AngieW in Texas
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Posts posted by AngieW in Texas
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I'm always hot. Unfortunately, my wing at school has been having AC troubles. My room is much hotter than the hallway. I have a great tower fan that I bought at Costco, but I should have bought two of them at that price. I didn't realize they were discounted all that much. I just ordered another one today because the students at the back of my classroom are in pretty good shape with my fan, but I'm boiling and so are the students at the front of my room.
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I find clothes shopping horribly depressing. Nothing ever fits right or looks at all good on me.
The clothes that I got from Stitch Fix all fit (even the pants!) and looked good! In order for me to find an outfit that I feel even remotely good in, I usually need to try on at least 100 things. I DO NOT have time for that. And the more things I try on that looked great on the hanger, but awful on me, the worst I feel.
I don't know of any stores in my area that have personal shoppers, so that isn't an option.
I signed up to get a box every 3 months. I'm really curious what my 2nd box will be like.
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I was wondering from the early posts in this thread if EDS and dysautonomia could be the issue.
My 19yo is going through this as well, even to the point of having two spectrum sisters who make life very stressful (actually, that's mainly the sister who also has OCD).
A went away to college last year and managed to get through the year, but it was super tough to handle things long-distance. A can't go to a local school because of major issues with heat. It just isn't possible for A to walk across a campus in Texas. We can have 90 degree days even in December. A went to Adelphi University last year, but their disability services were not very good.
Right now, A is working on getting a student visa to go to Canada for school. It is actually cheaper for A to go out of country than to go out of state. We have a puppy we are training to be a mobility service dog. Currently she is just an ESA (and A is approved to have an ESA in dorms).
A has lost a lot of functionality over the past couple of years. It's really hard when you never know whether you're going to have an okay day or a horrific day. A has to very careful to pace out everything that is planned to not end up bedridden. That still happens on a regular basis though.
There is an EDS social group you might want to join on the WTM boards if you aren't already on it. It doesn't get a ton of activity, but I always check it when I get on the boards.
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I just got my first Stitch Fix today. I LOVE the pants they sent. They actually fit me, which is really hard to do. I usually have to try on at least 5 pair to get one that mostly fits. These fit well and matched all of my requirements: waistband AT the waist, two front pockets and two back pockets all of which are large enough to fit an iphone, and no distressing. They were the right length too. I'm definitely getting the pants. They fit me better and look better than any of the pants that I already own.
I just have to decide about the tops. One of them had pleats at the top, but it didn't really fit my body shape, so it bulged out a little in a weird place. One of them had kind of weird sleeves, but I still liked it. The other one was a lot bolder than I would have picked out. My 19yo fashionista loved the last two tops and wants me to get them. I'm still deciding whether to send all three tops back or keep the whole set. It will be cheaper to keep the whole set than to send back the one top that didn't work.
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We have lots of mockingjays and cardinals.
Lately we have had a whippoorwill who sings very loudly in our backyard starting as soon as it gets dark and continuing for hours and hours.
We have a lot of owls, but they quietly hoot. They are not incredibly obnoxiously loud like the whippoorwills.
Some of our owls are tiny (just 6 inches tall), but some of them are really large. When I went to pick my daughter up from work at 10pm on Friday, there was an owl that stood about 2 feet tall just standing on the sidewalk. I drove right past it and it completely ignored me.
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My phone is set on Do Not Disturb from midnight-6am. My dh and I both have our phones charging outside the bedroom. Mine is in the kitchen and his is at his desk upstairs.
My kids are all adults. They all have their phones set to go on Do Not Disturb for the night, but they do have their phones in their rooms and use them as backup alarms.
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I love teaching high school, but my dream job would be teaching at community college or university (NOT as an Adjunct Professor). Adjunct Professors are treated horribly and paid virtually nothing.
Teaching in a cc or university setting is nicer than teaching in a high school because you don't have the discipline issues and the paperwork is a lot less. I plan to retire from teaching high school by teaching at cc.
