BFFs

Dogs and babies, babies and dogs: kindred spirits, indeed.

Doggie Dangers

I know at least a few of you loyal readers are dog people like we are. The Humane Society of the United States has recently updated its list of foods that are potential poison to our poochie pals.

• Alcoholic beverages
• Apple seeds
• Apricot pits
• Avocados
• Baby food (a lot of them contain onion powder)
  
• Cherry pits
• Candy (particularly chocolate and any candy containing the sweetener Xylitol)
  
• Coffee (grounds, beans, chocolate covered espresso beans)
  
• Fat trimmings (can cause pancreatitis)
  
• Grapes
• Hops (this one made Matt sad)
  
• Macadamia nuts
• Moldy foods
• Mushrooms (including wild mushroom plants)
  
• Mustard seeds
• Onions and onion powder
• Peach pits
• Pistachios (we learned about this one the hard way)
  
• Potato leaves and stems (green parts)
• Raisins
• Raw eggs
• Raw fish
  
• Rhubarb leaves
• Salt
• Tea (caffeine)
• Tomato leaves and stems (green parts)
• Walnuts
• Yeast dough

In memoriam

About 14 years ago, just as Matt's family was preparing for Christmas in Cancun, Matt's dad brought home one of his most spontaneous purchases: an English Setter puppy named Daisy (or, as Matt would come to spell her name, Daizy, because she's from the "Streetz").

For nearly a decade and a half, she was a member of Matt's family. She was a faithful hunting companion, a playmate to four very lucky children, and the most loyal dog I've ever seen. She and Matt's dad were especially close; she would lie under his desk and wait for him whenever he left the house.

In recent months, the years started to take their toll on Daisy. Arthritis plagued her joints to the point that even going outside to use the bathroom was too painful. Yesterday morning, Matt's parents made the painful decision to let Daisy stop suffering. While one always knows intellectually when it's time to say good-bye, that awful day is never any easier.

We'll miss you, Daisy Doo! We'll always love you, and we'll never forget you.

Pearls of Teenage Wisdom

Student 1: "How do you spell ignorant?"

Student 2: "Uh, duh. I-G-N-E-R-E-N-T."

For the love of a form

This may seem strange to those who don't know me, but I have always been a fan of completing paperwork. Forms at the doctor's office are my favorites, since they're usually so long. My type-A personality takes great comfort in a well-completed form.

Today, our form for the 2010 Census arrived in the mail. I ripped open the envelope eagerly and dug into this most important of all forms. I completed the first section quickly and moved on to information about Matt and me. After that was completed, I turned it over, remembering all the other questions I got to answer back in 2000. Sadly, they were nowhere to be found. I shared with Matt my disappointment; he reminded me that I'm insane.

I don't know who thought this "10 Questions in 10 Minutes" thing was a good idea, but I can't believe they're getting all the statistical data they need. They should offer "Honors Census-form Filling" for those of us who crave just a little more.

Pearls of Teenage Wisdom

I used Matt in a lesson on appositives today: "My husband, a computer scientist, is ridiculously smart." (The appositive is "a computer scientist," in case you were wondering.) This started a discussion about what Matt actually does for a living.

Students: "So what does your husband do?"

Me: "I'm never really sure. Something with computers. I do know that all the computers in our house are connected." This is always my go-to fact about what I think Matt does with computers.

Students: "Connected? How long are those wires?"

Me: "No, they're wirelessly connected. They kind of talk to each other."

Students: "That's insane. You should totally be on MTV Cribs."

On one hand, I was glad that I knew what that show was. On the other, I was disappointed that, once again, it takes a fact about Matt to make me seem cool to my students. Perhaps appropriately, it was also Matt who once made me watch MTV Cribs.

Happy National Grammar Day!

This is my gift to you:

The definition of irony

Our principal asked some students this week who their favorite teachers are. One of my students wrote down my name. While I'm flattered, I'm also a bit embarrassed by his written explanation:

"When my grammars of essay isn't good, she revises well so that I would know why should I fix and change."

Obviously, we didn't chat about this particular piece of writing.

A day in the life...

The husband of one of my department colleagues has been working as a substitute teacher in our building. I thought he was just looking for something to fill his days. Turns out, he was looking for material.

Check out his recent piece in the Washington Post for a glimpse of a day in the life of a substitute teacher.