to get in on the action. So, it is up to Nancy and friends to not only locate these missing treasures, but figure out who this phantom is!

Something interesting about this book: Mr. Drew was not in it at all. Usually, Nancy accompanies Mr. Drew on his cases, but not this time. I suppose it's because the girls were visiting the guys at Emerson. Also, her friends played more of a prominent role in the mystery. For instance, it's George who finds hidden money and Bess who traps the crook. Anyway, it's nice to see Nancy not in the spotlight every now and then, it helps me to remember that she is normal and not some super hero.

I just started the next one, let's just say I was scared, and I was only 4 pages in!
Oh, summer is just around the corner, so I'm going to be reading ND like crazy!

I'm still sick. Today my eyes were bloodshot and my head hurt. So this combination does not make teaching very easy. On the bright side, my students were pretty entertaining today, despite their lack of work.

My 3rd block got on the topic of me having facebook and twitter.

Here are some of the things that they say they I probably tweet about:
"Should I walk or run today?"
"I just ate oatmeal"
" I'm funna eat an apple"
"2 +2 = potatoes"


I also got asked if my "big black boyfriend" is a body guard. My initial reaction was "no." But then on second thought I answered, "yes, he is. and if you don't quit talking then I'll bring him in here." I may have also said something along the lines of injuring them, but I can't remember, there are a lot of things I say that I probably shouldn't...

Here's a conversation I overheard in my 4th block today:

"I can't believe you pooped on his car, Jimmy..."

Oh school.

So here's a story:
So, you know, I was out sick yesterday, well, there was not one substitute to cover my classes, so other subs were to take my 3 classes. Well, 4th block sub must of forgotten, because, well, they didn't show and my kids skipped out--and they had a test!!!! So, today at school, I run into a few of my kids from that block and they asked what happened to me and where I went. Then my kiddos I have today say, "Hey, Ms. Ebberts, we heard you didn't show up for class yesterday."


Today I got asked: "Do we have to take our test today?"
Me: "Yes, why wouldn't we?"
Student: "Because the world's ending tomorrow."

I got my haircut on Monday. My Geometry kids see me on Tuesday.
Girl: Oh my gosh! Look at your hair!!! I'm having a moment right now.

Getting ready to play a review game for a test, the task was to write a team name on a mini-white board.
Boy's response: Ms. Ebberts, will you go on a date with me?

sick day

I am out sick today. I woke up this morning and couldn't talk, I could barely open my mouth my throat was so swollen. My voice started going out yesterday, but I figured with a good night's sleep, I would be back to normal. But that wasn't the case. I've spent a good portion of today sleeping. I am just achy and tired. There are only 9.5 days of school and I can't believe it.

We had class award nominations in one of my Geometry classes earlier this week; I was nominated for 'Best Hair' and 'Most Likely to be President'

the clue of the whistling bagpipes

BORING
Holy SMOKES!! I've been reading that book for ALL OF APRIL AND HALF OF MAY. It did not hold my attention, but I couldn't bring myself to skipping it. I just had to read it. So, I don't really care to provide a review of this book.However, something I noticed: this is the first book in which killing is mentioned. The bad guys killed sheep and Lady Douglas' dog.

In other news, I just got back from prom! I saw of few of my students which was a lot of fun! I teach sophomores, so not many of my kiddos get to go, since it's by invitation only from a senior. It was a bit weird watching students grind to that nasty Rhiana song, "S and M" or something along those lines.

One of my girls was looking in her bag for something, then I hear all this laughter--she found a strip of bacon in her purse and she didn't know how it got there. So there's this strip of bacon sitting on her desk.

Also, I think I'm going to try out a new recipe this weekend. I volunteered to bring treats for one of my coworker's birthday on Monday, so I want to try something new.
Last week I made chocolate cookies. But instead of using peanut butter, I just used more chocolate chips. I froze 1/2 the cookie dough, so I'll be baking the rest of those. I am very pleased with these cookies. It was almost like eating mini brownies that weren't so dense, which is what I like. But I also want to do cupcakes, so I think I'm going to try some dark chocolate cupcakes. I also want to try to make my own frosting, but last time I tried, it was a complete fail, so we'll see...

