tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62254634680664494102011-10-02T08:25:24.890-05:00...a journey through family, a journey through the classroom, a journey through life...Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.comBlogger1111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-29475828140248751832011-06-04T07:14:00.006-05:002011-06-04T07:55:18.812-05:00

The honeysuckle always smells the best at dusk and dawn...and this morning it's creeping around the edge of the house pretty loudly. I cup my ears and the cicada's rhythm increases ten-fold. The sun is rising just over the bluff of Cowskin Creek, drying out the sleepy hay field waiting for today's balers. The three Purple Martin households are awake and catching breakfast. The baby calves are

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-81323255188575541772011-05-12T10:44:00.000-05:002011-05-13T15:20:45.960-05:00

I wanted to tweet this, but I couldn't break it down to 140 characters. So I'm posting a quick note to my blog to remember that even in 2011 in rural, suburban, and urban areas we have kids who are breaking the cycle. I am inspired by this one, who writes in her Senior Valedictory Exhibition "my proudest moment is right now. I am the first to graduate from high school in my family. When I started

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-62796651884177691752010-12-03T05:20:00.003-06:002010-12-03T05:27:47.204-06:00

Twas the day after the Bookfair and all through the schoolsStudents were buzzing about reading and books that are cool.The choir sang gleefully, and the saxophonists played jazz.The Tiger Stripe White Mocha Caramel Frappaccino added razzmatazz! The Tiger was there, and RHS cheerleaders, too!Mr. Brown read books between visits from the Zoo!Welcoming crowds of kids, our librarians ran crazyIn

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-81843519467456583972010-09-21T20:54:00.008-05:002010-09-21T21:37:25.983-05:00

Hi, Writers!If you are a student blogger and you've written about banned books, the Wesley Scroggins editorial, Speak, Slaughterhouse Five, or Twenty Boy Summer, would you post a link to your blog in the comments below. My students are wanting to read the words of their peers from around the country on this topic. Thanks!Here's Teens Read and WriteandThe Juniper Breeze

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-74215847550706869152010-09-21T06:01:00.005-05:002010-09-21T06:10:19.980-05:00

I have to say I was disappointed in Oprah. And I know I'm also opening a can of worms by expressing that. There are definitely teachers who should not be teaching...no profession is exempt from this syndrome. And I must admit, there are many times I was an "inadequate"...and I would even call myself a BAD (embarrassingly bad) teacher at some time during the last 17 years of my career, and am I

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-14500910926108199602010-09-11T07:09:00.023-05:002010-09-11T11:39:21.584-05:00

One of my students wrote a semi-scathing piece about her teachers starting cooperative learning in their classes this past week. While she read it aloud, she kept looking at me sheepishly, unsure if she was going to get in trouble for chastising her teachers' new approach to learning and how much she despised this new found "cooperative learning." At first her peers acted the same way--looking at

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-49933302144865437132010-09-08T06:20:00.002-05:002010-09-08T06:37:25.843-05:00

A few days ago Tory, a student teacher in Arizona, wrote about helping out other teachers on her blog The Education of Miss Waggoner. She wrote about the "extra" work teachers have to do during the day and because she isn't teaching the entire day yet, she had the opportunity to help out her colleagues. She even mentioned how glad she was to be there to give these teachers an extra hand because

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-59919376569568753962010-09-01T23:54:00.003-05:002010-09-02T00:09:43.233-05:00

(Author's Note: I wrote "Girl on Subway" in Februrary 2009. I remember this happening, but I don't remember where I was. I've been looking through unposted blog writings and posting them...b/c basically I'm too lazy to write new posts, but since my colleagues are committed to posting to their blogs, then I will too!We don't have a subway in Springfield, but like I said earlier, I can't remember

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-40340566414204679292010-08-25T21:53:00.000-05:002010-08-25T21:54:20.149-05:00

(Author's Note: This post was originally written in the fall of 2008, but since tomorrow my kids are taking the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, I thought I'd look around my unpublished blog posts and see if I had written anything about personality in the past. Of course...there were several. A few modifications, plus a title change and here we are at a blog post. For now, I'm not linking to anything

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-42022905326360582252010-07-14T11:08:00.000-05:002010-07-14T11:09:49.036-05:00

My 2nd grade teacher let me write a short story, "The Dragon in My Garden", and sent a letter home to my parents about me being a writer. I was hooked. I'm 30 years now into diaries, journals, and blog posts. Writing gave me a new insight to its value when I started reading my mother's daily journal entries a few years ago, (she passed away 25 years earlier) and I noticed my own writing began to

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-33924010729557944702010-07-01T17:24:00.002-05:002010-07-01T17:25:18.099-05:00

I was talking to Sara after SI today and I asked her why she thought her kids loved her class. She said "because I really love them." And then these gems started rolling off her tongue. I typed them as she said them. She teachers 4th-5th grade in Springfield, Missouri."Pick up their pencil when it rolls off their desk.Make sure they're wearing their coat when they go outside...and zip it up.Go

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-16472562597861773192010-06-25T07:21:00.014-05:002010-06-25T08:15:01.291-05:00

