What I want right now, more than anything else, is for my hair to magically skip this awkward mid-length phase and be long already! I don't know what I was thinking, chopping it all off! So here I am, lurking on weheartit, looking longingly and these luscious locks.

♥

So pretty! :)

Anyway, today was a much anticipated end to a very stressful week. The one thing I consistently look forward to about my job was nonexistent, as was any notion 'job security'. Remember the last two incidents I mentioned? My mom pointed out that the kid who I suspended is the son of one of the teachers who complained about me, and the others were her cronies friends. And that the last two staff members who tried to discipline that child as harshly as he deserved mysteriously weren't asked back the next year.

I'm a bit bothered, not because I am scared of them, but because I thought that once I was a part of the adult world, I wouldn't have to deal with these cliques any more. What I never realized as a student, though, is that high school/college cattiness is just practice for grown up bitchiness.

Ah well. I can deal with being the odd one out now and then. Especially if it means I get to maintain my self-respect. I'd rather read during my lunch break than gossip anyway!

My smart ass-ish outfit did not go unnoticed, though. :D So my neckline wasn't within two inches of my clavicle bone? Fine. I'll wear a turtleneck... and still showcase the fact that I am pretty darn comfortable with people knowing I have curves.

So ha!

Shirt: JCP

Skirt: PinUpGirl Clothing

Belt: Ross

Shoes: Payless

(You can expect to see a lot more of these 'wriggle skirts'. 50's pin up inspired looks are my new obsession... I'm thinking I'll do a post about some of my favorites. This weekend, I also plan on hitting my favorite thrift/vintage stops to see what I can come up with!)

In other news, I got a new kitteh today! He is a so fat and fluffy, and I love his odd coloring...mostly black with gray and brown splotches, then orange toes. What a little wierdo. He is tentatively named Ursis Arctos Horriblis Grizzly, or Little Bear for short. He loves Mowgli so much, and every time he spots her, he literally bounds over, not realizing that the friendliest thing she sees him as is a snack. Hopefully time will cure this impulse, because although she may not understand now, she needs to realize that Little Bear is her half-brother, and a part of the family now.

(An unsuccessful sneak attack. More like a cuteness attack!)

♥

Teacher's convention tomorrow- I swear, if I don't win a dang door prize this time, I am NOT going next year. Universal Studios is just around the corner from the convention center, and why should I listen to some lady in a suit set tell me how to deal with A.D.H.D creatively for the six millionth time when the Hulk is calling my name? If those lectures are that boring, I can't imagine their 'tricks-to-make-even-the-most-stubborn-ADD-student-an-avid-learner' can be all that great. Newsflash: having your powerpoint pictures spin a bit doesn't count as stimulating.

Latahz!

Body Image Rant: I Dare to be a D!

I got in a bit of trouble at work today. Not for the incident I mentioned in my last post, thank goodness, but for something more personal, so I am a little embarrassed.

I got in trouble for my outfit.

(SORRY, I know this is a blurry picture; but I was really late this morning, so I snapped it and left without looking at it. I'd take another one, but frankly, I'm just not in the mood because I am feeling kind of insulted. And I'm already in my house clothes anyway.)

Anyway. I felt pretty comfortable leaving the house in this; I had gotten my G.T.G's stamp of approval, as well as my moms'. When I walked through the gym to pick up my class from pre-care, I was told by 3 other teachers that they just looooved my outfit, the nautical theme was so cute, where did I shop? The only thing I felt vaguely uncomfortable about were the shoes -- I was wishing I had worn something with a little lift. Little did I know that wasn't the 'lift' I should have been worrying about...

Two hours later, the secretary hunted me down and told me that these same teachers had gone to the office to complain about my 'inappropriate clothing'. Apparently, they were shocked that I was allowed to wear something like this in front of middle school boys.

What?!?!