May Day

I am trying out 2 new recipes right now. Both came from AllRecipes.com:

chocolate chip muffins (with brown sugar topping)
blueberry muffins with cinnamon coconut streusel

Not sure how either of these are going to turn out. This is my first time making muffins from scratch! The chocolate chip muffin batter was not overly sweet, hopefully, the chocolate chips will compensate for that. I went against making them CHOCOLATE chocolate chip muffins, seeing as I'm taking these to a baby shower brunch, and let's be real--they're really just cupcakes :)

I used (thawed) frozen blueberries instead of fresh. I'm a bit worried that the coldness of the blueberries will have a weird reaction to the batter and not fully cook, we'll see....
Making baked goods from scratch is SO MUCH FUN. It's nice to know what I'm eating and it's also a sense of accomplishment. AND, it's SO MUCH CHEAPER. I got 2 doz. muffins with each batch! And what's awesome is I always have flour, sugar, eggs, and butter on hand, so the only additional purchases I had to make were the blueberries and mini-chocolate chips!

I've realized that I need to start developing a recipe book. Yes, I have a stored one on-line, but I don't like needed my laptop with me in the kitchen. So, maybe this is a summer goal? In order for that to happen, I need: printer, camera, and binder?

I've had 3 cups of coffee this morning, so I'm a bit off the wall. I leave you with this:

HAPPY MAY!!!

Unintentional All-Nighter

These used to happen a lot when I was working on my masters last school year.
I went to Khaldi's tonight and had three cups of coffee, so needless to say, at 2AM I am not tired. So, since it's been a while (and I haven't even finished another mystery!), I decided to write a bit.

I am in the process of making chocolate truffles (for the first time) and chocolate truffle cookies [They're cooling in the fridge]. The cookies I have separated into: coconut, white chocolate chips, and milk/semi-sweet chips. I haven't decided whether or not I will bake them tonight, just depends on how late I end up staying awake.

So, in other news, school has been absolutely WILD. but a good WILD for the most part. Here's what's happened this week:

1) A student walks in and yells: Ms. Ebberts, you have a big black boyfriend?!
Me: What are you talking about?
Student: Someone told me they saw a picture of you with a big black dude.
Me: UM, what?
Student: I'm bout to update my status 'my teacher has a big black boyfriend'
Me: What surprises you more? That I have a boyfriend or that he's black?

2) A boy convinced me that 2+2 = POTATOES. no joke, the calculator showed me.

3) I sang "If I Could Turn Back Time" (by Cher) AND sang about Trigonometry to the tune of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" IN THE SAME DAY.

4) Student: Ms. Ebberts, if I lick your crusted oatmeal spoon, will your mathematical knowledge be transferred to me?

There are lots of other HILARIOUS things that happened at school, but everything just meshes together, leaving my brain all mushy SO that's all I can remember. Seriously, though, my kids are RIDICULOUS.

the moonstone castle mystery

Let me just say---this mystery was AWESOME!!!
I did not want to put this one down! Normally, while I'm reading, I kind of know how it's going to end or have an idea about how it will all come together, but I was left hanging on the edge of my seat the entire time!
I will say, that it is a bit far-fetched of a story, but shoot, Nancy and friends really used their sleuthing skills this time around!

So here's the premise:
Mr. Drew is investigating a missing persons case. You see, a missionary couple had been help captive in Africa for 15 years and has recently returned to the states. They left their granddaughter, Joanie Horton, in the car of her other grandmother (since her parents passed away) while they went to do missionary things. Joanie was to receive an inheritance, being as she was the only living relative in her family. Well, things got a little hazy, and now, well, Mr. Drew has enlisted the help of Nancy and friends to do some further investigating of the case. OKAY, so while that sounds weird, it turns out really good. It involves a castle, a mysterious moonstone gift (which, I still have no idea what a moonstone is, BUT I do know another name for it is "Wolf Eye"), an unkempt man with a beard, a boating accident, I could go on and on with all the adventure in this story.

Anyway, there is just SO MUCH to this mystery, which is why I really like it. And it wasn't so far out there that I thought it was unbelievable, even though, it IS absolutely ludicrous to re-open a missing person case 15 years after the fact...

So, I am giving this a woo-hoo. Like, I am so impressed with this mystery.

the clue of the dancing puppet

Well, Nancy, who knew you were an amazing actress, too?!?! What can't this girl do? She memorized the lines to Act I of the leading lady role in an evening AND completely stole the show---standing ovation!

Here's the premise:
Mr. Spencer is in need of help. You see, he is head of the Footlighters, an amateur acting program, and he has been spooked! At night, a life-sized puppet dressed in a ballet costume has been dancing around his lawn. It is making him and his wife jittery. So, with that being said, Nancy and her friends are on the case to figure out where it is coming from and WHY?!?!?!!

