What have I gotten myself into?

Tonight I went to Toastmasters. I had taken a life-coaching class late last year and somebody suggested to me that Toastmasters would be a good way for me to improve my confidence with speaking. You see, I sometimes get tongue-tied when I talk to people, (mostly people that I feel are... more educated than I or people that have authority over me).

I have no problems speaking, hosting and bantering at our holiday Christmas party at work which I help to plan (a few drinks always helps), however, I would like to be able to have confidence and speak with clarity and purpose to others (not just my co-workers).

So, I joined Toastmasters in the hope of achieving my goals and dreams of "public speaking". The Toastmasters I joined is a very warm and inviting group of people. Looks like them come from all walks of life and I am hoping I can blend in. Tonight they had three speeches. They were very good. They had a speech that was done as an interview with two people. One person was the interviewer and asked questions of the others. Long story short, they ended with a town meeting type venue where they were asking who would like to be "board members" in July. They needed a President, VP, VP Education, VP Education, Secretary, Treasurer, and a Sgt of Arms (that person was continuing in that position).

I sat there thinking "oh... this is my third meeting....do I want to get this involved?" I listened to them explain the duties of various positions and I had my eye on one but I didn't speak up in time so somebody took that one. Then I saw the secretary position and thought "hmmm, I could do that". Before my lunch lady days, I was a secretary for 14 years so I am sure I could take some minutes of the meeting. But did I really want to make this kind of commitment to something fairly new to me?

Well, once I raised my hand, I knew it was all over. Of course, now I will be the proud new "Secretary" of the Toastmaster's club in July. Good Lord! What have I done.

One of the people who was involved in the Interview speech said something about "Giving", Giving back. Getting involved in something that is worthwhile. That is what helped me raised my hand. I believe that you have to give to get back. And what a great way to do it. Volunteer my time at a club that is meaningful, has a great purpose, a great track record, and will help (hopefully) me immensely in my goal of being a confident speaker. It also helps with the commitment part. If your secretary, you have to be there. You can't just sit there every meeting not participate. So I figure being the secretary will speed along my process of getting involved.

So, I am looking forward to my new adventures at Toastmasters. I am sure you will get to read about some of them. Next week, I am the "WORD MASTER". I have to choose a word, explain the meaning and keep track of who all uses it. (the goal is for people to use the word in their speeches or whenever they address the toastmasters.)
My mind is already buzzing about what word I would like to use. Nothing like jumping right in, head first into the unknown. Should be fun.

I got an invitation to another Chapter meeting next week. I am going! I'll pass along my request for story letter. Hopefully it will generate some more stories.

All is well.....

What Inspires Me?

I haven't posted a blog for a while. Everyday I think "I should blog today" but then I am thinking "what would I blog about". Things at work are moving along "uneventfully", which is always a good thing! My son is back at College doing his thing. (He made it safe and sound and without any car problems).

So, what inspires me to blog? Hmmm...Well, I saw a article today that inspired me. I subscribe to a website called CAFEMOM. It is a site for women (I think it is mostly women, but who knows) and I got an email about some postings lately so I checked it out. There was an article with comments about a student that was suspended for buying Skittles (yes, that is Skittles, the little candy pieces) at school. Of course I have many questions that the article didn't answer for me. But the article from CNN says the an 8th grader bought a bag of Skittles from a classmate at school, which violates School Wellness Policy which bans candy sales. The student was suspended, stripped of his title of Class VP, barred from his honors dinner. OMG!

The article says that the student didn't know that his candy purchase was against the rules but he did notice that the student selling the Skittles was being "secretive". Is that what it has come to in our school. Doing back-alley or back-hallway deals to get a sugar rush? Are kids meeting out by the dumpsters to make a deal in an attempt to get a bite of something they enjoy such as a little piece of candy? Is a little bag of candy being considered a drug like crack or heroin, or marijuana (I had to look those words up since I don't even know how to spell them, would the spell check know? hmm...) anyway, what the heck is going on.

So, as I like to ask questions, here are some of mine. What happened to the little entrepreneur that was selling the candy? Did he get suspended too? Are they doing hard time in the school library? Do they have to eat an approved wellness committee school lunch from now on? (sorry, just kidding about that one). How enforced is that school districts "zero-tolerance for candy policy" enforced? (Can you believe they have that?) What is available at the schools district office or at their school board dinners or meetings? How much was the Skittles selling for? What was the mark-up and his profit margin? Was the entrepreneur trying to raise his college tuition money? (and if so, "you go boy"). Who bought the Skittles? Was it the kids Mom? Dad? Did the kid selling the Skittles but them "on the streets"? Was the buyer assured the Skittles were the same quality as what the buyer could buy at the grocery store in the checkout line? What was the size of the bag of Skittles? A small one you buy for .50 (I am guessing, I don't actually like Skittles) or a big gigantic bag that you can get at a Wholesale Warehouse like BJ's or Costco's?