I'm starting to think, (which isn't surprising seeing as I'm attending a National Writing Project event.)Somewhere in the middle of Margaret Wheatley's book turning to one another, she reminded me that the moment we start to think, we start disturbing the status quo. In fact, I think she says it's dangerous even. A good dangerous I would add. I want to write a little bit later about an earlier

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-85586767822383473162010-06-17T11:58:00.002-05:002010-06-17T12:15:40.787-05:00

I read the last two pages and it's reminded me of learning to become a teacher researcher in my own classroom. Last week I attended the OWP Teacher Inquiry Institute and I'm thinking in researcher terms, but these pages led me there as well.Sondra Perl reminds us of some key points as the researcher: that you are not "testing" and coming to a conclusion, but your research is ever growing, ever

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-81924726377616899502010-06-15T09:04:00.004-05:002010-06-15T09:46:00.462-05:00

Melissa led us in freewriting after reading Terry Tempest Williams excerpt "Why I Write" from Creative Non-fiction. I write because I am meant for expression. I am meant to share, to talk, to write. Therefore...I tweet. Today is the second day of the Summer Institute. Last night I went home at 5:00 p.m. This is the first year, in four years of facilitating, that I didn't feel like there was "

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-3801566446408476152010-06-14T09:33:00.004-05:002010-06-14T09:41:51.732-05:00

I had a hard time getting started today. I'm not sure if it was everything I'm thinking I need to be doing, or thinking about the day ahead, but I had a hard time getting that process going. Plus, because I was posting to my personal blog, I almost think that hindered me. Maybe I will go back to private writing in a journal. Actually, once I started freewriting, it helped me to organize my

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-64922394954307009522010-06-14T09:10:00.004-05:002010-06-14T09:33:08.565-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about my classroom recently. I feel like there's a shift happening. Back to freewriting. I feel a little scattered, and a little unorganized. I feel unprepared, or is that just nervous. I have all of this knowledge, but am I ready to share it, to help others guide themselves to deeper research and meaning in their own work. It makes me think of Senior Projects. (I think

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-83961248764092851382010-05-01T09:11:00.005-05:002010-05-01T09:28:53.217-05:00

It's the first day of the Summer Orientation. We are sitting in the new Collaboration Classroom at Missouri State. It's the first time I've heard this many fingers pecking the keyboards in the orientation. Normally, it's one or two with personal computers. I see four people handwriting and I wonder how this will affect freewriting by composing at the computer. Will people Fellows write, unhibited

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-64218083518595083122010-01-04T21:31:00.002-06:002010-01-04T21:43:42.576-06:00

We start classes in our new high school tomorrow. If I were on top of things, I could post a few pictures or add some audio or video to this post. But I'm not on top of things and I find myself being pretty low on the motivation scale when it comes to using technology in my work these days--not because I don't want to, but because it simply doesn't exist. But, that's okay. The soda machines are

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-687263276195576142009-02-12T08:31:00.003-06:002009-02-12T08:45:19.323-06:00

Today is Granny's birthday. When I mentioned this to my class this morning, they insisted we call to sing her "Happy Birthday." I thought what a great idea. So I grabbed my cell phone, dialed, and pushed the speaker button. After four rings she answered with a drowsy hello. "HI, Granny!" I piped, as loud as I could into the phone."What." was her reply. And not "what?", which ends in a question

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-3749141604876622502009-01-27T11:23:00.006-06:002009-01-27T11:34:44.643-06:00

So I definitely need a new porch cover for the spring. :) I'm not sure there's any fixing this one.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-75997017905897239062009-01-27T08:16:00.007-06:002009-01-27T10:02:41.970-06:00

I needed the $70 in groceries I bought yesterday before the ice storm. Like I need a hole in my head. I was talking to Mitchell at the grocery store last week and he said if the weathermen would just mention that we might get some type of weather, it would sure give the store a boost. We were joking about the influx of shoppers before the big moment hits. And there I was yesterday, just like the

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-46664113527985251472009-01-26T12:09:00.006-06:002009-01-26T12:28:04.558-06:00

Some day I want to go back. On the weekends, we walked across Mariabrucke into the city centre, hopping on the trolley that followed Ringstrasse. Our favorite stop: Stadtpark. Packed with rolling landscape, aged trees, winding sidewalks, thick, crisp patches of grass, and lots of people, Stadtpark was the perfect place to spend a summer evening in Vienna. We'd find our place on the grass and

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-8861027429924432382009-01-16T08:27:00.010-06:002009-01-16T08:58:03.328-06:00

If it's going to be 4 degrees. I want snow. Buckets of it. Where I have to shovel out for weeks and weeks and get to stay in my pj's all day and make warm chocolate chip cookies for breakfast if I want. Snows Days when I was a young child were spent in coveralls and mittens and boots outside for the first part. By noon, back inside where Caron and I made grilled cheese sandwiches...and Chef Boy R

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-88125017762669696762009-01-12T10:18:00.003-06:002009-01-12T10:25:06.144-06:00