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Whether or not LGBT is an issue depends heavily on the school: the students, the teachers, and the administration. At my school, we definitely have some students who are homophobic, but for the most part, have not had issues with LGBT students getting harassed. There have been some issues, but the kids who are homophobic are the ones who are seen as the problem by the other students. The teachers and the administration stand with the LGBT students, so we haven't had issues like I know some schools have. However, I know this is not the case at all schools. And I'm sure there are some teachers who are problematical. There are some at every school, no matter how they try to screen them out with interviews. It makes a big difference if the teachers who are a problem have to try to hide that they are bigoted rather than being able to be openly bigoted.
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You may have better luck looking for nurse practitioners with prescribing authority. There is a major shortage of psychiatrists. This is why many of them are not taking new patients or have waiting lists several months long. I have found that we get a better standard of care from nurse practitioners.
The first thing I would look for is somebody who says they specialize in the area that you need. OCD, for instance, is very tricky to deal with. It really helps to have somebody who specializes in it rather than any random psychiatrist. Then I would look for somebody who sees predominantly children/adolescents/young adults in that subcategory.
The diagnosis is more important to me. However, when I started looking my kids were at least preteens. If I was looking for a 6yo, then I would be more focused on somebody who just dealt with children and adolescents.
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Sounds awesome!
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I agree with you that donated supplies should not be leaving the school district. There should be a way for teachers throughout the district to requisition supplies from a central storeroom. While elementary school teachers often get a lot of things on their supply lists, the supplies drop off substantially once you get to middle school and high school level. Those teachers have to make up for not receiving anything on their supply lists with their own money.
One issue that I see is that the teachers at schools in better economic areas actually get the materials on their supply lists while the teachers at schools in poorer areas spend a lot of their own money to make sure that their students have basic supplies. I'm at a Title I school. I ended up buying the composition notebooks for the majority of my students because they never would have had one otherwise. I had also asked my students to get folders, but didn't end up using the folders because after spending a ton of money on notebooks for my students, I didn't want to buy folders too.
I teach high school science, so my supply list was very simple:
composition notebook dedicated for this class only, for your own use
two pocket folder with brads dedicated for this class only, for your own use
pencil and eraser, for your own use
some paper for your own use, lined or unlined
one box of kleenex for the class supply (One student brought one box. I supplied all the rest of the kleenex for my classroom.)
The consumables I bought for my classroom (several hundred dollars worth):
pencils (and boy did they complain about my little golf pencils)
eraser tops
glue sticks
tape
dry erase markers (to use on the dry erase board class set that I also bought, but the boards aren't consumable and the markers are)
paper
composition notebooks
kleenex
This doesn't count the materials that I bought for several labs and demonstrations we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. It also doesn't count all the supplies I bought that aren't consumable, like scissors and dry erase boards.
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Okay, avoiding the behavioral stuff might be enough to motivate Ds to take the tougher classes.
It doesn’t look like there’s a study hall built into the schedule, but I’ll inquire about tutorials if they aren’t announced. I’m always on my college kids to make use of their professors’ office hours, and with Ds I’ll have the added tool of being his ride home.
I came away from my conversation with the secretary with the impression that it would be up to someone at the school whether Ds would have to take any tests, but this actually makes more sense. Ds has no problem sitting for these two exams, we’ve just got to hope now that the school will be able to offer them some time next week.
And am I right that there’s nothing we can do about STAAR exam until it’s offered in the spring?
Each of the STAAR exams is offered 3x/year.
English I - 12/4, 4/10, and 6/25
English II - 12/6, 4/12, and 6/27
Algebra I, Biology, US History (given on a range, each school district sets their own date within the range) - 12/4-12/8, 5/7-5/11, 6/25-6/29
Just because of the behavioral issue, I recommend any student who can handle the academics of a pre-AP class to opt for that level.