Did the buyer get all "jacked up on the sugar rush" from his bag of Skittles, did he hurt someone, fail a test, talk back to the teacher or all of the above? Could he pass a urine test? Ok, I am joking about the urine test but.... will it come to that? Schools having such a hard line about wellness they randomly test the urine of our kids for sugar (Skittles, Reese Pieces, Kit Kat's, Nerds, etc)

I don't know.....

Here is what I know for sure. I am sure that the bag of Skittles didn't make that one child who bought them "fat, obese, overweight". I also know that I too enjoy a piece of candy now and then, ok... you got me (those of you that know me), more often than now and then and while I feel guilty every time I eat something like that, I know I am not going to Hell because of it. I know that no longer being allowed to be VP of your class and being barred from an honors dinner (hey that reminds me, at the honor's dinner, what is being served for dessert?)is harsh. Yes, he broke a rule and probably needs to be made aware of that (and I am sure he is very aware now) but I am sure there are much more creative ways for the student to pay his penance. How about writing an essay on wellness or entrepreneurship or something of that nature. (Writing an essay for my son would be the worse punishment in the world).

Anyway.. A great story for my book, which is moving along. I have a Chapter dinner meeting in April coming up and I am thrilled to be handing out my story request letter.

Thank goodness for an article that inspired me to blog. Also helps to have the extra days off for Easter break. Love this job!

All is well.......

Come Hell or Highwater!

My son came home for spring break. We are always so happy to have him back. He was coming home with two riders (two very nice young ladies who's parents come to our house to take them home). We always ask him to call us when he leaves Ithaca, NY. The weather was concerning since it was very, very rainy and in Ithaca it was saying afternoon ice. He called us around 10:00 am on Saturday and said he was leaving. Around 11:00 he calls and I can hear in his voice something is wrong. He asks for his father. I gave the phone to my husband, feeling that sinking feeling you get when you know something is wrong. I didn't even ask my son what was wrong, I just handed the phone to my husband, scared to death, the pit in your stomach aching, making you want to throw up.

Turns out he is fine, but his Pathfinder died. Died right there on Route 81 about 2 3/4 to 3 hours away from us. It's hard to think straight when your mind is racing about how to help your child. I immediately knew we were going to get him so while they were on the phone I am yelling instructions to my husband and asking information like where is he, while mile sign, what town. My son knew that he had just came off Rt 17 and just got on Rt 82 and Bingington was where they thought they were.

We get as much information as we can and I pack some water, fruit, sodas, our GPS, and off we go. We have Triple A, but how much help would they be? Should we call them first and wait to see what happens? We decided to head out first since we didn't want to waste time in case they couldn't get it started. My husband figured that my son had gone through puddles of water that might have stalled out the SUV. He thought that after it dried out some, it might start, but we had no way of knowing if that would happen.

Now I am talking really rainy, foggy, miserable weather for anyone to drive much less me when I am worried. I had my day already planned. I thought I would make something for my son to eat when he got home and then I had a party to go to around 6:00. I was just going to hang around and do some cleaning until my son got home.

On the way to get our son we called Triple A and had them go get my son and his two riders and get them off the highway and to a safe place. The three of them seemed in good spirits so we were glad they were doing ok. Thank goodness for cell phones and how the heck did we get along without them? When we got to the end of the turnpike we pulled over and called our son and he gave us the name of the place where they were. Also thank goodness for the GPS. I honestly don't know how we would have found them without it.

They had taken the SUV to a Firestone Store. They were just checking it out when we got there. Turns out the Alternator died which in turn, killed the battery. They said they could fix it and it would take about 2-3 hours to get the parts and get it running. We had to make a decision as to whether I should get going and take the girls to our house or whether we should all wait for it to be fixed just in case there were problems of another nature on the way home. We decided to wait so we could all go home together. I was very worried about the girls. I was also worried about their parents. I knew they were in constant touch with their parents and I was wondering how upset they were. We felt really responsible for them and I knew it would be late when we got home, plus I was probably going to miss the 50th birthday party that I was looking forward to.