I love watching student writers. Fingers pluck keyboards. Pencils dance across the page, sometimes not fast enough to get down every idea. This is a distinct sound, lead on paper, transferring thoughts. Hands resting the head are placed on foreheads or cheekbones, feet tapping, earbuds neatly hid down sides of faces. Sometimes, they stop to think and stare off into the distance, or out the window

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-28564249871875775182009-01-12T08:28:00.002-06:002009-01-12T09:35:06.135-06:00

Where did we go wrong? Was it when we played the King too early and couldn't catch the three? Was it when we forgot about the Big Joker being able to trump the Little Joker? Was it when we bid 7 three times in a row and thought we might have a shot at winning our first match from a negative 8 deficit? I don't know, but Wanda and I could not seem to get our cards to fall in the right places

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-73226767675677719522009-01-09T13:34:00.006-06:002009-01-09T14:06:12.615-06:00

This is Preston. He wore this shirt today. Here are his thoughts on why he wore this shirt: "I always get the worst kind of girl...so I just thought I'd wear this shirt today to prove to everyone else that "I'M A KEEPER!" So really, it's his tactic to attract the kind of girl he wants. So if someone actually believes his shirt, he should be swarmed by girls. But today, he says, "it's not workin'

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-54081815771320185592009-01-08T08:32:00.003-06:002009-01-08T08:58:34.847-06:00

I've been reading the latest of Edutopia. The entire December issue follows a theme called The Collaboration Age: Teachers Jump Into the We Generation. I couldn't help but snag it from the table in the teachers lounge. These types of magazines are always laying around in the lounge and I'm pretty sure very few people thumb through them. I can't concentrate because it Cherish by Madonna is on. The

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-8528197583973198922009-01-07T08:25:00.003-06:002009-01-07T08:40:23.137-06:00

I'm at a loss for things to write about right now. We are listening to Chris LeDoux. For some reason country music has never been too inspiring for me. It's first block: 8:30. I've been at work for almost an hour and a half--faculty meeting this morning. I wish I knew the potential my keyboard has. There are so many numbers and letters and function keys. I'm still using only the ones I was taught

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-34870254889007037932009-01-06T10:09:00.006-06:002009-01-06T10:30:52.573-06:00

We are listening to Nora Jones during warm-up writing. We've never put her on, and it's very soothing...and makes me think about friends and places a million miles away in my mind.Nora Jones got me through one summer in Brazil a few years. I never stopped listening to her on the plane, on buses, working at the children's home; my earbuds were never far from my body. I put together a photo album

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-34822919725863134092009-01-05T13:35:00.005-06:002009-01-05T14:12:27.759-06:00

A while back I posted a video about Generation We. This video is from a website that builds on the fact that this generation is trying to renew a hope in their own humanity and in the world. As a teacher, I hold this hope that the world will be a better place. Or maybe I should say it's different...not better. It's different than any other place I've ever been in my life. But that's okay. My

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-52964162321006186382009-01-04T09:04:00.014-06:002009-01-04T11:08:56.016-06:00

"What you do on New Years Day, you'll be doing all year long."I slept late.Didn't eat breakfast.Ate an orange.Wrote a letter to a friend in Finland.Wrote a letter to a friend in Japan.Re-booted my computer.Received a letter from a friend in Germany.Checked e-mail.Checked facebook.Changed my facebook status.Commented on a friends photo.Called a friend on the phone.Left a message on an answering

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-81805954803144902012008-12-27T19:36:00.005-06:002008-12-27T19:52:06.984-06:00

I must get cable. I'm not normally home on Saturday nights I guess because I never remember TV this bad. Here are my choices of shows to watch right now:NBC--rerun of the Olympics opening ceremony. Seriously.CBS--The Lord's Bootcamp, which seems like brainwashing to me when a young girl "practiced" her missionary work on an elderly woman in a nursing home in Indiania and left her crying.ABC--

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-208866442703303452008-12-22T08:28:00.003-06:002008-12-22T09:07:37.184-06:00

This was the news headline on the radio this morning before the weather, and I got a mental picture of the show-me state buried beneath the venison and round steaks in Kory's freezer. I don't know why.But yes, we are in a deep freeze. It was 4 degrees when I took the trash out this morning. BRRRRRR.Janet came to Missouri over the weekend for Christmas. We met at Snappy Mart for coffee while she

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-20060503679402157992008-12-19T09:29:00.004-06:002008-12-19T09:40:41.615-06:00

Yes, I made this. And yes. It was delicious.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-56422810805311718162008-12-18T10:08:00.005-06:002008-12-18T10:31:16.706-06:00

Now it's 6th block, and we're listening to "Swing Life Away" by Rise Against. I love IMEEM. You can find anything there and it gets around the school firewall. Which, my blog is finally around the school firewall, but only because our tech team finally gave teachers "getting around the firewall" priviledges.Here's what just happened to me in the teachers lounge. Yesterday a teacher was absent

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-73899093838398208902008-12-18T08:31:00.002-06:002008-12-18T08:42:08.908-06:00