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Sin of omission? 😇 I think it is slightly dishonest to not really explain what I'm doing, especially because he is Negative Ned and I think his knee-jerk reaction would be to think it is stupid. As far as he knows, I ordered some clothes on-line and that's why some boxes have been delivered and I have been wearing some nice new clothes. He would most likely think it was a dumb idea to have a stylist who has never seen or met me pick these things out, although now that I have worn some things he agrees look pretty, he may think differently.
Why on earth would you think he would care how you got your clothes? That is an absolutely foreign concept to me.
I can see having an issue over the dollar amount being spent, but since you aren't mugging people to steal their clothes, why would he care whether you got them from a physical store or an online store or had a stylist pick them out for you?
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I am a science teacher at a public high school in Texas. I would recommend pre-AP for English, math, and science. If he really likes history, then I would do pre-AP for that as well.
The reason I'm pushing for pre-AP is because of the behavior problems you see in the regular classes.
The kids in the pre-AP classes are generally working hard and participating.
In the on-level classes, you have all the kids who are behavior problems and all the kids who are just marking time until they are able to drop out and all the kids who don't care at all. You also get kids who really are trying, but the teachers don't have as much time to work with them because of all the other kids who are working hard at showing off for the class so everybody will think they are funny instead of thinking they are stupid. Most kids would far rather be known as the class clown than as the kid who needs help.
I work hard to reach all of the kids in my classes, but I had several kids who could have done pre-AP and chose to take on-level instead because they were worried that they would be overloaded. Every single one of those kids regretted taking on-level instead of pre-AP. The on-level classes have a completely different atmosphere from the pre-AP classes. It's not the teacher that's different. It's the students.
Make sure that your son signs up for every teacher's Remind and you should also. If any of his teachers use google classroom, make sure that you get on that too if it's an option. If any of his teachers use ClassDojo, make sure to sign up for the parent side. Keep up with his grades online. This is all new for him. He's going to need help.
At my school, all teachers are required to have two morning tutorials and two afternoon tutorials every week. Also, at my school, you can go to any teacher in the department for help with assignments. It drives me nuts when my students come for help only after failing the test.
My school also requires all freshmen and sophomores to attend study hall Monday-Thursday. At my school, this is the first 30 minutes of each schoolday. Juniors and Seniors are only assigned to study hall if they still haven't passed one of their end-of-course exams. Student assigned to study hall who do not attend are marked absent and have to make up those hours.
As a side note, I would be astonished if they actually give him credit for the courses you completed in homeschool. Generally they require you to take a CBE test to show mastery. I am quite certain they will require the end of course STAAR exam for Algebra I as well.
The state legislature passed a new ruling that you cannot take Geometry until you have passed Algebra I, so unless they can very quickly get him tested to get credit for Algebra I, they will probably enroll him in Algebra I. In that case, he should definitely take the pre-AP level. I don't think taking German II without credit for German I will be an issue because that is not one of the tested subjects. Tested subjects are English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology, and US History.
As a side note, I will be astonished if they give him credit for any of the high school courses he has already completed through homeschool without taking the CBE for it. They will likely require him to take the Algebra I end of course exam also.
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Students are not considered independent until they are 25yo or are married or have a child or are in the military or in graduate school. Up until then, they will need parent financial information for the FAFSA from both parents, even if they are not involved in her life at all and refuse to contribute a single penny.
I would recommend going to the cc and meeting with a counselor. If you can go with her to help, that would be great. She has not had these kinds of discussions and will find getting yoru feedback afterwards really helpful. She will think she understands what's going on while she's there, but then afterwards, will need you to help with interpretation.
I would not recommend online if it's at all possible to attend courses in person. It is very hard to do well in an online course if you are not knowledgeable and motivated about that subject unless you have a truly phenomenal online teacher (and I mean phenomenal at teaching online, which is very different from in-person).