I mean, I guess it is possible that I am blind to my own bad choices, but... I honestly don't see anything wrong with what I wore. The shirt is actually fairly loose on me, not nearly as tight as these little tees are designed to be. I had a camisole underneath so it wasn't see through and it covered my cleavage; and even if I DID show some, it wasn't nearly as much as every single one of my complaining coworkers show on a regular basis. (Perkier, maybe.)

Perhaps they sensed that it was inspired by a 50's style pin up? Probably not. I really think they were offended by the fact that I have big boobs, and guess what? That pisses me off.

/Begin body image rant/

I mean, yeah. The girls are D's. And they were the bane of my existence for quite awhile. It took me a long time to start wearing something other than baggy tee shirts, and even when I worked up the nerve to buy something I liked, I would often wrap my chest down or double my bra to make myself look smaller. To this day, I will sometimes get depressed because a lot of clothes just don't look right on me: cute, modest tops can become revealing and trashy.

It is hard enough that most of the bras I have to buy are ugly, off white and frilly. Must I also wear shapeless muumuus? I have learned to deal with men ogling my chest, do I have to deal with women's condescension too? I get that I have to show discretion when I shop, but guess what? There are still clothes that will make my curves look great and modest without hiding them.

So there.

/end rant/

P.S.

I wish I could buy one of the dresses from PinUpGirl Clothing...give those ol' biddies something really juicy to gossip about. One of these would do:

I'll see what I can come up with tomorrow: I already have one of their fitted wriggle skirts... it needs some mending that I have been putting off, but I feel like being a smartass, so I think I could get it done. ;)

Halloween and Something Even Scarier!

After a brief run in with the cops (what?! me? the goody-goody?!), I had such a blast this Halloween! Caught up with friends I haven't seen in FOREVER, made some new ones, and of course, got to dress up as my favorite character ever.... Hello Kitty. Please note that I look exactly like my banner!!!!!! Mind blown yet?

Course, all this fun made it that much harder to go back to work today. And what a work day it was. I had to cover for a fellow teacher during my lunch hour, and boy oh boy did I have no idea what I was getting into. MOST of the kids were alright, but this one boy was just completely beyond my ability to cope with.

I hadn't even said a single word when this kid got up and started throwing books around, trashed the teacher's bookshelf, then took off with another student's worksheet book and began eating the pages. I was in total shock for a good thirty seconds. When I snapped out enough to attempt to recover the book, the boy tried to kick me in the face: not once, not twice, but three times. Fortunately, I saw it coming and had my arm up for the block.

I finally got the kid to sit at his desk, where he proceeded to try and rip out a tooth that wasn't loose. The other kids informed me that last week, he actually succeeded in a similar attempt. They also informed me not to get too close, unless I wanted a face full of spit.

Or a beating with the umbrella his mother refuses to let anyone take away from him.

Or an elbow in the boob, like he gave to his regular teacher.

I sat down, completely flabbergasted, to try and figure out what the heck I should do... which was a mistake, because the second my full attention wasn't on the boy, he came up behind me and tried to shove me out of my chair.

I mean, for real?!

In the end I got him calmed down by talking to him about my favorite brand of markers. (Random, but it worked.) His teacher suspended him, and I'm thankful for her support, but I heard through the grapevine that I am about to have some issues with administration over the whole thing. I really don't know how I should have handled things... I did the best I could, and if I end up in trouble over this, I can say with a good conscience that I am proud of the fact I didn't even come close to losing my temper, and managed not to get a broken nose.

I may be ready to commit to fall, but Florida isn't.

How we Floridians are doing fall:

It's the end of October and it's sweltering. What?? Just two weeks ago I was waking up to a brisk 68. It was like a tease: I broke out my fall wardrobe only to have the hopes of scarves and tights dashed to bits by a quick return to the 90s.

Shirt: thrifted

Cardigan: thrifted

Shorts: Target

Boots: Charlotte Russe

This is what I wore yesterday afternoon to help out at the youth group Alice attends. Note how I went right on ahead with my boots and cardigan, even if I had to pair them with shorts so I wouldn't suffocate.