Overall, I was not impressed with this mystery.
I've realized something: I don't really enjoy the mysteries where Nancy is trying to discover a 'something' that is haunting a particular area, because, let's be real, it's not a ghost, it's just someone who's dressed up or has created some mechanism to scare owners off their property so they can find the treasure hidden in a secret compartment. I like the mysteries where Nancy has to find clues or locate a missing person.


In other news, I'm learning to decorate cakes. More to come on this new adventure in my life.

it's official--

Here are the reasons why I am now officially a grown up:

1) I entered '24' as my age on a work out machine at the gym

2) I hard boiled eggs all by myself yesterday

3) I am now the proud parent of a metallic chrome kitchenaid stand mixer!

words of wisdom

So, my birthday is this Friday. I don't really make a big deal about my birthday, but I've been joking with my students by saying the following: "Now, I won't be at school on Friday, so I'll be accepting my gifts on Thursday." Most of them are really curious about how old I'm going to be. The typical guesses I get from them are 26,28, or mid 30s. Which is funny, because I've talked to all my classes MULTIPLE times about when I went to high school, when I graduated from college, etc.


Best (appropriate) quote of the week so far:

"Life ain't easy. You can get a splinter sliding down a rainbow."

A student told this to his friend when she was complaining that the worksheet I gave them was too hard.

the mystery of the fire dragon

Nancy gets to go to Hong Kong! We learn a lot about the Chinese culture in this book. And guess what? Ned Nickerson (Nancy's kind of boyfriend) is studying abroad there! HOW PERFECT.

So, there are two things that really stood out to me in this book:

1) Nancy's friend, Bess's (the plump one with blonde hair who always tries to get Nancy to stop solving a mystery) weight is mentioned a lot in this book. There are several references to Bess being hungry, wanting to eat, or her friends laughing at her because of her appetite. For instance

Bess's worries did not seem to affect her appetite and she was able to eat every crumb of the food brought to her. George and Nancy declined dessert, but Bess...ate custard pudding dotted with almonds. Keene, c. (1961) The mystery of the fire dragon. New York: Grosset and Dunlap

2) Okay, so this is Nancy's 38th mystery. You'd think she'd get the hint: Peeps want to kidnap you and then mug you. YOU ARE NOT SAFE ALONE, Nancy. So what does she do? She leaves her friends at dinner to walk the New York streets (this is before the trip to China) to go to a stationery store. And what happens? Oh, you know, a flowerpot just gets thrown at her head, she gets knocked unconscious onto the sidewalk. Do her friends think to say, "hey, Nancy, we'll come with you" or "hey, Nancy, do you remember that phone threat you got from an unknown caller?" Nope.

Don't get me wrong, I love Nancy, however, I think sometimes she lacks a bit of common sense.

Do you have any math tums?

Today marked the end of a full FIVE day school week since January 14th. WOWZA!
I was somewhat anxious starting this week, not entirely sure what to expect, anticipating the kids being wild, but all in all it was a pretty good week.

Here are some of the highlights:

1) I finally feel like I fully understand the quadratic formula! Like, it's wild, and yes, I know this is going to sound REALLY DORKY, but, I just feel really connected to parabolas and their equations.

2) I did this dance called "The Bernie" for my students. They were blown away by my moves. And yes, this is a dance based off the movie, Weekend at Bernie's

3)I was told: "Ms. Ebberts, watch, one day come dude is going to open his mouth and breath fire all over you." This was a student explaining the phrase "spitting fire", which is similar to the phrase "spitting game" only the 'fire' part of it implies that the person is hot or something like that...

student: not to be offensive or anything...but it smells like kitty litter in here.
me: oh, i'm not offended. oh, but you know, i did put on my kitty litter perfume this morning.


(As I'm biting into my apple)
student: can I have that apple?
me: i just put my mouth on it.
student: we can share it. i only have herpes, so it's nothing serious.

Does your banana phone get reception down here?

Well, it was quite the week. I went to school a total of 3 days! Thanks, presidents and slushy-ness. March is going to be a wild month, we've got four 5-day weeks in a row. I'm not sure if I am mentally or physically prepared for what's to come.