She should take their placement exam to see if she needs to do remedial classes first of can go straight into classes.
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I don't wear makeup because I can't stand the feeling of it on my skin. I don't wear jewelry for the same reason.
All I do with my hair is put it up in a ponytail. I usually take it out of the ponytail for the drive home to give my scalp a chance to relax and then put it back up again when I get home. I can't stand to have my hair touch me.
I have tried going short, but if I cut my hair short, then I have to keep getting it cut every couple of weeks. Instead, I just reach behind me and whack off a couple of inches 1x/year after a shower. Every 5-6 years, I will go to a SuperCuts or Great Clips to get it cut. I always keep it long enough to go into a ponytail, but my ponytail is never more than 1 foot long.
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If we tried to sell our house as-is, we would probably get no more than $250,000 for it. And that's if we could get people to even look at it.
The carpet is about 25 years old. There are multiple areas where the carpet is bare. All three exterior doors need to be replaced. The framing around the back door needs to be replaced. The house hasn't been painted in 25 years. The kitchen cabinets would be fine if sanded and stained, but that absolutely needs to be done. These are the original builder cabinets. The family here before us had 5 kids and lived here for 12 years. We have 3 kids and 3 dogs and have lived here for 13 years.
While we are sanding/restaining the cabinets in the kitchen, we would also replace the counters (builder's laminate, the cheapest and nastiest looking stuff they put in houses 25 years ago). We would not need to replace any of the appliances, because we have done that piecemeal over the past couple of years as they broke down, so they are all stainless steel aside from our 15 year old refrigerator. We would replace all the carpet downstairs with either wood or laminate. The carpet upstairs would be replaced with new carpet. The tile that we have would stay, but be professionally cleaned.
The repairs that we would need to do to really be able to list the house would probably cost about 30,000-40,000 and our house should sell for $325,000-350,000 after those repairs have been completed. The house down the street that is 200 square feet smaller, but has a pool and is on a larger lot sold for $400,000 in just a couple of days. New houses that are being built within 0.5 miles of our house that are just 2/3 the size of our house with 1/2 the lot size are selling for $400,000. I know ours wouldn't go for that much because it is about 25 years old.
Unless you are not sure where you want to be, I would make repairs/remodels that you want to do that will also improve resale value. I would not sell and switch to renting unless you are wanting to temporarily rent in another town while you figure out the best location to buy.
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I worked for a service which provided the location where I tutored, did all the scheduling, and took care of all the billing. I started off getting $25/hour, but ended up at $30/hour at the end of that year. They charged $85/hour at the time. I still can't believe that people can afford to pay that kind of rate. I had students that saw me for an hour every single week throughout the entire schoolyear.
It was worth it to me to work through the service because they took care of getting me the clients and they provided the location. They tried to get my students scheduled back-to-back. When I drove out there (just 15 minute drive), I usually had 2-4 students scheduled back to back. I also got paid if the client didn't show and if they came late, I still got paid for the full time.
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All three of my kids use Toms of Maine strawberry. My 19yo is very allergic to mint. Even standing near somebody who is chewing mint gum causes major breathing problems.
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This was how the worst part of Ehlers Danlos started for my youngest. Beginning of puberty is when it really strikes hard for females because progesterone makes the connective tissue even stretchier.
There were physical signs from a very young age, but what started our journey to diagnosis was the panic attacks that began at 11yo.
https://www.edhs.info/symptoms (hit the page-down button three times to get to the start of the list)
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My 19yo (A) got admitted to University of Calgary and University of Regina (UR) as an international transfer student. UR actually emailed repeatedly with updates and offered a transfer scholarship. It's looking pretty good. Originally Dalhousie was at the top of A's list, but UR jumped to the top because they actively communicated to let us know when there were issues with any of the documents we sent. The other schools never did contact us until we contacted them and even then it was hard to find out what was causing the delays. The people we spoke with at the other schools never really seemed to know what was missing or needed to be done in a different way.