This is also what I *wish* I could wear to work. It's so freakin suffocating in our classroom sometimes, especially after Phys Ed, when the kids are panting and smelly and thinking that now is a great time to hug Miss Kelly, since they haven't seen me for a whole 45 minutes.

And speaking of the little darlings... today they somehow drew me into a conversation about the proper age for getting married now versus colonial times. (We were learning about how women were 'shipped' to American colonies to marry.) I should have known the stinkers would try to head the conversation in a more personal direction... I discovered awhile ago that my status as 'young and single' is quite a novelty for them. Anyway, after a couple minutes, I was asked the inevitable "Why aren't you married yet?"

Surprisingly, I didn't have to answer this one, because my little know-it-all-tag-along yelled out "Girls don't marry young anymore unless they're having a baby, and Miss Kelly isn't having a baby," which of course caused them all to stare at my tummy like a kid might pop out at any second.

And then I turned around and saw the school administrator had stepped into the classroom unawares.

Glorious.

Monday should be Teacher Appreciation Day.

Some advice I wish I had this morning?

(image via we♥it)

1.) Never leave your cell phone where your students can get it. They have no qualms about calling and/or texting you ALL. DAY. LONG. Nor do they mind passing it around to their friends. You know, just in case they need homework help. Or advice on dumping their 12 year old boyfriend. Relatedly...

2.) If you act interested in their social lives for EVEN ONE SECOND, you are their bestest friend forevers and will be confided in for the rest of the school year, whether you like it or not.

3.) Never assume that they know not to chase snakes. Or not to reach into drain pipes saying "I THINK HE WENT IN HERE, GUYS!"

4.) Neither should you assume that any article of food is ever more than two seconds away from becoming a juice spraying, sauce glopping projectile, heading straight for the white blouse you painstakingly ironed this morning.

5.) Manners are a thing of the past. If you see a 12 year old barrel down the 75 year old English teacher on their way out of the cafeteria, don't assume that the child has been informed that this is a bad thing.

6.) As a matter of fact, the ONLY thing you should assume is that you are going to have a hectic day.

7.) Despite all this, at the end of the week, they're just kids, you love them and they probably like you.

8.) Actually, they might hate you. But when they are 30 and sending their own kids to school, or maybe working as teachers themselves, they are going to think back and say, "Boy. Ms. Kelly sure had it rough with me. I'm glad she taught me the correct vowel sounds anyway." (Despite the fact that she has been tempted to make up random facts in the hopes that someday that one kid would get his just desserts .)

I know I mentioned this before, but I am capable of summoning an unusual amount of pep on Monday mornings. So for this week's media Monday, I decided to share the song I bopped around my room to this morning as I got ready for the new work week.

That's "The Start of Something" by Voxtrot. Voxtrot isn't one of my most favorite bands, and is often overlooked on my Zune; but "The Start of Something" (the band's first single) is still a fun beat to wriggle to when you're straightening your hair. =) By the time I get to Wednesday, though, I'll probably need good ol' Cee Lo Green to sing to me about running away so I won't actually do it. :/

And YES, this song is used in the Twilight soundtrack. No, that is not why it is here. My thoughts on Twilight: Cute story, easy reading that isn't amazingly well written, annoying fanbase. There. No obsession, but no hate either, because like I said yesterday, I can find anything to appreciate about any book. (Well...almost. I admit I haven't touched that steampunk novel since Saturday night.)

And that wraps up Media Monday!

On to...not quite a What I Wore post!

♥♥♥♥♥

I didn't end up wearing what I thought I would...I re-wore an outfit I had already blogged about *gasp* *oh no* but tried out a little pattern mixing. Do you see it? Do you?? A rose patterned skirt with polk-a-dot tights! I feel so brave and adventurous! Especially when I consider how the kids react to any thing they consider out of the ordinary. Which means anything your average pre-teen would not wear. For instance...

"Is it really necessary to wear a belt every freakin day?" -K.G

***

"Do teachers have a rule that says their shirts have to be tucked in too?" - U.M.

