Random Thought #12: Embracing the Chaos

A couple years ago, my husband of 12 years was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder (Manic Depressive) If you don’t know or have never known anyone with Bipolar 1, it can be very frightening at first, especially if you don’t have any answers or a diagnosis. My husband is BP1, meaning that he is manic most of the time, and has flashes of white rage, complete with rage amnesia. So imagine me as a 21 year old newly-wed dealing with that emotional roller coaster.  Not fun.  I had no idea what was going on, and neither did he.  He would be happy as can be one minute and raging or completely depressed the next.  We hardly ever have bad fights, but the couple that we’ve had were during his white rage period, and he honestly cannot remember what happened during those times.  In 12 years I have learned to deal with it. I know that his rage (when it surfaces) is not because he is angry but rather the disorder that is messing with his brain. When this happens I recite two things to myself…”This too shall pass” and “Embrace the Chaos”.   When he was officially diagnosed two years ago they put him on all kinds of meds, including lithium which made things worse.  He has found the correct dosage now, and the rage hardly ever surfaces, but when it does, I just ride the roller coaster until it is finished. I know a lot of people who divorce their spouses over BP1, and that’s a shame.  My husband never (even at his worst) laid a hand on me or our son.  Most BP1s don’t,  But it is a difficult disorder to live with. He often tells me that he is grateful to have someone who can be his rock, but it is I who am thankful for the wonderful roller coaster life I live. #This too Shall Pass   #Embrace the Chaos #Bipolar Awareness

Random Thought #10: Pinterest is making my life harder.

I know I am not the only one who has this problem.  A couple years ago this is how my Easter would have gone:

1) Buy Paas brand Easter Egg Dye

2) Dye Eggs that smell like vinegar

3) Make normal deviled eggs to take to my mom’s

4) Make normal dessert to take to my mom’s

Because of pinterest this is no longer acceptable.  Gone are the Pas dyes.  Instead we will be using Kool-Aid on some of the eggs, and Mod-Podge to coat some with paper.

And forget the normal deviled eggs!  Nope.  According to Pinterest I must have BETTER eggs.  Keeping the Kool-Aid dye, dip the shelled eggs once, and then proceed to devil the eggs (hope they are not sweet….):

Regular Dessert??  Nope.  I must make cute egg’s nest cookies.  Sugar cookies with green tinted coconut, on which sits tiny candy eggs:

These pics are the ones I got from Pinterest.  I will post MY results tonight or tomorrow…stay tuned!

Completely Random Thought #9: The Art and Joy of Teaching Teenagers to Cook

If you have been following this blog, you will remember that I am a teacher.  I teach Culinary Arts and Life Management skills to high-schoolers.  We are on spring break right now, so I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the funny, disturbing, and not-so-funny stories that have occurred in my classroom over the last five years.  Prepare yourselves.  These are the people who will run the world someday.

#1: Dude, Where’s the Mustard.

I begin with a not-so-disturbing story about a mistake that I could see many people making.  We were making from-scratch mac and cheese.  It is a fairly simple recipe, but one of my students was completely baffled by one of the ingredients.  The recipe calls for dry, ground mustard (a spice).  I found this kid in the back, searching through the refrigerators (which they are not allowed to do).  When I asked him what he was looking for he said “Miss, you forgot to put the mustard out, but it’s okay I found some.”  In his hands was a yellow bottle of regular mustard.  He couldn’t figure out why I was laughing at him =)

#2: I Dare You

This story is much more disturbing.  I was giving a lecture about something (I really don’t remember what) when I heard giggling coming from the back of the room.  When I asked what was up, one of the boys stood up and said “Miss, we need to go to the bathroom”. I told them they could go one at a time.  One of the boys left and I began lecturing again, and then the other boy got up and ran out.  Not knowing what was going on I called security.  This is what security discovered:

Boy #1 dared Boy #2 to go into the boy’s bathroom and lick the toilet seat, but in order for it to be authentic Boy #1 had to go with him to take a video on his phone, and post it to Facebook.  This had all happened and the boys were done when security got to them. That was the most awkward phone call I ever had to make to a parent. “Hello sir, I am calling to tell you that while in my class your son was dared to lick the toilet seat in the bathroom…and he did…and it’s on Facebook.”  Ya. I’m sure his parents were proud.

#3: Gotta Go, Gotta Go, Gotta Go Right Now:

While we are on the subject of bathrooms, here is another disturbing story.  My students were watching a video and I left the room for a moment to go to the restroom.  In my absence, one of my students went into the kitchen, got a drinking glass, urinated in it, poured the urine into the trash can and put the glass away, unwashed.  As soon as class got out his friends ratted him out. And another awkward phone call home I had to make.