Today in class we are listening to Blink 182 and "Feeling This" is playing. I'm not particularly listening to the lyrics, although students are mouthing the words.I'm feeling the Christmas spirit. :) Shelby just reminded us that Christmas is one week from today. Yay. The kids are in a really good mood despite the fact that their finals start this afternoon and take them to the end of the school

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-78658761228522390912008-12-17T13:47:00.004-06:002008-12-17T14:22:28.898-06:00

4th block drives me insane. It is the reason teachers question their existence in the classroom, and think seriously about pursuing another career. It's the class that irritates me so much I want to scream, and then tells me stories that make me laugh so hard I can't even remember ever being mad at them. It's the class who makes up excuses and uses every second of the one minute I give them to

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-3120114284433167802008-12-17T08:10:00.006-06:002008-12-17T09:35:16.417-06:00

When I think about Christmas presents, I think about stockings and Cabbage Patch Dolls and race track cars and bibles and bicycles. But one gift that really sticks out in my mind is the jukebox from Christmas 1979...and it might have been 1980.It was such a great gift that rather than sitting in my bedroom, the whole family enjoyed its radiance. Parked between the kitchen and dining room in our

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-30180589851868914932008-12-16T10:19:00.002-06:002008-12-16T10:55:17.877-06:00

Five dollar ticket, $2 popcorn, a century old theater, and watching White Christmas from front center balcony--this is where the magical night began. Surrounded by chandeliers, tight theater seats, and gilded walls, we watched Bing Crosby woo Rosemary Clooney (my dad's first crush), while Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen danced the night away. Bing's blue eyes mesmerized us and Rosemary's voice carried

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-63647951564979311662008-11-23T22:08:00.003-06:002008-11-23T22:09:54.579-06:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-79513293595988894242008-11-16T12:17:00.002-06:002008-11-16T12:23:32.926-06:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-86499364448870358392008-10-08T06:55:00.003-05:002008-10-08T07:00:40.516-05:00

It's Wednesday and I'm behind on grading and everything else in my life. I have a million things about work running through my head at every second...so much so that I dream about the paperwork I have to do.I can only say that all this distraction in my head caused me to 1.) talk back to the answering machine last night to my best friend, actually thinking she was talking to me.And 2.) Back out

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-37549719931909847112008-09-07T17:58:00.001-05:002008-09-07T17:58:26.483-05:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-83554196690503291402008-08-24T21:55:00.000-05:002008-08-24T21:56:23.037-05:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-22553152097386376992008-08-24T21:44:00.000-05:002008-08-24T21:45:34.491-05:00

What fun the Olympics have been. I forget how patriotic I become every four years, not for the the Presidential campaigns, but for the 17 days of excitement surrounding the performance of the world's greatest athletes. I am forever inspired...a story here...a story there...something always moves me to tears during the Olympic run.The next summer Olympics will be in London in 2012, and after

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-7302346499233200472008-08-14T23:09:00.005-05:002008-08-14T23:36:13.320-05:00

I’ve heard it been said that if you don’t know where you’re from, you’ll have a hard time knowing where you are going. This very idea helps us to think about our roots as we begin to know our place in the world. A few years ago I was introduced to George Ella Lyons poem called “Where I’m From.” I loved this poem and began writing my own “Where I’m From” each year. Today, I use it as a writing

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-14734037588312362662008-08-14T20:49:00.000-05:002008-08-14T21:11:13.315-05:00

Whew! I'm tired! Maroon Day 1 was exhausting. I've been busy all summer but there's nothing that takes it out of you more than the first day back to school. Answering questions. Giving directions. Sorting schedules. Fixing the copy machine. Finding time to eat, drink, and go the bathroom...and that's usually where I'm stopped. "Ms. Daugherty!" a student will yell, like one male student did today.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-55540989751166141122008-03-10T00:22:00.003-05:002008-03-10T00:26:12.573-05:00

My heart is not proud; I don't look down on others.I don't do great things,and I can't do miracles. But I am calm and quiet,like a baby with its mother.I am at peace, like a baby with its mother.Put your hope in the Lord, now and forever.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-7228994043463635522008-03-06T20:55:00.001-06:002008-03-06T20:56:17.268-06:00

All in a days work of a CHP Rescue Helicopter Pilot...which is what Tyler's doing now since last fall.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-91078462485584101862008-02-27T22:40:00.011-06:002008-02-28T00:09:41.928-06:00

Here are a few random questions I was asked throughout the day...that I remember...and I don't think it scratches the surface: Can I work in your room today?What would you say if I told you I was finished with my paper?Why do all wars start with religion?Why won't people listen?What did you think about the guitar playing? Was it good?How do I cut the part about macro invertebrates and still keep

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-33599794024559766632008-02-27T22:36:00.001-06:002008-02-27T22:36:43.673-06:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-38299025692281358952008-02-27T22:33:00.000-06:002008-02-27T22:34:19.652-06:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-18442855842919089772007-12-08T11:30:00.001-06:002007-12-08T12:11:31.902-06:00

I was asked a couple of days ago if I needed another iron. "What?" I responded, completely confused. "Do you need another iron in your fire?" the person clarified."Oh" realizing what was meant, "I do...what do you need me to do?" I asked with all seriousness and genuine concern.Except...that wasn't what was meant. "No. I'm not asking you to do something for me, I'm asking if you think you need