"No. But it looks more professional." -Me

"Do surgeons have to tuck in their shirts? Because I'll only work where I can have my shirt untucked." -U.M.

Ah, the future of our world and their shenanigans.... I hope they look back and remember all the trouble they gave me when it's their turn to 'bring back the 80's.'

♥♥♥♥♥

Here is a picture of the outfit I had really been planning on wearing. I recently fell in love with silk blouses, and picked this one up at a little hole-in-the-wall thrift store by my paintball field. Little did I know the trouble it would cause me... when I got it home and showed Daniel (my go-to fella for a man's outlook on my fashion choices) he made it quite clear that he would not be seen with me if I wore it.

Me: Taa-daa!

Daniel: *stares in horror* You look like Matilda's grandmother.

Me: Is she cute?

Daniel: Kelly. I understand that you want people to know that you are older than your students, but this is going to far.

Me: I don't care. I'm putting it on my 'to-wear' rack.

Daniel: (muttering) we'll see how long that lasts....

So. In light of Daniel's vehement rejection of something I thought was okay, my judgement has been called into question. (Thus the black box over my face.) I don't know if I'll ever work up the nerve to try it out in public, but hey. At least I got some alteration practice in. (Shortened the ugg-o 3/4 sleeves.) Opinions, anyone? (Before you form one, please note the little pearl necklace that is attached to the collar, and the adorable pearl buttons!

♥!

Whew! Today was some kind of crazy. First thing this morning I accidentally sent my freshly-out-of-surgery coworker flying, I made a child cry, and I almost said THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID to an 8 year old.

I'm a monster... :(

Let me explain. We have new super-slidy chairs, and I wasn't quite prepared for how fast mine flew across the floor when I stood up from my desk. My poor coworker was just innocently limping by me with her foot cast when it happened. (I also missed the trashcan and hit her with a ball of paper today. She fears for her life, and made sure not to walk anywhere near my vehicle when we were leaving.)

I made a child cry because he could sense my frustration with his inability to understand the correct usage of quotation marks. I'm STILL a bit frustrated with him, but I've certainly learned not to even HINT at it. The child simply wouldn't listen, though. And still won't. He insists that the quotation marks go in sets of 4; "I've corrected him multiple times," "said the teacher." and for the life of me, I can not get him to separate verbal dialog from the rest of the sentence.

Gah.

THEN, at lunch time, a child from one of the younger classes came up to me with yogurt all over his face and said 'when I took it out of the wrapper, it burst all over me'. My reaction? "THAT'S WHAT--omg, was I really about to make a thats what she said joke to a 2nd grader??" I don't even like that joke, but I guess I've spent so much time around my guy friends that I am more like them than is professionally advisable. (esp. since I tweeted it) I can't imagine what my coworkers would have thought of me...

Anyway. I kind of feel like ripping my hair out, as these photos indicate.

What I wore to work, and then what I wore for house chores and pizza. (It's like a tropical depression here in Florida right now; I neither feel like going out, or cooking.) The work outfit top is from Kohls, the skirt is thrifted, the tights are from walgreens ^_^ and the shoes are from payless. The lazy evening around the house outfit is 100% thrifted.

Moving on to the good things that are going down for the rest of the week:

Tomorrow I am going to a beach resort for 3 days!

I am getting paid to be at the beach resort for 3 days!!

My truck should be fixed this weekend.

&I am spending all day Saturday thrifting/at the flea market.

Yeah. While the rest of you are breaking out your cardis and other fall cuteness, I will be lounging on the beach in 90 degree weather.

P.S. My theme for today would have been "Stumbled Upon a Tuesday" and I was going to share this little gem of a shop:

White Owl Jewelry.

I don't think I've ever fallen in love with an etsy shop so quickly and completely before. There is literally nothing in White Owl that I would not joyfully pay for... the only problem is narrowing it down. I wish I could make something this beautiful.

