The work week went well (alliteration anyone?), and I'm all ready to for the students' first day on Monday. I'm nervous and excited. This year I'm teaching 7th grade English/Language Arts at a fantastic school. I'm still deciding my opinion about most of the other teachers, and so far the administration seems great.
It's a new beginning for little Miss Lilac Rain too. On Friday, I transfered her to the elementary school that is two minutes away from my new school. She's still in the same school district, so when she gets to middle school, she'll see a lot of her old friends again. Also, her new elementary is suppose to be the best in the district. After the year we had last year...well, I'm just happy that she's going to be challenged on a daily basis. In the morning, I'll drive her to my school and the bus will take her to the elementary. In the afternoon, her bus will bring her back to the middle school. So cool! And no daycare bill!!!
Monday is going to be a busy day...our first day with students, Lilac Rain and I both have eye doctor appts. *right* after school, and soccer practice starts! I'm already looking forward to next weekend! No worries...it's going to be a rockin' year!! :)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
All Good Things Must Come to an End
*Sigh* Summer is officially over for me. It was such a blast; I really wish I had a few more weeks of family, fun, hanging out, and crafting.
Tonight, I have to go to my new school for a Team Building Skills lecture. It's not mandatory, but since I'm new there this year, I have to go.
Tomorrow, I report to my new school to start getting ready for the students. Tues.-Fri. are teacher workdays with lectures scattered throughout them. Some I have to go to, others not. Thurs. is a long workday...open house starting at 2 and ending around 7. Ugh! I hope I can be ready in time.
There's still a TON of crap I have to do before next Mon. when we have our real first day of school...
Clean my closet
Go shopping for a few pieces of new clothing (the no money factor makes this a little difficult...at least all of Lilac Rain's shopping is done. On the positive side, I really don't need a whole lot)
Clean my house (because it won't be cleaned for a while)
Get lesson plans ready
Why does my list seem so small? I *know* that I have more to do!!
Lilac Rain starts fall soccer on the first day of school. It's a meet the coach and practice. After that, she'll have practices a couple of times a week and games a couple of times a week until the end of October. I can't believe that I'm a soccer mom again...I guess it goes well with the pink razor *laughs and rolls eyes*
Crafty news:
I finished two long skirts for Little Miss Lilac Rain, and I have two matching skirts almost done for me. They just need drawstrings and to be hemmed. I hate hemming with a passion!
I have a flanned patchwork quilt almost done for Jim. It needs to be sandwiched, tied and have the edging bound.
I'm about 1/4 of the way done with knitting a tie for Jim. I'm thinking it'll be done by Christmas, but if it's done earlier, I'll probably just give it to him since it was suppose to be a birthday/Father's Day gift. I had to bale on that idea and do something else for those days.
Finally, I have finished knitting ONE sock for myself. The sister sock has already been cast on and is ready to grow. The only down side to the first sock is that the yarn is beautifully hand dyed and my most favorite color combination that emerged happened to be on the bottom of the heel..the place that I'm going to be stepping on all of the time! Other than that I *love* it. It's only the 2nd thing I've ever knitted for myself. Usually, my crafts are given away as gifts, which I love to do, but I *really* wanted a pair of hand knit wool socks. Why do I feel so selfish right now?!?
When I start school, I always tend to put my crafting on hold even though it keeps me sane. Then I go insane and whip out all kinds of fabric and yarn and it gets thrown all over the house while I'm doing projects. This year is going to be different. Here's my goal:
1. Knit a little every night (It is probably my most relaxing craft, but the slowest for finished projects. It's also a great thing to take to soccer practices and games)
2. Sew when I want to (most likely on weekends), but finish a new garmet every three weeks (totally do-able)
Hopefully, this will keep me crafting during the school year and will reduce the amount of emotional meltdowns due to not being able to express myself creatively. I think it just might work.
Tonight, I have to go to my new school for a Team Building Skills lecture. It's not mandatory, but since I'm new there this year, I have to go.