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-51089267433818810582007-11-25T17:50:00.000-06:002007-11-25T19:40:44.052-06:00

"I don't know. Where're you going?" he responded, an inquisitive smile spreading across his face when I nudged the pilot in front of me at Starbucks and asked if he was taking me home. (NO....it wasn't a come-on line!)"Atlanta....then onto Springfield, Missouri." I said.His quick, excited response caught me off guard. "By golly I am!""Really? No way!" I couldn't believe it. I know my eyes lit up

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-19503760955049417522007-11-03T09:10:00.001-05:002007-11-03T09:43:44.726-05:00

This link is in honor of my sister's yarn hair ribbons from the 4th grade, although I'm pretty sure we didn't buy them at JC Penney.I promise...you are up for a laugh...thanks to Johnny Virgil's 15-Minute Lunch Blog...although it might actually turn my blog into a "Rated R"...so forewarned...it's a little risque, but you can handle it.The picture to the right might be 1975...I think mom and dad

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-75720580039338007112007-10-29T17:07:00.000-05:002007-10-29T17:32:07.152-05:00

1. Dear Readers.....you can stop sending me hateful mail and text messages. I'm back to blogging again after, what?, a nearly eight-week hiatus? Writers need time off too, man! My sincerest of apologies for leaving you with nothing better in this world to read...like Henry James, or Margaret Atwood, or Kurt Vonnegut. I have to say the funniest e-mails were simply the ones that said..."Blog." ...

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-55495728086163618602007-09-03T21:11:00.000-05:002007-09-03T21:42:05.612-05:00

It's official. I'm exhausted.At 8:00 a.m. this morning I headed to river with a slew of friends, colleagues, and students. Michael and I spent the day in a "perfect" Old Town canoe that Mr. Gum threatened us with our life if we scratched, tipped, bent, or drove it directly into the bank..."you must parallel park this one so you don't scratch the front"....was his constant reminder.By 10 we were

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-76240667682190911512007-08-29T21:01:00.000-05:002007-09-01T20:01:23.749-05:00

This is a picture of us—Nine and three before Death knockedOn our door and took away The one focused on us.This is us bonding in love. And comfort. Understanding.Tolerance. And Patience.Before we knew we’d need it. This is life before we wereDefined by careers, Computer identities,Love—and love lost.This is where we belong—side by side.Playful—On a new sled in the middle of winter.This is a

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-18841453881386182472007-08-13T20:50:00.001-05:002007-08-13T21:58:26.521-05:00

Today kicked off a new school year for me. I love teaching. I keep complaining and saying I need to do something different, or I need changes in my life, or I need a better job with better benefits and a better salary, but the truth is I love the classroom. It fills so many needs for me. It's my comfort zone, my mission field, my challenge in life, my good times, my bad times. It's the place I

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-11560824847428012762007-08-12T21:42:00.000-05:002007-08-12T21:59:48.702-05:00

The pool has been fixed. After much delay, a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of elbow grease by Dad, Kory, and Caron, there is water in the pool and people to enjoy it. My last official day off for the next 10 months was today. So Caron and I spent the afternoon lazing around on rafts, enjoying a cool, refreshing drink, and sneaking off for an afternoon oreo blast from Sonic. I

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-29391536110309033892007-08-05T23:05:00.001-05:002007-08-09T08:04:25.690-05:00

is a Lady Taser. Yes! It's true, ladies. You can get your very own pink Lady Taser this year. I am impressed by this and putting it on my list well in advance. I mean, any taser is good. But to have a Lady Taser...oh the things I could do. Thanks to The Salchow Spot for finding this article. :) I stole it from her.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-19557691869939007962007-07-27T18:51:00.001-05:002007-07-27T19:45:05.102-05:00

Nuria from Ethiopia took me to Alamo Car Rental out by the airport in New Orleans. She misses her family and has been in the States four years now, driving in NOLA for a year. She was smart and pretty, and honked and waved at every cab driver we passed.She took two phone calls on the drive and I took one. Thirty minutes later I hugged her, thanking her for her kindness, with my mind prepped to

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-58672409960833855232007-07-18T15:25:00.000-05:002007-07-18T15:48:38.318-05:00

Just a run down of today--maybe mixed in with yesterday--possibly tomorrow too:8:20: Wake up: I don't what is wrong with me...I can sleep and sleep and sleep here. Must be that 10 months of the year I don't sleep. So this is me, like a big mother bear hibernating, but in the summer, and at the beach. So nothing like a big mother bear hibernating. 8:30: Sporting tennis shoes, I head down the beach

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-42761391924100258782007-07-16T08:26:00.000-05:002007-07-16T08:39:31.139-05:00

...on the Atlantic at 6:26 a.m. Delicious! After a supposedly nine hour drive from New Orleans, (I took the touristy Beachfront Blvd across the Panhandle), I finally arrived in Daytona Beach Shores Saturday night. Yesterday, I sat at the pool and drank my coffee and watched the ocean. That's it. Just watched the ocean. It wasn't going anywhere but I couldn't take my eyes off of it. After that, a

