Judge Nielson and Goody Schroeder

Today, my special education co-teacher, Sherry, and I reenacted the Trial of Martha Carrier, one of the famous trials of Salem. Our classes are about to start reading the play The Crucible, and we thought we'd give them a preview of the type of lunacy that went on in these trials. They thought it was quite hilarious--and I can see why. I mean, the wig?? Come on.

I called students up to testify as witnesses against Martha, and they had to swear on the American Literature Anthology that they would "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

It was a crazy and exhausting day.

Tattletale Janitors and Chris Farley Moments

Two posts in one day...this is unheard of!

At all the schools I've worked at, I always become great friends with the night janitors. Why? Because I am the only person left in the building when they are cleaning. (Still at school right now, in fact...)

At the present moment, however, I am not so happy with the friendly janitor Dave; he tattled on me today.

Allow me to explain: Each night when I am here late, he lets me into the office, and we sneak a little taste of whatever treat is laying around. Sometimes it's M&Ms in the secretary's bowl; other times it's a tupperware of brownies someone left in the staff room. This is not stealing because Dave has permission to eat whatever food is in the office, and he kindly shares with me.

Last night, he let me in the office and told me to "have at" whatever treats I could find. It just so happened that there was a leftover birthday cake on the back table--one of my favorites, yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Seeing as it was 8:00 pm, and I hadn't eaten all day, this cake looked especially appetizing, so I helped myself to a nice big slab... (Hey, don't judge me! It was left overs, and I was starving!)

Today, when Dave came in to work, the secretaries said, "Man, Dave! You must've been hungry last night! You sure ate a lot of that cake!"

At this point, he could've graciously taken the blame or at least said that he and I shared the treat; but no, he couldn't do that for his friend Rachel.

His response? "Actually, it wasn't me. It was Rachel Nielson."

Now the secretaries think it is simply hilarious that I put away about 1/3 of a cake by myself. I am never going to hear the end of it.

I am reminded of a particularly hilarious SNL skit.

I have to admit; I am soo Chris Farley when it comes to junk food. In fact, when Ryan and I were engaged, we went on a group date with my roommates, and each couple was served one gigantic piece of cake to share. As I was scarfing the gooey goodness, Ryan suddenly piped up in a small voice and said, "Um, Rachel? Can I have some?"

My roommates thought it was absolutely hysterical (because they related), and they still talk about it today. NO ONE wants to share food with Rachel!

Hey..."LAY OFF ME! I'M STARVING!!"

I met a boy who is even cuter than Ryan!

For Spring Break, I flew to St. Louis and met my new nephew, Callum. He is chubby, angelic, and positively adorable.


Here he is with his llama "sister," Creamy:


The proud Mom and Pop with their Easter snuggler:
(P.S. Logan is in a musical, hence the lumberjack beard.)



"Goodmorning, Aunt Rachel!" He woke me up each morning and snuggled with me on the air mattress. I don't look so stellar, but he sure is cute...




After his bath, we both wore our hoods...he wasn't too pleased:

I have heard this question about fifty times since I've been back: "So, did seeing your nephew make you want one?"

I'm not telling!

Why I took a three hour nap on Saturday

Sometimes, I have temporary lapses in sanity, and in those moments, I decide that it would be a good idea to volunteer myself for additional responsibilities at work, church, or around the neighborhood. During my bouts of insanity, I forget that I am the world's biggest perfectionist, especially when it comes to my job, and I convince myself that I will be able to handle it all with ease.

A few months ago, when my school asked me to teach the English portion of an evening SAT Prep class for five weeks in the spring, it honestly seemed like a good idea. Well, I could use the money! Well, it'll be winding down to the end of the year, so I'm sure I won't have as much going on...

So, I agreed.

Stupid Rachel.

Tuesday, I spent 15 hours at the school: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thursday, I spent 14 hours at the school: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
I was working the entire time. I didn't even stop for lunch--or dinner.

I don't think this was a good idea.
Oh well!! Only four more weeks!

I'm an aunt!!

My older sister had her baby this weekend; it is so exciting, especially since she is the first of both Ryan's and my siblings to give us a little rug rat to spoil!! The first photo I saw of him, it was instant obsession. He has my sister's nose; how could I not immediately love him??

Here he is:

His name is Callum Michael McKenna. Apparently, Callum is a common name in Ireland and Scotland (as is McKenna), and Michael is my dad's name.

My dad hadn't planned on going to see the baby for a couple of weeks, but it seems that the first photos of Cal had the same effect on my father as they did on me: My dad hopped on a plane and surprised my sister for a two-day visit. He'll go back in a few weeks and stay for about a week.

Gotta love blunt people...

Deborah has been really sick the past couple of weeks, so this evening, I called her and asked if I could bring by some dinner. (I made chicken enchiladas last night and had several left over.)

She excitedly agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, she called back and left me this message: "Hi, Rachel. I invited my daughter, her boyfriend, my brother, and my mom. So make sure you bring enough. If you can. Bye."

Blunt--but endearing. :)

All I had was an 8x8 pan, so I figured they'd have to make due.

When I actually brought the meal, Deborah's brother answered the door and greeted me with, "Dang, Rachel, you've really put on some weight!"

Not exactly the welcome I was hoping for, but I chuckled a little and said, "You're probably right, Chuckie."

His response? "Probably right? No, I am definitely right. Girl, you look a lot heavier."

At this point, I probably should've taken my enchiladas and stalked back to my car in a huff--but I had to remind myself that, to Deborah and her family, that comment might not be considered an insult.

Gotta love blunt people.

Okay, so I exaggerated...

Thanks to all of you who read my recent massive rant about bad experiences at the gym.

I have to admit, I have never actually stopped at Dunkin' Doughnuts after the gym--that was added for dramatic effect--but I have wanted to pleeenty of times! And, surprisingly, I do usually make it more than 10 minutes running on the treadmill--but it is never a pretty sight.

The rest of it was 100% true--even the Food Channel. I really do hate that place.

The good news? It was actually warm enough today (okay, well, it wasn't at all warm--but at least it wasn't freezing!) for me to run outside. That makes me so much happier than the gym.