Hmm. Maybe I will go ahead with the theme days, since I've been doing them anyway, haha. Here is what I had planned: Media Monday (music, videos, comics, etc), Stumbled Upon a Tuesday (links to internet treasures), Everyone's a Critic by Wednesday (book/movie reviews etc), and Magpie Thursday (prompted poetry etc). I'm not too sure about Fridays yet...I was going to go with the generic Friday Favorites or whatever, but...maybe I'll have a stroke of uber original genius before then.

Opinions?

Who'd you rather be; the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

The kids in my class are ridiculous. I mean, seriously. I can't make a single move without them questioning my motives. Or wear a single outfit without them analyzing it. (Better hope they never find this blog. Sheesh.) Their comments today:

Why are you wearing that belt, Miss Kelly?

Because I want to.

You know we know it's not a dress under there. It's a shirt tucked into a skirt.

...I wasn't trying to fool anyone.

Yes you were.

Yeah. You caught me. My goal as your teacher is to swindle you into believing my skirts are dresses.

Why is the waist up so high? Do you want to look like Mr.S? (our old grouchy male teacher)

My waist band is not "up high". It's on my WAIST.

NO, THIS IS YOUR WAIST! *Points 4 inches below belly button*

*FACEPALM*

Pesky little things.

Anyway, I was in quite a rush this morning, and took this photo mid 'pfffft'. My bangs are always falling into my face these days, and I've been telling myself almost every morning that 'today is the day to go for a trim'. But alas, tomorrow's photo will probably feature emo bangs as well.

I mentioned that I wasn't going to do themed days, but I find myself wanting to blab about more than just my outfits. (This is SUCH a narcissistic hobby!) So, I'd like to point your attention away from me for one minute, and listen to this Most Awesome Tunage. (Originally these were going to be my 'Media Monday topic.)

Not the most interesting video, but it was the best quality. It's funny, I didn't used to enjoy female singers at all, but lately, all I've wanted to listen to is this ridiculously catchy, not-overly-deep, every-girl-has-these-problems tunes. (This one happens to be the story of my love life right now, but I won't get into that sad, sad story.)

If 50s inspired pop isn't your thing, try this by one of my favorite bands EVER....the wonderful Metric. This band is getting some well deserved attention now that they have been featured on Twilight and the Scott Pilgrim movie.

(And my blog, of course.)

I wish I could've embedded the official video, but that feature has been disabled. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the music, and if you have any listening suggestions for me, please leave a comment! I have a zune pass and I loooove downloading obscene amounts of songs. Makes me feel like I'm getting my 15bucks worth.

What I Wore Today:

Shirt: Thrilled to have thrifted yesterday! Love it love it love it.

Skirt: Also thrifted yesterday.

Shoes: Payless :)

Student commentary: (Which I think I will be including from now on, since my students are just sooo full of bright opinions)

Girl: Is that one of your 'vintage' shirts?

Me: Yes.

Girl: Mhmm. Are you going to be an old maid?

Me: What does this have to do with geometry tutoring??

Girl: Is that why you adopted kids from China? To fill the void?

(I am not kidding. An 11 year old said this to me. Although later she did ask me 'what does void mean, anyways?' But she got the spirit of it, if not the exact definition. Little booger.)

***

Boy: Hehehe. What's up, abuela?

Me two hours later when I remember what abuela means: HEYYYY!

***

Girl during prayer request time: I pray for Miss Kelly to have a good day.

Boy who either calls me mommy or his girlfriend: YES! PRAY FOR MY PRETTY LADYYYY, AY AY!

So I feel pretty neutral about the success of this outfit. :D

In other news...

I have been toying with the idea of 'themed' days, but ultimately decided against them. Too much structure for me. But I will be going including more literary topics, because that's why I started this blog in the first place. Book reviews, prompt responses, things like that. Not everyone's cup o' tea, but I enjoy it. :)

Today, I was told by one of my students that I'm in need of a trim, because the back of my head looks pretty shaggy.

So I gave her an F on her math test.