Me: What can I help you with? How are you doing on this problem?
Student: I found the Loch Ness Monster
Me: You found Nessy?! Where?
Student: My backyard


Student: Ms. Ebberts, you're lookin' African today in your little patterned get-up

this is why high schoolers are awesome

student: Ms. Ebberts, how old are you?
me: Why? Who wants to know?
student: 'Cause you got old people feet
me: WHAT?! How do I have old people feet? What does that even mean?!
student: Yeah, I saw 'em when you came over to me today in class. They were all wrinkly and old.
me: Well, thank you for this information. I'm sorry to say there's nothing I can do about my premature foot aging.
student: You could get some foot cream or something. I'm just telling it like it is.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Words from my students in regards to my future:

"If you're not married or engaged by the time we graduate, you're going to be a crazy cat lady!"

the clue in the old stagecoach

What a good story! This reminded me of Nancy's very first mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock.

So Nancy, Bess, and George are at Camp Merriwhether vacationing for the summer. There is a lady, Mrs. Strook, who needs there help. You see, Francisville is in desperate need of help. The town has run out of money (since the town just issued bonds for water and sewage systems) and cannot afford to put any money towards educational programs, especially a new school building.
Recently, Mrs. Strook found a letter from her (dead) great uncle leaving hints about finding a clue that will be of 'great value' to the town of Francisville in his old stagecoach. Here's the kicker: No one knows where the stagecoach is because Great Uncle Abner left town in 1852.
So it is up to Nancy and her friends to figure out how to use clues to discover the missing stagecoach and uncover the truth about Abner's fortunes.


I really enjoyed this story because I felt it got back to the roots of mystery solving--using clues and intuition to lead you to a discovery. This story was no loaded with all sorts of villians or outlandish crime activity, which I really liked. Yes, I will say it is somewhat far fetched for Nancy to be unearthing letters from the 1850s, but whatev. This book showed Nancy's true talent, so it get's my stamp of approval.

A couple of things:
Hannah was not in this book at all. She is visiting relatives.
Nancy is dating some dude named Rick while Ned is out of the picture...what's up with that, Nancy? I thought for sure she'd be a one man kind of gal, but I guess I was mistaken.

The Secret of the Golden Pavilion

she's baaaaaack.

So, during the snow days I started going through Nancy withdrawals. So, my friend Melissa and I went to library on campus and checked out the remaining 20 I have to read in the series to be finished. I.AM.SO.EXCITED.


So here's the premise of the story:
Nancy and friends travel to Hawaii! They are commissioned by Mr. Drew's Polynesian friend to figure out the mystery as his family's estate. You see, his grandfather passed away, in his will, he left the estate to all living grandchildren. Then suddenly, two people, the Chatleys (bro and sis) claim to be long lost grandchildren. It is up to Nancy and friends to figure out the secret to grandfather's clues and solve the mystery behind a ghost hula dancer that appears on the Golden Pavilion.

Here are some things I noticed:

Hannah Gruen (the housekeeper) came on the trip and played a more prominent role in this book!! Typically, Hannah is left at home to worry about Nancy, but she actually came.

The villians were described as "hoodlums"--this is new.

Also, I've always kind of thought there was a lot of sketchy things that happened in River Heights, but it reached a new level in this book. Another gang, River Heights, really? The Double Scorps (short for scorpion).

Nancy was also described as feeling "very upset" when her little terrier, Togo, was found missing. The series has not really described Nancy as displaying much emotion at all.


Having read this book, I want to go to Hawaii. What's interesting is when this book was originally published, 1959, this was the same year that Hawaii became a state. So, it was somewhat of a major trip for Nancy and friends.

a million miles in a thousand years

A couple of friends were talking about this book by Donald Miller 2 weekends ago, so I figured I'd check it out. The only other book I've read of his was Blue Like Jazz and that was several years ago.

The basic premise of the book: He starts to examine his life and the meaningfulness (is this a word) of it when there are directors who are interested in making a movie out of one of the previous books he's written. So, he talks a lot about the type of stories we are writing for ourselves

Here is what I thought of the book:
I would not say this book is life altering and I think he thoughts/ramblings went in a lot of different directions, like satisfaction, where trust is being put, dealing with conflict/pain. But after reading the book, here are the things that I am left thinking about:

1) How our thoughts,ambitions,etc. translate into our actions
2) Seeking fulfillment/meaning in anything besides God is not going to cut it.