#4: High as a Kite

I am fully aware that a lot of the students who take my class do so because they get to eat right about the time they have the munchies. Usually they are good at hiding it, and I hardly ever turn them in simply because my entire class would be gone if I did.  There was one occasion though that left me no choice.  It began in my Life Management class where I had a boy who I will call Sam, and a girl who I will call Megan. During that class Megan gave Sam a cupcake because it was her 18th birthday.  I didn’t think anything of this, it was her birthday, she had cupcakes.  Fast forward to the next period, where again I had Sam in class.  We were cooking bread sticks that day, and I noticed that Sam looked a little green.  Then things got weird.  He kept opening the oven door and shouting at me “Miss, the bread isn’t cooking”.  I told him to give it time.  He started giggling, and then he started talking gibberish and telling everyone he was speaking Japanese, he continued to open the oven door.  When I went over to find out what was wrong I noted that he hadn’t turned the oven on. Then I said “Sam, give me one good reason why I should not call security right now.” and he said “I don’t think so either miss” and then he threw up on me.  Apparently Megan had given him an edible.  For those who are unfamiliar with the term, it is a food product that has marijuana in it.  The serving size was one-fourth of the cupcake, and Sam had eaten the whole thing. Megan was arrested for distributing to a minor.  Not a good way to start your 18th year.

I have many more stories, but it will have to wait for a part 2.

Thanks for reading!

Random Reader Request: Part 2

I am getting many stories of the paranormal, which I requested last month.  Please keep them coming.  Any stories of the paranormal would be greatly appreciated.   Please send stories to paranormal.letters@gmail.com.  Please note that I am collecting these stories to (hopefully) submit for publication. Pictures or EVPs would also be appreciated.

Completely Random Move Review “Young Adult”

Warning: Spoilers

Occasionally I like to watch random movies that I have never heard of.  Yesterday I was in one of those moods, so I randomly selected a movie from Netflix, and what popped up was the move “Young Adult”  starring Charlize Theron.

I was immediately intrigued by this movie because it begins with Mavis (played by Ms. Theron) going through a morning routine. My husband and I were laughing because it was almost identical to what I do in the mornings.  Then we discover that Mavis is a writer, a ghost writer actually, of a series of Young Adult books that are extremely popular.  As she reads her e-mail we can see that the series is ending and she is writing the last book.  Also within her e-mail is a baby announcement sent from her ex-boyfriend in her home town.  She is obviously disturbed by this announcement and prints the picture of the baby.

After some thought, a talk with a random friend who is only in the one scene of the movie, and a one-night stand, Mavis decides to pack up and drive back to her hometown of Mercury, Minnesota. When she arrives she calls her ex…his name is buddy…tells him that she is in town for a “real-estate thing” and invites him to have a drink, which he accepts, but tells her he can’t meet her until the following day.

She ends up at a bar and sits next to a man named Matt who was someone she went to high school with.  His name is Matt and he walks with a cane and a limp because in high school he was the victim of a hate crime because the jocks at the school thought he was gay.  It left him permanently scarred.  They get into a conversation and after a couple of rounds of drinks, Mavis tells Matt that she is there to hook back up with her ex (Buddy).  Matt tells her that Buddy is happily married with a baby, and Mavis tells him that she doesn’t care because she and Buddy were meant to be together.

The following day she meets up with Buddy at a local restaurant and they have a kind of awkward conversation.  Buddy then asks Mavis to join him the following night to a bar to watch his wife perform in a rock band made up of local mothers.  She agrees.

The day they meet up at the bar, Mavis is dressed very provocatively.  The band begins (and they are really bad) and Mavis spends a good deal of the night flirting shamelessly with Buddy and drinking.  Matt is also there and warns her to back off.  At the end of the evening Buddy’s wife says she is going out with the band for awhile, so Buddy takes Mavis home. They are both drunk, and the evening ends with them kissing.

In the following days Mavis confides in Matt, telling him about the kiss, and abut her plan to get Buddy back.  Her plan simply consists of her dressing like a slut and flirting, all the while implying that the baby isn’t even Buddy’s.

Then she receives a phone call from Buddy asking her attend his baby’s “naming ceremony”.  She decides this would be a perfect time for her to profess her love, so she goes to a spa, gets a full treatment, buys a new outfit, and brings a gift for the baby.  When she arrives at the party she asks Buddy if she can speak to him privately.  He reluctantly says yes, and when she has him alone she confesses her love, and tries to kiss him again.  He pushes her away, tells her that she is pathetic,and asks her to leave.  She doesn’t leave.  What she does do is get drunk and scream at Buddy’s wife.  It is at this point that we learn that when Mavis was 20, she was pregnant with Buddy’s baby.  She lost the baby at 12 weeks, and exclaims that Beth (Buddy’s wife) is leading the life that should belong to Mavis.  Everyone at the party is stunned into silence, and Mavis storms away.