We went to get something to eat and got back around 5:00. Turns out they were just finishing up and the SUV was ready to go. I am very grateful for that Firestone Store, they were very nice and got us on our way in record time. So, off we went. The girls with me and husband and son in the newly fixed SUV. It was fun being with the "girls". I don't get to spend much time with 18-19 year old girls. I learned a lot. We got home around 7:00. The parents were so nice about everything. Even paid my son for gas (which we tried to refuse but they wouldn't hear of it) AND bought us some of the yummiest pastries I have every seen. Such nice people.

AND, I WAS AT MY PARTY AT 9:20. Come hell or high water (and we had lots of high water, it was flooded here and many of the roads were blocked off)I was going to my party. A quick shower, change of clothes and out the door I went. I think I am quite a trooper! One of the last things one of the girls said as they left was "are you going to your party". And I wasn't sure at that moment. But then I thought, I would be disappointed is I didn't even try to go. So, I went to my party. Good for me! And I had a good time.

I think I am actually glad the weekend if over. It was too busy. I need a vacation from my weekend.

And, guess what. I am off Wednesday. Teacher in-service day. Hooray! Gotta love this job.

Ahhh, All is well.

Contusion of the knee

On Tuesday this week, the staff member that had been out with the broken wrist, came back to work. She and we, we very excited. Our full team, back together again. It was a busy day but we were breathing a sigh of relief that things could get back to normal. However, it wouldn't be a normal week. We had our "dreaded sundae bar". Sundae bar is when you buy a lunch, you get a free sundae bar. Sundae bar consists of ice cream and various toppings. You have to make sure you have everything in stock, set it all up, and be ready for a crazy day. The kids love sundae bar. It comes free with your lunch purchase. Remember I said lunch purchase. This is a hard concept for the kids. Everybody wants a sundae but not everybody has money for one. It is another opportunity to set up the lunch lady to be the bad guy. If a child doesn't have money on their card and they don't buy lunch, I can't give them a sundae bar. You have kids coming at you from everywhere on sundae bar day. Some have the extra $1.25 it cost if you don't buy lunch, and some just have their cards, with or without money on the card.

Sundae bar days are the craziest days of the year. We have four of them a year. This time it was every crazier since the day our staff member came back from being off with her wrist, I fell and hurt my knee. YUP, I DID. I thought I would stay late and slice some ham that I would be needing. After I was done slicing, I cleaned the slicer and started cleaning up. I took the parts of the slicer that I had taken off that needed to be run through the dishwasher, and started my way back to the dishwasher with parts in my arms. I walked off of our slip resistant mat and lost my footing. I did that awkward couple of large bumbling steps that happens when you are headed into a free fall. It is amazing how quick the brain can think. Immediately I was thinking that I was going to fall right on top of the equipment I was carrying. Now these are slicer parts. Hard, blunt type parts. I didn't want my face to end up laying on top of the parts so I kind of tossed the parts into the air with outstretched arms so I wouldn't land on them. And, it worked I didn't land on the parts. I did though, land as if I was sliding into homeplate in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied game in the world series.

Oh the pain! As I laid there all kind of thoughts run through your head. First, did anybody see me? God I hope not. Was I alive? Sure I was, was I hurt, hmmmmm, let's see. My wrist seemed ok except for a small nick with a brush burn. My face seemed ok, thank you Jesus! My knee, oh boy... it hurt. I rolled over and looked for blood, there was none. That had to be a good sign, right? I gingerly got up, everything hurt now. The brush burns were beginning to burn, my chest hurt from the thump onto the concrete floor, my arms hurt. The only thing that didn't hurt was my feet, that always hurt.

I gingerly got up and took a few steps. Ok, I can still walk. I picked up the pieces of the slicer that I had tossed and put them in the dishroom. I knew my knee was injured. So, I figured if the school nurse was still there, I better go see her and report the accident just in case I can't walk in the morning.

The nurse had me sit and looked at my knee which was already swelling up. She gave me ice and bandaged it up and sent me straight to the doctor. The doctor checked me out and told me I had "very loose kneecaps, has anybody ever told you that before?", Hmmm, why the heck would somebody tell me that? I didn't know there was any such thing as loose kneecaps. Whatever they are, I got 'em.