A is looking at starting at UR in the spring (admission is good for the next four consecutive semesters because sometimes students visas can take a while). We need to find out what credits they will take in transfer and get registered with the student accessibility office. At Adelphi, A had academic and housing accommodations (extended time for testing, ability to use laptop in class, testing in student access office, medical need for air conditioning, private room, and emotional support animal).
A has a puppy who is serving as an ESA, but is also being trained to provide mobility support. A has a really hard time with bending down because that often causes a drop in blood pressure and then passing out. A also has a lot of problems with dislocating joints (good day 5-7 times, bad day upwards of 20 times). The medical condition causes constant pain that also spikes into severe pain. At this point A has been in constant pain for three years and there has been a marked decrease in physical ability and stamina from 16yo to 19yo.
Do any of y'all know how they are for students who need accommodations?
We know that UR has a Pride Center that provides services to the LGBTQ community, so that looks good, but we'd love to know more if anybody has personal experience with the center. Adelphi talked about providing services and support, but didn't. A felt very unsafe on campus after witnessing others being harassed and being directly involved in an incident also (fortunately on the other side of a plexiglass window so he couldn't actually reach in).
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Both of our adult dogs were tattooed on the belly when they were spayed at the shelter where we go them, but the tattoo on my GSD is no longer visible at all. Neither is the scar.
We haven't gotten our collie puppy spayed yet. She is 7 months old. We are planning to do it in November when she is 11 months old. We'll get her microchipped at the same time like our other dogs were.
Most vets and shelters microchip at the same time that they spay.
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My 21yo took care of two dogs belonging to the mother of a friend of the family while she was in the hospital. He paid her $75/day to drive out there 2x/day to feed/medicate/water the dogs and take them out to the bathroom. It was 30 minutes each way and she generally stayed out there with them for a full hour each time, so she spent 4 hours each day for that $75. Both dogs were elderly and generally did not do well at all with strangers, but they loved my dd (dogs nearly always do). One of them was really barky and growly right at first, but once my dd snapped the leash on her collar, she became very friendly and ended up sitting in her lap and giving her kisses. She also brushed out the Pyr really well and he loved that.
My two younger kids took care of a neighbor's three dachshunds (and sometimes her mom's two also). They were paid $25/week to go over there around lunchtime, take off the doggie diapers (the boys never ended up house-trained), take them outside to use the bathroom, play with them, feed them, and then put the doggie diapers back on before they left. They generally spent an hour over there. If she needed them to go over a second time, she would pay extra for that. Pretty much, she paid them $5/visit. They were just 13yo and 11yo when they started and she initially offered to pay them $20/day, but I told her that was way too much for an ongoing daily job. That's a good rate for a short vacation that happens maybe 1-2x/year. That's way too much for daily, especially since it ended up going on for 6 years. If she had paid them at the rate she initially offered, I am sure that it would have lasted only a few months before she found some other option. That would have been $600/month. There's no way she could have afforded that indefinitely.
Later on when she moved, she did have my middle dd (who was 19yo at the time) stay at her house for 1.5 weeks while she was on vacation. She paid her $30/day for that and asked my dd what kinds of foods she wanted so she could stock up the fridge and freezer for her.
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I have to wear my glasses in order to drive legally and would be terrified to attempt driving without my glasses.
I am near-sighted, so my glasses are to correct distance vision.
I only wear my glasses at home if I am watching tv. The rest of the time at home, my glasses are put away.
Because I am a schoolteacher, I got progressive glasses so I would still be able to read with my glasses on. When I got the glasses three years ago, the near vision part of the glasses was clear. Now there is a slight prescription for the near vision part.
Canadian student visa?
in The Chat Board
Posted
Is there anybody who has recently (within the past two years especially) completed all the online forms for a Canadian student visa? We are working on it and are not sure about some of it.