An Educator's Life

A Weekend for Giving Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:54:00 +0000

This weekend was been a whirlwind blur of activity. It started on Friday with meeting to write a paper (or at least get it started). A frustrating part of this whole experience has been that the teacher has been very wishy-washy about what is required for the project which has made it very difficult to meet her expectations. But that is okay. Saturday brought my little sister from Salt Lake, one of my older sisters from Emery County (the "other" side of the county), and my older brother who lives here, together at my parents for an early...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Anonymous- YOU ROCK!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:59:00 +0000

So I got the post on my blog today: Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "KODAK SAGA UPDATE #3 (or #4, or something like tha...": I purchased a esp 3 6 months back and it's been the biggest load of c**P I ever bought.If it works which is seldom it drinks ink, poor pic quality very noisy - get up and purchased a Cannon -- its perfect !! to quote my sister-in-law "BWAAHAHA"! How funny is that post. I wish I could say I knew who left it, but it says it all. We found out today that our NEW COLOR LASER PRINTER will be here on...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

JibJab- Elf Yourself!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Ok, so I "elfed" my children and it turned out AWESOME! Click HERE to view it! Then click on the picture below to elf yourself! :) Enjoy! Later...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Veteran's Day Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:35:00 +0000

I don't know what ever made me do it, but I was asked to sing for the Veteran's Day luncheon this year. However, now that it is done, I am so thankful I was asked. What a great privilege to be in a room full of men and women that have served our great country. My wife recorded me singing, and since it sounds pretty decent, I have consented to putting it here on my blog. NO LAUGHING! :) I am so thankful for the many men and women who freely give of their time and some their lives to protect the precious freedoms we enjoy here in the great...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Hallloween Costumes At Last!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:28:00 +0000

Well there you have it. A picture of my cute kids at Halloween.It was a great one. My wife took the kids trick-or-treating while I stayed home and handed out mozzarella cheese sticks (we went with a healthy option this year), After everyone made it home, we had dinner, finished off the cheese sticks, and then we turned off the lights, locked the door, and enjoyed White Christmas (it's a family tradition- thanks mom!) Later...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Kodak Came Through

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:05:00 +0000

So on my doorstep today arrived a brand-new in the box Kodak printer. I have to give them high marks in the Customer Service department (although it took publicly criticizing them in a open forum for them to respond, and several e-mails from me to get the ball rolling). I am greatly pleased with the friendliness AND professionalism of their consultants. As far as their product, I don't know that they will ever convince me to support their printing products again. They had a good idea, but in reality, it just isn't cutting it. Other than the...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Great News!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:44:00 +0000

After almost 5 weeks, I can share my good news! Today at church I was released from being the Elder's quorum president. While I will miss being deeply involved in the lives of many of the men in the ward, I am very relieved to turn the reigns over the next leader. I spent several hours at the school today getting report cards done, working on correcting math tests (which became so depressing I gave up) writing parent newsletters, and planning for tomorrow. It has been a busy week, but knowing the Friday is no school, I can survive anything!...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Happy Halloween! (and a time change)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:37:00 +0000