Tomorrow, I report to my new school to start getting ready for the students. Tues.-Fri. are teacher workdays with lectures scattered throughout them. Some I have to go to, others not. Thurs. is a long workday...open house starting at 2 and ending around 7. Ugh! I hope I can be ready in time.
There's still a TON of crap I have to do before next Mon. when we have our real first day of school...
Clean my closet
Go shopping for a few pieces of new clothing (the no money factor makes this a little difficult...at least all of Lilac Rain's shopping is done. On the positive side, I really don't need a whole lot)
Clean my house (because it won't be cleaned for a while)
Get lesson plans ready
Why does my list seem so small? I *know* that I have more to do!!
Lilac Rain starts fall soccer on the first day of school. It's a meet the coach and practice. After that, she'll have practices a couple of times a week and games a couple of times a week until the end of October. I can't believe that I'm a soccer mom again...I guess it goes well with the pink razor *laughs and rolls eyes*
Crafty news:
I finished two long skirts for Little Miss Lilac Rain, and I have two matching skirts almost done for me. They just need drawstrings and to be hemmed. I hate hemming with a passion!
I have a flanned patchwork quilt almost done for Jim. It needs to be sandwiched, tied and have the edging bound.
I'm about 1/4 of the way done with knitting a tie for Jim. I'm thinking it'll be done by Christmas, but if it's done earlier, I'll probably just give it to him since it was suppose to be a birthday/Father's Day gift. I had to bale on that idea and do something else for those days.
Finally, I have finished knitting ONE sock for myself. The sister sock has already been cast on and is ready to grow. The only down side to the first sock is that the yarn is beautifully hand dyed and my most favorite color combination that emerged happened to be on the bottom of the heel..the place that I'm going to be stepping on all of the time! Other than that I *love* it. It's only the 2nd thing I've ever knitted for myself. Usually, my crafts are given away as gifts, which I love to do, but I *really* wanted a pair of hand knit wool socks. Why do I feel so selfish right now?!?
When I start school, I always tend to put my crafting on hold even though it keeps me sane. Then I go insane and whip out all kinds of fabric and yarn and it gets thrown all over the house while I'm doing projects. This year is going to be different. Here's my goal:
1. Knit a little every night (It is probably my most relaxing craft, but the slowest for finished projects. It's also a great thing to take to soccer practices and games)
2. Sew when I want to (most likely on weekends), but finish a new garmet every three weeks (totally do-able)
Hopefully, this will keep me crafting during the school year and will reduce the amount of emotional meltdowns due to not being able to express myself creatively. I think it just might work.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Hippies, Hippies Everywhere
The house is quiet and still. I'm enjoying my coffee and putzing around on the internet...all of the hippies are still fast asleep :)
Our friends, Katie and Jay, decided to make the long haul to NC to visit. I'm so freaking happy and excited! They arrived early yesterday morning after working all day on Thurs. and driving all night. After a short nap, the fun was ON! Swimming, listening to music, Jim and Katie playing the guitar, reminisicing, using our phrases that nobody knows the meaning of besides us, and so many, "I can't believe your here"s. Last night was Euchre, boys against the girls. I'm sad to report that the girls were defeated. Tonight we will have our revenge!!
On the agenda for today:
Breakfast, a trip to the beer store, looking around Greensboro, swimming, music, Euchre...basically making the most of the day, which reminds me that I need to get off of the computer and wake up all of the lazy hippies that are still asleeep...BREAKFAST!!!
Katie and Jay leave tomorrow, late afternnon, but first, we'll to head to the Hillbilly Hide A Way for brunch, then to the state park for a short hike and some more exploring of cool small towns in the area.
Next week, I start getting ready for the school year. Ths was definately an amazing way to end a fantastic summer.