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-37180744657921398502007-07-05T13:22:00.000-05:002007-07-05T13:55:11.301-05:00

It was the 4th of July...a hot, breezeless Wednesday. Montana and I had packed up the car for a day at Aunt Cindy's pool and an evening of fireworks. A stop for gas in Mountain Grove ($2.59! YAY!) and a brief entrance into Wal-mart. (Don't worry...I left the car running with the AC full blast for Montana.)I followed a couple in through the double doors. I was in a hurry. They were not. Bickering

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-20785872157075895962007-07-02T23:27:00.000-05:002007-07-02T23:46:21.683-05:00

I feel kind of bad for not writing anything recently. I haven't been on my blog much because of the Writing Project (which doesn't even make sense) and I've been trying to catch up on commenting on that blog, reading Janet's blog (and all my other blogging brothas and sistas), and blessing, pressing, or addressing pieces on the NWP's E-Anthology. But I just checked my blog and SOMEONE out there

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-64643208694599526612007-06-30T13:40:00.000-05:002007-06-30T13:47:19.300-05:00

Liz sent me this site to rate my blog...and I'm rated "G" for all general audiences. I was curious if Dirty Santa would hurt me...but he didn't...although I did get docked for the word "kill." But Liz...she uses big words like herion and murder. So you can't visit her blog until you're 17. :) Mingle2 - Online Dating

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-69875958145794387492007-06-19T23:31:00.000-05:002007-06-19T23:51:21.494-05:00

Response to “i see her in my hands”Note: This is a sestina, a 39-line poem, but the formatting of the blog reconfigured the lines of the poem. The shorter 2- to 3-word lines should be connected to the line prior. I think you'll be able to still understand the poem although the formatting is skewed. FYI: This is in response to an assignment dear Sister gave me earlier today. Regardless, I

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-21147590843027180732007-06-17T00:21:00.000-05:002007-06-17T00:51:13.806-05:00

Get your red on, but I'm getting a tan on. I'm at Hammons Field, sitting on the Springfield Cardinals dugout, my feet positioned on the g in Springfield. There are no games today and the stadium is quiet. It's amazing that I'm sitting here. Keri and I, as part of a Writing Marathon, decided to try the stadium and see if, as writers, the staff would let us onto the field to write in this

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-35659654223470121902007-06-10T16:20:00.000-05:002007-06-10T17:55:08.753-05:00

Ahhh. An exit row. How awesome is that. Nothing beats being able to stretch out in the exit row on a plane with crowded seats and crying babies. I was headed to Minneapolis/St. Paul and was prepared to sleep my way there.Then came 11E. He was a handsome fellow...and I knew there was no way he'd be sitting next to me...I always get old men with hankies and mothers with babies. But in the aisle he

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-17110206998926794482007-06-03T14:23:00.000-05:002007-06-03T15:38:51.208-05:00

is the title that finally emotionally broke me in my journey to read War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust by Doris L. Bergen. I had to take a breath before barreling into it, but then came to a complete halt after finishing the opening paragraph:Like Jews in Germany, people deemed handicapped also experienced the open Nazi aggression of 1938-1939. Hitler and other proponents of

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-44342784384917907592007-06-01T21:06:00.000-05:002007-07-18T15:43:38.633-05:00

My cousins are at the beach. They are taunting me with text messages..."Miss you.""Wish you were here.""Thinking about you while I'm sipping my cool drink, napping to the beat of the afternoon waves, and planning my delicious seafood dinner tonight."Okay. So they weren't that detailed...but that's exactly what they meant I know.Tonya's probably into Sudoku under the umbrella. Cindy's reading a

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-44377399005918314262007-05-31T23:41:00.000-05:002007-06-01T21:03:56.365-05:00

I only had three bucks left. After a 14 hour train ride followed by a 4-day jaunt around Italy's capital, I was down to my last American dollars. The train back to Vienna didn't leave for another seven hours, and I was stuck my with two girlfriends, a backpack, and no money (this was before ATM's.) We decided to wait out our final hours in Rome on the steps of the famed Colosseum, where we hoped

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-21777945450891245092007-05-25T23:21:00.001-05:002007-05-25T23:33:09.556-05:00

It's not officially summer...and it's not the end of summer...but I want all of my summer days to be like today. On my first official day off, I enjoyed my morning coffee on my deck (I did have to run into work for 10 minutes..and I took four work related phone calls throughout the day.), and wrote a plan in my mind of things I wanted to do.You see, I needed to sweep and mop my floor, wash the

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-64572475708781387272007-05-21T21:26:00.000-05:002007-05-21T21:42:26.255-05:00

A milestone for 63 young lives has been reached at Willow Springs High School for the Class of 2007. Only 13 years ago, these seniors entered the new and exciting world of kindergarten. A world full of swing sets and merry-go-rounds. Kool aid, cookies, numbers, and letters. Secrets, mischief, scraped knees, and band-aids. A world where a helping hand wasn’t far away and a shoulder to lay your