Just kidding. :)

Anyway, I wore this skirt (yes, again) because the black brocade one I had planned on wearing fell off my clothes rack and was slept on by a certain kittehh last night. The vest I got at a thrift store yonkers ago, but only got around to wearing it today. Same story with the brooch.

Speaking of which... The brooch is very cute, and I was excited to actually wear a piece of my jewelry. However, kids are very grabby, and I guess a tiny guitar is enough temptation to make them forgo decorum and lunge into their teacher's personal space bubble, "just to see if the strings are real."

I also realized a pretty exciting thing today: since the start of the school year, I have only bought one outfit off the rack, but even that was marked down. I haven't paid full price for any work clothes, at all. Annnd, I haven't worn the same outfit twice. I've mixed and matched a few basics: the black skirt, the white tee, my shoes...but so far I've worn an entirely new mix every day of work since August 22. And, I have enough outfits planned to make it a whole month...all either from that dark place in the back of my closet, or various thrift stores. So, thank you wardrobe remix!

Ah, Tuesdays. The day of back-to-back lunch->phys.ed->library, which means.....an hour and a half break for this exhausted teacher! I spent my precious time browsing the web via my palm pre... shamlessly checking up on some of my favorite blogs, when I should have been figuring out what do to about my own classes, or even, (heaven forbid!) cleaning the classroom.

Anyway, whilst I was blogging, I came across The Camera That Will Make Me The Happiest I Can Ever Be. (Besides a waterproof nikon, but this one is more attainable.)

The Fuji Instax 210.

It shall be mine.

Soon.

And speaking of work...ahem...

This what I wore!

*My shirt wasn't sheer for realz, it was the camera flash. Although, since my coworkers INSIST on keeping the temperature in our building at 72degrees, I was another kind of indecent. >:/

I'm not looking as well put together in these pictures as I did this morning because they were taken after tonight's dinner fiasco. In the first picture, you can still kind of see the smoke. Alice and Eva said the burgers were delish, though, even if I didn't realize you can't just turn on an oven that has been used for storage for the past year and a half.

I think I'll make them some cupcakes this weekend to make up for my lackluster dinners... baking is my only culinary strength, and plus, when I clicked over to The Crimson Owl earlier this afternoon, a guest blogger had done a post dedicated entirely to cupcakes. Yum. Now I don't know if I can wait till this weekend...

Hope everyone's week is going well!

P.S.

I forgot to mention... I changed the name/url of my blog. Yeah. I wanted to use the url HelloKelly too, but it was taken. So I checked it out...and no update for like, years. What a waste! But anyway... I like this name better. I think it conveys the fact that this blog is about whatever the heck I want it to be about better than 'glance twice' did. Because obviously, the name of a blog is mucho importante. Overly specific ones dictate the theme, the buttons, the content etc... Hello Kelly implies nothing at all. Kind of like Seinfeld. It will involve the title character at some point, obviously, but other than that, who knows where this train goes? Not me! :D

Well, another school year has officially started. Thirty one 6th graders in my class, only eleven of whom are typical learners. I'm practically running laps around the classroom all day. I sense a highheel-less year ahead...

This outfit wasn't actually my first back-to-school do... No pictures of that one because one of the little monst...er, I mean, children, sprayed fruit punch all over me. >:P Still, though, this one is probably in my top 5 favorite get-ups because....the skirt is reversible! I bought it at Goodwill for 2$, and only realized it was reversible when I did a little twirl and was told that the inside was prettier than the outside.

News on the house-makeover front is slim pickens... Interior decor is expensive! The house is functional and clean for now, (except the office..it's still being remodled from a garage) which is enough for me. I'm lusting over the Ikea 2011 catalog, but holding back. Ikea may be cheap, but thrifting and flea market scavaging are cheaper still, and there is a chance of turning up some real treasures.

Hopefully the girls won't mind a plain-jane house for awhile. They arrive TOMORROW! /nervous cringe/ Total surprise, I was told it wouldn't be till next week...I haven't even made their signs because no one's told me their names or anything.

Ah well. A little spontaneity never hurt anyone. :)