She ends up at Matt’s house.  She tells him what happen, and she and Matt end up sleeping together, but the next morning she decides that it is time to start her life over and drives back to her home in Minneapolis.  The movie ends rather abruptly, but with the implication that Mavis is ready to move on from being a “young adult” to a woman.

I liked that the movie wasn’t all that predictable.  I really thought that at some point there would be another love interest that comes along…and Matt does not count as a love interest.

This critic gives this random movie a solid 3.5 stars

Random thought #7 back to it

Wow what an exhausting break.  4 trips to the emergency room.  I thought I was dying.  Of course now I feel fine and I have to go back to work tomorrow.  It is bittersweet for me since this is my final semester teaching.  I officially resigned effective in May.  This semeater is going to be a good one.  I need some good memories.  Then the next chapter in my life will begin.  After months of praying, I know this is the right move for me.  I wish I could streach today out forever.  Im enjoying the relaxing time with The Boy and my hubby.  I am often asked what my new years resolutions are.  This year I simply have two.  Drink more water….and stay out of the emergency room.  I ended the year at the ER but was out before midnight so I have a clean slate.  I am the worst water drinker in the world, but so far I have been downing a half gallon a day.  And you know what? I feel better.  I really do.  This year I want to become more healthy.  Unfortunately that means giving up my job,  which is the central core of my stress.  Lets hope that this, my last semester, is a great one with wonderful memories.

Random movie review: An American Haunting

I have to admit that this movie left me stumped for awhile.  I had to go back and watch it a few times to fully understand

Warning: spoilers

So this movie starts in present day.  A girl named Julia and her mom are waiting for Julia’s dad to pick her up. Julia has a doll and a stack of papers that she apparently got from the attic.  Julia’s mom begins reading the papers which are about the Bell family in the 1800s

Movie switches to the 1800 s where John Bell is in court for swindling a neighbor.  Before they leave court she says he will pay.

Right after that weird things begin to happen.  So naturally we assume that the woman from the court is a witch or something and is getting revenge.

Most of the activity is centered on Betsy Bell and her father John.  Lots of things happen…Betsy is attacked…they hear voices…crosses and bibles fly around the room, etc.

Then a bag of bloody clothes is delivered to the house.  Lucy, the lady of the family recognizes them as John and Betsy’s.

I’m leaving out a bunch of details…and skipping to a scene where Lucy is sitting on a porch swing.  She hears footsteps and it seems that someone is sitting next to her…but we cant see anyone.  Then a female voice says “you know” and Lucy flashes back and remembers a night when she burst into Betsy’s room only to find John raping her.  He puts the blood stained clothing into a bag and hides it.

At roughly the same time Betsy has a flashback of the same incident.  Then the audience realizes that there is no ghost or witch.  Betsy created the entity as a way of dealing with incest.

Later that night Lucy poisons John, killing him.  Betsy gets married to her teacher, who is present throughout the movie.

Then we go back to the present day.  Julia’s father picks her up…and as her mother turns to go back into the house she is shocked to see the ghost of Betsy Bell, staring sadly out the window.  The mom y suddenly realizes that Betsy is telling her that Julia is being or will be raped by her father.  She runs out of the house after the car and the movie ends.

The problem I have with this movie is that it claims to be a true account of the Bell Witch…but if you research the Bell Witch its something completely different.  Also at the beginning of the movie it says that it is an account of a ghost killing a person…but Lucy killed John…not a ghost.

Overall I found the movie interesting…but I wont watch again.

This critic gives it three stars

Random Thought #5: Not a good idea to celebrate the end of the semester…when you still have one more day to go

Yesterday I gave finals.  WOOO.  Finals are completed…and GRADED!  YAY!  So, I celebrated with adult beverages.  Many, many adult beverages.  Then I remembered that I still have to report to work today for teacher check out!  WHOOPPPS.  So I woke up late…hanging…and now have to spend my day with the headache from Hell.  Note to self: next time do not celebrate until you no longer have to report to work.

Random Thought #3 Off to Work I go

It’s the last week of school before Christmas break.  I am SUPPOSED to be getting ready for work.  Instead I am sitting in front of my computer. Delaying the inevitable 75 mile commute to work, to listen to teenagers complain about how they don’t get to cook this week, then I will drive 75 miles home again only to have my son complain that he does not like the dinner I have prepared for him.

Then again, at least I have a son who can complain to me…and for that I am thankful.

Hello world!

Random thoughts from a mild mannered high school teacher by day: mommy and writer by night. Hello from my world.