If I was a good dad, I would be adding photo's of my kids in the stinkin' cute costumes, but alas, I have none! It was great day however. We got home from shopping in Price around 5:00pm. We had spent the night at my sister's house after helping her run a spook alley for her son's school. It was loud and crazy, and we didn't get done taking everything until after 10pm (the event ended at 8pm), but it was fun. Thanks sis for the invite. This evening has been fun. The kids had a great time trick-or-treating. Tomorrow is going to be a great...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Two Days of Near Death (And the Close of the Kodak Saga...I Think)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Wowzers! I woke up Tuesday morning and knew that I wouldn't be going to school. I could hardly stand up, let alone teach. The poopy part was having to come up with sub plans while feeling sick. I called the clinic and asked if a PA would be in. They said yes. I told them I would call if I felt worse. I should have just scheduled an appointment. I called back around noon and told them I had to get in. The did get me in, though they weren't very excited about it. The PA told me that I most likely started with a bronchial infection and then...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Sick Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Wow, last night just kept getting better and better. The boys got hungry so we ordered a pizza and I went and picked it up. My 4 year old had had a fever off and on all day. I found that to be interesting. We ate dinner, and my son got a little snugly. I kept asking if he was okay. He would say yes each time. Well, I feel asleep while the boys were watching cartoons. My 4 year old was still on my lap. I woke up to find him sitting straight up. I tried so hard to get the garbage can in front of him, but I didn't make it. I spent the next 20...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Click HERE to play the traditional round of CAT BOWLING for Halloween! You will be taken to my School Classroom Wikispace to play. That way the music isn't playing the background of my blog. Today was HORRIBLE! I don't really even want to talk about it. My wife is gone for the weekend to St. George for a cousin's wedding. She will be back with my baby and my princess on Sunday afternoon. I have been sick all week, my eye has been twitching for almost 2 days now (I am going crazy over it), my entire family is/is just getting over being...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Kodak, Round 4 (Plus my real life)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:25:00 +0000

So today started with THIS e-mail: Hi Mr. Hughes, by any chance do you have the proof of purchase for the printer that you can send as an attachment or scan to send to me. Please advise. Thanks, Ricky And I replied with this: Mr. Frazier, I believe I can indeed find it, if needed (that will be a project for the weekend) but for what purpose? And this was the reply: Hi Mr. Hughes, I want to offer you another replacement ESP3 printer. Thanks, Ricky And my final reply for the day was: Mr....

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

KODAK SAGA UPDATE #3 (or #4, or something like that)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Here is what I got from them: Hi Mr. Hughes, my name is Ricky Frazier of Customer Relations, Eastman Kodak and wanted to follow up concerning your ESP3 printer. First I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems. I wanted to know if you have the latest fw loaded on your computer. I also want to send you a set of ink cartridges (color and text) for your inconvenience. Please provide an address that I can send them to. Also if I can be of any other assistance concerning your ESP3 printer please let me know. Sincerely, Ricky...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Door Monster!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:08:00 +0000

Okay, so check this out! I have one very talented and amazing wife. She saw this featured in one of her many magazines. We talked about it and decided it would be AWESOME to have for our front door. The magazine said to make it out of poster board, but we wanted it out of material so that it would last longer. After two days, a few setbacks, and some frustration here is the finished product! You go girl! So, though I know you all want one, forget it! You can't. This is a A. Hughes Original.- lol Actually I don't think she would make...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

And The Kodak Saga Continues...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Today was an interesting day. I had my MyACCESS training today, only I didn't. It wasn't a training for regular teachers. So, the 4th grade teacher, who had already had some training, went through what she knew about it and we finished that by lunch. After lunch I worked with the 5th grade teacher and taught him the basics of wikispace.com. It was a nice day. And my class... well they were pretty well behaved. I am very proud of them. Only a few minor issues to deal with tomorrow. As for the Kodak update, Aprille made it back to work today....

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Sunday Once Again! (And it is going ,going ,gone...)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:55:00 +0000

It is hard to believe that another week has come and gone. I have to say it was a great weekend. I was able to repair some shingles on my roof (see I am being brave and doing home repair on my own) and unclogging drains (if it wasn't illegal I would have taken a picture and shown you the hairball! WOW! - ok, it isn't illegal, but def. not something I want to share with the world!) Tomorrow will be a different day. I will only be teaching for the first hour and a half and then I have a webinar. My first ever in fact.So I will let you know about...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

First Down Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Well, It finally happened. I had my first unhappy day at school. The kids just pushed my buttons a little too much today. The morning started off well, but by afternoon the kids were restless. I worked to control it, but it didn't seem to go well. I hope this isn't a new pattern developing. I guess we will see. I was able to mow the lawn today and water the lawn. The weather keeps warming up and the cooling down and warming up and cooling down. I can't decide what to do outside anymore. :) There really isn't anything more to share at...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

