Please pass the bacon...

In my math class we play a game that involves 8 pigs.



You roll them similar to dice and then depending on how they land you count the points. The kids love the game and always ask if they can play the piggy game when they have free time. It is one I also enjoy playing with them. When you walk into the classroom you may wonder what's happening because it's common to hear, "Pass the bacon." "Hand over the ham," "Bacon, bacon, bacon," or "Give me the pork chops." Can you tell that it is a bunch of boys?

So, you ask how can you score a game where you roll 8 pigs. Here's how it works...

A Bum Pig is one that leans against another pig and sits on it rear. These pigs don't occur very often and are worth 20 points. The kids love when this happens and they tend to call it a butter.


Chinny Chin Chin is a pig that lands chin and nose down. Again not so common so it is also worth 20 points. In the case that a student gets one of these and a few time multiple ones they usually yell "Not by my chinny, chin, chin." Then they also feel the need to let me know, no matter what I am doing at the time.


Four on the floor is the pig that lands standing. These are seen more often and are worth 10 points.


Side slabs are the most common so they are only worth 2. I call them side slabs because the kids always say that the person rolled a bunch of dead pigs. Again, can you tell it's a group of boys?


Piggy back is the last type of roll. This pig is worth 5 points and again the boys refer to it as a really dead pig.

Whoever said you can't have fun with a bunch of pigs? I don't know, maybe it's because I grew up on a farm but at least these are cute, little plastic pigs that don't smell. They are cheap entertainment and if you didn't know, teachers are really into cheap entertainment.

Winter Wonderland

Here is a picture of the winter wonderland outside of the window at my work. It inspired a fun activity for my kids. They were working on spelling, so after the jumping, the writing repetitions, the vocab, and the general filling out of worksheets I handed each one a large marker. Then we preceded to bundle up (let me rephrase that), the kids bundled up. Off we treked to the great outdoors...cold outdoors. They used their markers to practice writing their spelling words in the snow. They loved it and it gave me a great chance to see if they really did learn the words without having it right there to copy. It also gave me a chance to enjoy the beauty of the snow and gorgeous weather we were having.

More pictures to come when I have a chance to be at home more than a few hours where sleeping isn't the #1 priority.

Picture It...w/o pictures

The scene:
Sitting at Cameron's computer, washer and dryer going through their cycles behind me, snow falling outside, sipping hot cider (well, I can dream, it's actually Air Bourne), and catching up on old, current, and new friends. Did I mention I'm in my pjs (no, Cameron is not here, he's in Cheyenne)?

The happenings (as Mandi put so well):
~I'm working on discovering all of my allergies. Since moving to Whitefish/Kalispell I have learned of a few new ones and continue to experience the olds ones to a new level. One of the new ones is a cat at a house where I stay when the weather is bad and I can't get back to my apartment in Kalispell.

~Cory and Kim are coming up to visit and enjoy the ski hill on New Year's Eve! I am so excited to see friends from Great Falls. I think Cory was a little blown away by how excited I was when he called to ask. For future reference, any friends wanting to use my place as a free place to stay when skiing, don't hesitate to ask. I'm about 24 miles from the mountain. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to visit Great Falls since I moved. I'm hoping I might be able to for Spring Break.

~Genna's cyst burst and wasn't cancerous, PRAISE THE LORD! Although she experienced some pain when it occured she is feeling better and will get to spend the holidays and her 21st birthday with Mama. Troy is still in Iraq gaining some "On the job training" for the position he is cross-training to.

~Being the crazy person that I am, thinking that not enough of my time is taken, I'm going back to school. I will start the last weekend of January. It works similar to my Masters program and happens on Friday night and most of the day Saturdays. This one being a little bit different though because it's not one weekend a month the whole time. It actually works so that I go one weekend in Jan. and Mar., then every weekend in Feb. and April. I am going for my Special Ed endorsement.

~Do you remember back to where I had you picture the screaming and rapidly beating heart. Well the "Please don't do it" is coming true. Again, (sorry Mandi) you'll have to ask for an e-mail if you want more details.

~Song of Joy! I get to be in a choir again! It has been about 3 years since I've been able to sing in a choir. We are singing at church this Sunday. I'm so excited to spread the news of Jesus' birth through music.

~A laughable moment with one of my students. We gave our students a handmade card, snowman soup, and peanuts for Christmas. One of them said his thanks and I told him not to let it get out that I'm nice. Most students promptly reply with, "Don't worry I'll tell everybody." This student, quickly without hesitation replied, "They wouldn't believe me if I did." I was laughing so hard, as were the other students and the other paras. These moments are why it doesn't matter that I'm in a non-money making job.

~Wishing you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a BLESSED NEW YEAR!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

As many of you have asked over the last couple of weeks about the job, I now have an update. I didn't get it. I had a very good interview and was the one they wanted for the job. I was told many times how impressed they were with me and how much they wished I could have it. However, because I do not have a Sped degree they had to offer it to another applicant. They let me know that they even called the state level to see if there was any possible, legal way to hire me...unfortunately there wasn't. My job stays the same although busier than before with new students, new duties, and more hours at the hotel.

WE HAVE SNOW! Although not a lot right now there is a big storm coming in this weekend. It has been very cold, -1 today on my way to work with a high of 19...brrr.

The Little Things in Life

I have my interview on Friday! It is bright and early @ 7:30 in the morning and hopefully I'll have an idea if I get the job or not by Monday. Not quite sure of what the timeline will be but I am looking forward to having a definite answer.

HOT WATER! Yay!! I have been living with taking showers that last a little over 5 minutes before the water turns cold. That means I get the shampoo out of my hair and have to rinse with cold water...brrr. Also, as most of you know, I love taking long, hot baths. That wasn't happening because I could only get about a fourth of the tub full. Well, I'm stoked because they went in today and put a new hot water heater in my apartment. Hot shower tomorrow, here I come. Then tomorrow night I get the luxury of the hot bath, just in time to pamper myself for my interview.

Being called "The Wonderful Miss Jenkins" by one of my students.

Incorporating exercise into my lessons (picture me jumping up and down with 6 students). I just took on teaching a 5th grade written language class. I have 6 students who struggle with spelling. Being the gym teacher that I once was I decided we were going to add a little activity into our lesson. Also, I was inspired by the movie "Akelah and the Bee" and how she used the jump rope to help her with her spelling. I had the kids jumping without the rope and saying a letter each time. Of course I joined them and we had quite a bit of fun. I was pretty glad they took to it so well, minus any complaints or groaning.

Mama had a spot on her face that when they did a biopsy they found it was cancerous. They removed it and said they got all of it. She said it's the most curable form of cancer and that she is watching closely so they can catch it sooner if it recurs.

God is so good in both good times and bad! He has repeatedly taken care of myself and my family. So many blessings:
~He's given me an amazing family that I wouldn't give up for anything.
~Awesome friends who are there for me no matter what and still have no problem telling me to bug off or that I am being annoying. They also let me see their true selves and don't feel the need to hide their quirks (let's face it we all have our quirks).
~A roof over my head that keeps me warm and dry (even if the roof shakes from the neighbors feet stomping above me). It reminds me that I have a place in life and have pictures of friends and family. The funny part is when the pictures shake it draws my attention to them so I look at them more than I normally would.
~I get to live in a place that is absolutely beautiful no matter what season. Each day I get to see God's breath of life in the hills around me. He paints the trees, the skies, and the mountains with so many rich colors that just couldn't be duplicated by Crayola. There is no way to describe the true brilliance that He has designed.