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-13760787508195608192007-05-21T21:14:00.000-05:002007-05-21T21:26:07.390-05:00

“Learning is like breathing.” I tell my students this on Thursday, April 26, 2007, just hours before they are to begin one, if not the, biggest academic nights of their high school career. In what I like to think is my own little pep talk before the big game, I lead students through a relaxing breathing exercise and discuss how very similar breathing is to learning. All academic school year our

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-26622407885577606472007-05-08T21:29:00.000-05:002007-05-08T22:01:12.085-05:00

I have cancer survivors in my family. So when it's time for Relay for Life fundraisers and activities, I find the checkbook and sign up.When Jordan (Chili) walked in to ask me a favor last week, I thought I was going to be coerced into a sweet tea run at McDonald's. But I wasn't. Instead, I was coerced into playing a game in which I have zero talent. She needed a tennis partner for the high

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-45627989227183035892007-04-26T00:50:00.000-05:002007-04-26T01:25:34.911-05:00

I can't help it. When something big is about to happen, I can't sleep. My cats are nestled in their favorite spot on my comforter; Montana sleeps at my feet; the night is still with a bit of a chill to air; and the crickets have come out after hiding from the thunderstorm...but I can't sleep.Tomorrow...or tonight I should say...is Senior Project Night. From what was once a handful of faculty and

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-11211270969214096092007-04-15T08:37:00.000-05:002007-04-15T08:50:54.217-05:00

Cause today is my birthday! ;)I slept on new, clean sheets under a new clean comforter in new, clean pajamas. Nice.:) Dad texted me early and Montana woke me up with cold nose kisses when it was time for our walk. I'm watching one of my top 5 favorite shows of all time, CBS Sunday Morning, and they are about to do a story on one of my all time favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, who recently died.

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-3896503958529902272007-04-10T17:39:00.001-05:002007-04-10T17:39:49.211-05:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-80220130434294307082007-04-10T17:07:00.000-05:002007-04-10T17:12:12.313-05:00

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-18375113791336923982007-04-10T06:30:00.000-05:002007-04-10T06:50:27.638-05:00

From 10 to 35, I don't remember a birthday without you. ;) We weren't always together, but always near in spirit.There's no remembering the worst...although I'm 100% positive you've got it somewhere in that memory machine...but the best were spent eating chocolate chip cookie cakes with a dozen friends and playing Q-bert and Pac-man and Galaga at the video arcade on the square in Gainesville. Or

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-818144197638358102007-04-02T22:17:00.000-05:002007-04-02T23:14:22.434-05:00

DGP stands for Daily Grammar Practice. It's something I do in my classroom that my students abhor. This blog is a refresher for why I am a teacher...so read no further if you don't want to know.Being in the classroom trenches everyday below mounds of papers and lesson planning, I sometimes get down in the dumps and think..."Why, exactly, do I teach?" But, as I've said since I came out of my

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-64512683245355447172007-04-02T21:15:00.000-05:002007-04-02T22:16:52.148-05:00

Funny how that works.I'm swamped and haven't spent the time I would like keeping my blog up to date. And a lot of things have happened since March 15, the last blog entry. Every day one or more of my students will make a comment like, "Oh, Ms. Daugherty...that's got to go in the blog!" One of the most humorous recent classroom happenings was when Joe, one of my favorite conversationalist, told me

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-30404032890176190832007-03-15T20:16:00.000-05:002007-03-15T20:26:12.254-05:00

Thank goodness the women of the Gainesville Homemaker's Extension Club in 1980 decided to put together a cookbook of Favorite Hometown Recipes. And thank goodness, on page 21, my mother's No Roll Sugar Cookie recipe appears. And one more thank goodness goes out to Mrs. Pettit, my Home Ec teacher, who loved this recipe and gave me the opportunity to bake these cookies every semester I took one of

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-5317956394459691462007-03-15T12:33:00.000-05:002007-03-15T12:59:04.722-05:00

It's the Ides of March. But I'm on top of things. I changed my clocks today.All this getting organized deserves a Toga Run through Circus Maximus, around the Fontana di Trevi, and down the Spanish Steps.Ohhh...Italy in the spring does sound nice (with or without a Toga). ;)

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-92128386528297972632007-03-14T01:28:00.000-05:002007-03-15T13:16:15.992-05:00

Chapter II walk down the street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I fall in.I am lost…I am helpless.It isn’t my fault.It takes forever to find a way out.Chapter III walk down the same street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in - again.I can’t believe I am in this same place. But it isn’t my fault.It still takes a long time to get out.Chapter IIII walk down

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-27919573596922454842007-03-11T15:06:00.000-05:002007-03-11T15:06:35.821-05:00

"My passport's in my pocket and my bag is packed--where're we goin!?!?" I replied when my sister called with the title question. Sad to say, no where exotic, but any trip with Caron is always memorable, and if I can rearrange my schedule, we'll be at Mizzou tomorrow and dine with the jazz band at Murray's tomorrow night. Lunch at Shakespeare's sounds scrumptious, or a burger from Boochies. Yum! I