A Very Happy Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to ME (and my brother-in-law). My wife put together a great birthday for me today. It started with a wonderful breakfast (Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries) to a great lunch for school with a love note (thanks for that- it really added smile to my day) to a wonderful dinner tonight (breakfast pizza with gravy, sauteed mushrooms, and fruit salad. Y-U-M-M-Y! My mom and dad also came and joined us (thanks for the great present mom and dad) I also got a great gift selection. I forgot my wife had a tool wish list we had made...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

2nd Chances (even if they are NOT deserved)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Okay, after everything is said and done, we simply can't afford a new printer (unless all you readers want to send me $5) so we bought a new color cartridge for our hunk-o-junk. My wife printed a wallet- did you read that? A WALLET size photo today and it dropped the new cartridge to 40%!!!!!! Wow, I am SO glad I wasn't home when that happened. Let's just say my wife was NOT impressed! So, I e-mailed Aprille at Kodak Connect (from my earlier post) and asked her what she plans to do. When I hear back I will let you know! Today was fun...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

I LOVE weekends!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Greetings all! It is amazing what sleeping in for 3 extra hours can do for the soul! I didn't even really budge this morning (even though my 4 year old was in my bed). My wife has my daughter and the two little boys with her at her mother's house. She is helping throw her sister a baby shower. She will be back later this evening. Last night my 9 year old and I played PlayStation. We played CTR. He is GOOD! It was nice to spend some time with just him. My 4 year crashed around 10:30 (which for him is WAY late- he is usually out...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Parent Teacher Student Conferences- THEY ROCK!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:35:00 +0000

WOW! They were AWESOME! I enjoyed meeting and talking with each parent(s) and student today. I was able to learn some great information and get candid feedback from parents. I love that- great feedback that helps me teach better. Thanks parents. My conferences started shortly after 12:15 and I didn't finish until after 5pm. That was an amazing ride. I had maybe 30 minutes of downtime. But with 16 conferences in a row, I was unable to stay on schedule. I only got 10 minutes per meetings and sometimes that just isn't enough. School...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Mission:Presenation a success!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Tonight I was able to do my learning sciences presentation. I think that it went really well. I was last and ended up with only 20 minutes. It worked out well. I got a few laughs out of everyone and I had fun presenting. Today at school was good. We finished up our rocket projects and will be launching them tomorrow. It is going to be great. Tomorrow I am also in charge of faculty meeting. I think it will be good. At least I hope it is. I know this is short and all, but I am exhausted. Later...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Another Monday Bites the Dust

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Helloooooooooooo out there in Blog Land! Another day has come and gone. I looked back and noticed I hadn't blogged since last Thursday. Holy CRAP! Friday was a fun day. My sister and her family took my little family to Gardiner Village in the Salt Lake area. That was a blast. It was a bit hectic because it was Little Witches Day or something like that. But the kids had a great time and so did we. By the time we finished there and did the rest of our shopping, it was pretty late. We got home around 9:30pm and by the time we unloaded and put...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

And This Is All I Got Back! So Much For US Customer Service...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Greetings John, Thank you for your recent visit to the Kodak Web site and question about your Kodak ESP 3 All-in-One Printer. We are quite concerned over your experience and are sorry for any inconvenience caused in this regard. We will certainly do our best to assist you. We assure you that we will certainly do the needful to fix your printer. As per your email, you are not getting sufficient ink yield from your Kodak ESP 3 All-in-One Printer. You are requested to follow the below mentioned steps: Click on KODAK AIO Home Center...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!

Kodak Printers Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:34:00 +0000

We are purchasing a new printer this weekend, and since I had just invested a good chunk of money in the "miracle" Kodak printer, I felt the need to share my feelings with them. Here is my e-mail to them in all its glory! To Whom It May Concern: I just wanted to let you know of my beyond great disappointment with your product. Less than 1 year ago I bought your Kodak ESP-3 (Service Number (T164349) scanner/printer. We were excited to see that ink was less-expensive and that print quality was good. Then we setup and started using it. From...

((Please Visit my blog to read the rest of the story)) Have a great day!