So I leave you with this excerpt:

Do I still think there will be a day when all wrongs are made right, when our souls find the completion they are looking for? I do. But when all things are made right, it won't be because of some preacher or snake-oil salesmen or politician or writer making promises in his book. I think instead, this will be done by Jesus. And it will be at a wedding. And there will be a feast. p. 206

with the storm of the century upon us, i thought it fitting to let the world know why snow days are great: i have the opportunity to stay in my pjs all day and not shower!

here are some other things I'm thinking about:
1) jesus coming back
2) what sort of story am i telling with the way i live my life
3) the psalms
4) do i make cookies today or should i wait for tomorrow's snow day?
5) should i eat a fried egg with cheese now or wait until after i finish watching 'greek?'

boy student: Ms. Ebberts, do you have any jeggings?
me: Why, no I do not.
student: i tried on a pair of my sister's, they're really comfortable...


me: I do not want to see any form of because written on your paper. I don't want to say anything like IDK or any other 3 letter abbreviation
student: what about LHH?
me: what's LHH?
student: laughing hella hard

bruin pride

School was fun today, here's why:

1) During the middle of my lesson, here is conversation that occurred

Student: Ms. Ebberts, Ellie threw my pencil on the ground!
Me: Ooookay, what do you want me to do about it?
Student: Call the police!
Me(pick up the phone): Hey, cops, it's Ms. Ebberts. Yeah, can you come get Ellie, she's throwing pencils on the ground. Bye.

Then I carried on with my lesson...i LOVE joking with students!


2) Also, after school we had an award ceremony, called bruin pride. each teacher has an opportunity to nominate a student who may not normally receive recognition. you can base your nomination on attitude, contributions to the class, or really any reason you feel a kiddo deserves to be praised. hands down, I had a kid I wanted to nominate.
It was really exciting because his parents came and so did his grandpa and he kept telling me how honored he was to be receiving the award. I asked him if he was nervous when I was telling the audience about him and he said, "yeah, i was so nervous, my legs were shaking and my heart was beating out of my shirt."

As we were leaving the ceremony he also said, "this is an honor, i'm always going to remember this."


3) AND, to top it all off--just got the call, SNOW DAY TOMORROW.

beast mode

I was up in front telling my students which example I wanted them to work on and I said, "Go big or go home and you can't go home, so looks like you're going big."

student: man, ms. ebberts, you're such a beast

Beast is a compliment, it means something similar to cool. So, instead of saying things like cool or awesome, they may use the phrase, "beast mode"


In other news,

I had never been one for new year's resolutions until 2008; the year I decided to pie someone in the face. After I completed that goal (at about 9:30 Dec 31, 2008), it felt so great because I was faithful in what I set out to do. So, I've been making goals since then.

2009 Goal: read 1 book a month

2010 Goal: track my spending in an excel spreadsheet

2011 Goal: complete a triathlon

book list

I set a goal in 2009 to read 1 book a month. From this goal, I realized that I LOVED reading! So now, I always have a book that I'm reading. While I spent a good portion of 2010 reading Nancy Drew (since I only made it to #35 in the series, I'm going to finish the original 56 this year!), I did read some other great books as well.
* denotes real, real, real good, like, I really recommend these.

By Jodi Picoult:
19 Minutes*
My Sister's Keeper
House Rules

By Suzanne Collins:
Hunger Games*
Catching Fire*
Mocking Jay*

Miscellaneous Authors:
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
3 Willows the Sisterhood Grows by Anne Brashares
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
The Help by Kathryn Stockett *
The Bee Keeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

By Carolyn Keene:
The Secret Of The Old Clock
The Hidden Staircase
The Bungalow Mystery
The Mystery At Lilac Inn*
The Secret Of Shadow Ranch
The Secret Of Red Gate Farm
The Clue In The Diary
Nancy's Mysterious Letter
The Sign Of The Twisted Candles
The Password To Larkspur Lane
The Clue Of The Broken Locket
The Message In The Hollow Oak
The Mystery Of The Ivory Charm
The Whispering Statue
The Haunted Bridge
The Clue Of The Tapping Heels
The Mystery Of The Brass-Bound Trunk
The Mystery Of The Moss-Covered Mansion*
The Quest Of The Missing Map
The Clue In The Jewel Box
The Secret In The Old Attic
The Clue In The Crumbling Wall
The Mystery Of The Tolling Bell
The Clue In The Old Album
Ghost Of Blackwood Hall
The Clue Of The Leaning Chimney
The Secret Of The Wooden Lady
The Clue Of The Black Keys
The Mystery At The Ski Jump
The Clue Of The Velvet Mask
The Ringmaster's Secret
The Scarlet Slipper Mystery
The Witch Tree Symbol
The Hidden Window Mystery
The Haunted Showboat

Happy New Year! Here's to another year of great books!