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-35379902306802134392007-03-11T14:31:00.000-05:002007-03-11T13:56:15.734-05:00

I'm blogging because I need to write, but I have nothing to write about...or maybe, just nothing I want to say at the moment. I feel like my students who look at me with blank stares and glazed eyes.I've perused through several other blogs already this afternoon, some to get ideas, some because they are my friends and I want to know about their lives.Mark in London wrote about his near death, but

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-56742745857743627852007-03-06T21:06:00.000-06:002007-03-06T21:16:07.587-06:00

Hanna showed me her novel today. In the month of November she wrote nearly 40,000 words and has consistently worked on it since. This morning we printed 89 pages of it to bind for her Senior Project. We changed margins, numbered pages, and titled the book in the header, which is The Dark Side of the Mirror; however, as you can tell from my title, I CONSISTENTLY wrote Pink Floyd's album title "The

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-85784860969056063132007-03-03T09:30:00.000-06:002007-03-03T09:43:14.947-06:00

Here's to birthday cake at Skateport, inchworm cycles at Grandma's, and Happy Meals in Mr. Crocodile's Booth at McDonald's on Battlefield.;)Have a great day.It snowed here--in honor of your birthday I'm sure. When I started my run at 7:00 a.m. it was 43 degrees. Within minutes it was near white out conditions and by the time I had finished a mile it was down to 29 degrees. Snowflakes stuck to my

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-13185505664904428692007-03-01T20:12:00.000-06:002007-03-01T20:43:52.787-06:00

Jagged clouds, a still humidity, a drenching rain, low pressure, cooling air. All the ingredients for a tornadic event. And an event we did have today in the Midwest. When my students got to school, the early morning tornadoes were all the talk. And when we learned by late afternoon teachers and students were killed in a high school in Alabama, my students realized the danger of a storm and value

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-41587390788910339532007-02-27T17:35:00.000-06:002007-02-28T21:48:15.769-06:00

Okay. Yes. I'm changing my tune...somewhat. I'm still getting married at the court house, but when the horse and carriage came around the corner, behind the gazebo and in front of the audience at Caron's wedding, everyone was stunned, making a Vegas wedding purely worth it. I even knew it was happening and was still stunned. (Well done keeping the secret don't you think?) So when she stepped out

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-49377482592428775952007-02-14T00:20:00.000-06:002007-02-14T01:04:43.038-06:00

Erin dated Bobby through our four years of college together. Spring semester of our junior year and thick into field observations and lesson planning, Valentine's Day peeked around the corner. Being youthful (and typical) college girls, we began to speculate days in advance what Erin would get for Valentine's Day.We set our hopes and expectations high. Forget CD's, or movies, or even the glass

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-26200621607955845002007-02-12T22:53:00.000-06:002007-02-12T22:51:55.829-06:00

Oh enlightened ones....hugs and kisses all around for the finest of birthdays. No candles okay.(Stay tuned...A story about my beloved granny will come soon.)

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-74449120192014628942007-02-12T22:49:00.000-06:002007-02-12T22:38:18.343-06:00

I just have to let everyone know this because it's dang funny.Maybe you've read my dirty, Dirty, DIRTY Santa blog about my family's Christmas game. Maybe you haven't, but this story is still great, so read on and go ahead and giggle when you feel it coming.On my bravenet counter, I can see how people access my blog (you can too if you click on it at the bottom of the page.)Let's say you forgot my

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-53626879483352125202007-02-10T15:08:00.000-06:002007-02-10T15:08:00.719-06:00

Oh the joys of planning a wedding. The last 24 hours my sister and I have been up making 55 CD's on three different computers using seven (a, b, c, d, e, f, and g) playlists from itunes. And when things would go smoothly for a couple of hours, invariably a computer would freeze, a kitty would walk across the keyboard, or the cd-rom would go nuts. What a mess! For the love of life...why are

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-11936604783827400722007-02-07T21:59:00.000-06:002007-02-07T22:20:11.986-06:00

I had to be gone from work today. But don't think I didn't work. A teacher is never off the clock, although my sister did try to convince me of that today while we were enjoying a relaxing afternoon at Mojo Pie (where Kristen is the creme-de-la-creme of hair stylists.)So away from work, all I could think about was work. What are the kids doing now? Are they working? Did I leave enough for the sub

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-31493923174276704072007-01-30T23:06:00.000-06:002007-01-31T22:03:08.704-06:00

When the crowd jumped to its feet at the Shrine Mosque a few nights ago for the third song in her set, I knew it must be a good one. Sara Evans started talking about growing up in New Franklin and doing the chores most Missouri farm girls had to do, and the crowd immediately knew she was leading up to her Suds in the Bucket song.At first, I thought the song was going to be more about remembering

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225463468066449410.post-40629424382210287592007-01-29T21:28:00.000-06:002007-01-29T21:40:37.002-06:00

I remember the day you were born....okay, no I don't. Nor will I ever.But I remember the day you chased a rabbit through the field and couldn't catch it even though you were hopping along behind it mimicking its moves.Have a good one! :)

Caseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04895905113583024079noreply@blogger.com0