The doctor wanted an X-Ray before I could go back to work to be sure it wasn't fractured. So, the next morning I made an appointment for 8:30 and hoped to be back at work in plenty of time for sundae bar. The hospital that took the X-ray assured me they would be read the X-ray and call the doctor asap with the results. "Go home and wait they said". So, I waited, and waited, and waited. Sundae bar came and gone while I was waiting at home. I was very upset about having someone else (especially a just returning injured staff) do the register on one of the the hardest register day's of the year. But, I had no choice. I was at the mercy of the hospital and their timetable. They don't run on a lunch lady timetable.

The results showed I had a Contusion of the Knee with osteoarthritis. Or, a bad bruise. I could go back to work if I had to but I should be off till Monday. No way. Lunch ladies do not take days off for a "contusion of the knee". Hell NO! So back to work I went the next day. Just in time for Dominos Day, another busy register day.

So, quite a week it was. Glad its over. We are saying we are going to wrap our other staff member in bubble wrap so she doesn't get hurt. Sounds like a good idea.

We have Wednesday off next week. Yeah! And my son is coming home this week for Spring Break. We can't wait to see him. Should be a great week coming up. Barring no "accidents".

Ahhhhh.... All is well.

Pennies from Heaven?

Been a while since I have posted. I have been trying to catch up with so many things. I am involved with contract negotiations between our school food service staff and the school district. We have a 'Good faith" type contract. We are not involved in a union. Most of all the other groups in the school district employees are unionized at this point. I certainly don't want to pay union dues but contract negotiations are hard when you don't know much about the whole process. We have been trying to get some other schools contracts but since most are now union, they don't want to give up the information as to wages, etc. In the past our process has been to get a committee together, talk about what changes we would like in our contract, what type of salary increases we would like, etc. Then we give our list to the school board's committee, then they come back and tell us what we are getting. That is pretty much how it goes. Not much negotiating going on. We put a lot of time and energy into meeting and discussing. Maybe this time it will be worthwhile for us. Wish us luck!!

One of my staff is still out with her broken wrist. She is so anxious to come back and we are so anxious to have her back. I have had many substitutes at this point. Twice, even the substitute covering for the staff was sick. So, we had a sub for the sub. Good Lord! All the subs have been great and we have been very lucky to have them. However, get well soon staff! We will take you one armed and all.

Did you see the story on the news about the school in NJ (a middle school)the students started paying for their lunches in pennies? It was on the news today so I went online to the TV station website and checked out the article. The article says it started out as a prank, but then everyone started saying they were protesting against how short their lunch time was. You can read the article at: http://cbs3.com/watercooler/pennies.readington.township.2.666461.html The news report on TV said that the students never raised concerns about the shortened lunch before. Why did they think the lunch ladies had any control of how much time they get for lunch? I guarantee they don't. The article also said that the "lunch ladies are not authorized to put in their TWO CENTS (ha ha for the pun)but they said they felt disrespected. HELLO?? I guess so! I don't even like when I get 5 pennies much less 200 per student. Counting all those pennies in line must have slowed the line tremendously. And, I would have counted every single penny! I mean every one.
S--l--o--w--l--y.

One of the parents interviewed said the detention their kid got was unfair. 29 students got two day detentions. 29 x 200 pennies = 5,800 pennies (the article did the math, not me). Beleive me, it was more than fair!
One of the parents actually did say that her son who bought in pennies would have to face the consequences and that "the detention will send a message to him that what you're going to do effects other people". GOOD FOR HER! The news report showed the lunch ladies with their aprons leaving the school. They were probably told not to comment. That would have killed me. I would have loved to give MY TWO CENTS (sorry for the pun again) on camera!

I am wondering if this will start some kind of chain reaction. I can just see us lunch ladies now, getting all those pennies. I hope not!

Just goes to show what we put up with, daily. We seem to get the brunt of everybody's unresolved issues about somthing. Yeah, I know I am whining now, sorry. But it feels justified.

I know it is a great story for my book. I plan on contacting those lunch ladies at the Readington Middle School. I hope they will talk to me.

I have been sending out my "Story Request Letter" to a few schools in some school districts around PA. I am trying to do 25 per weekend. I am sending them to NJ schools today. I got one story so far. I am so thankful for that and for that nice person who took the time to contact me with her wonderful story. Thank YOU!

I also joined Toastmasters. I think it will be a great experience for me. I can't wait to get started. I think the public speaking with help me immensly with my book marketing.

Just a few more weeks to spring break for us. My son is coming home next weekend. We can't wait to see him. He'll be home for a week. We are really looking forward to it. I better start stocking up food and juice now!

Till next time. All is well........