Our friends, Katie and Jay, decided to make the long haul to NC to visit. I'm so freaking happy and excited! They arrived early yesterday morning after working all day on Thurs. and driving all night. After a short nap, the fun was ON! Swimming, listening to music, Jim and Katie playing the guitar, reminisicing, using our phrases that nobody knows the meaning of besides us, and so many, "I can't believe your here"s. Last night was Euchre, boys against the girls. I'm sad to report that the girls were defeated. Tonight we will have our revenge!!
On the agenda for today:
Breakfast, a trip to the beer store, looking around Greensboro, swimming, music, Euchre...basically making the most of the day, which reminds me that I need to get off of the computer and wake up all of the lazy hippies that are still asleeep...BREAKFAST!!!
Katie and Jay leave tomorrow, late afternnon, but first, we'll to head to the Hillbilly Hide A Way for brunch, then to the state park for a short hike and some more exploring of cool small towns in the area.
Next week, I start getting ready for the school year. Ths was definately an amazing way to end a fantastic summer.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Just Call Me Candy
I might as well announce it to the world. My friends are harassing me non-stop. My new name seems to be "Candy".
Around Christmas I lost my cell phone. If I had to guess what happened, it probably ended up on a shelf or, more likely, in a cooler at Costco...don't ask. Anywho, I was not terribly upset by it. Personally, I hate cell phones, but Jim likes that I'll be able to call for help in some sort of emergency and likes to be able to contact me during the school year without having to go through the school's switchboard. Our cell phone contract was up in June, and then I could get a new one for free. No biggie. So June passes, it's summer, and we didn't even think about the cell phone. I thought I would be able to remain cell phone free. I was wrong.
We took our anniversary trip to the beach. I love the ocean!! It was extremely hot, but we managed to have lots of fun. Lilac Rain and I tried boogie boarding, while Jim kayak surfed. Nights were spent learning to play cribbage (so much fun!), hunting for shells, and stalking the ghost crabs. When we got home, there was a package on the porch. Jim had ordered new cell phones for both of us.
He opened the package and pulled out two boxes. I went about my business unpacking, starting laundry, and looking at emails. Jim took out a cell phone from one box and said, "This one's mine." Alright, whatever...it's a Blue Razor. He says, "Don't you want to open yours?" Sure. I open the box and can't keep from smiling and laughing. "Why would you do this to me?" is all I can say. Lilac Rain is bobbing around going, "What? What?" And I pull out the phone...A PINK RAZOR! I say, "You realize that this is *the* phone of sorority girls, right?" He just laughs and laughs...he finds this totally amusing, but then tries to find composure and plays stupid. "What? (shocked) Don't you like it? I thought that you would love it. I *told* you I was going to get you a Pink Razor. Besides, your new students will think your hip...totally cool because *you* have a pink razor." "I thought you were kidding!" Jackass crap weasel. Don't be alarmed...jackass and crap weasel are my terms of endearment for my husband that I truly love, even though he finds humor in the oddest ways. It's like a trade off...he can find humor in my horror and I get to lovingly call him a jackass, crap weasel or both. He then gets to laugh about it, because, again, he finds humor in the oddest ways.
So, I have a friend who has decided that my new name should be "Candy" for reasons that are so silly I don't even want to explain. Another friend asked me if I was going to start listening to Brittney Spears, NSync, and Hannson...like, OMG! Like, really? Totally.
Jim is constantly handing me the cell phone and saying things like, "Here's your Pink Razor. Call your friends on your Pink Razor. Don't forget your Pink Razor. " and laughing about it like there's no tomorrow. He's even getting Lilac Rain in on the fun. It's tag team torture, that's what it is.
I'm heading to Costco on Wednesday. My Pink Razor might just find a new home in one of the coolers.
Around Christmas I lost my cell phone. If I had to guess what happened, it probably ended up on a shelf or, more likely, in a cooler at Costco...don't ask. Anywho, I was not terribly upset by it. Personally, I hate cell phones, but Jim likes that I'll be able to call for help in some sort of emergency and likes to be able to contact me during the school year without having to go through the school's switchboard. Our cell phone contract was up in June, and then I could get a new one for free. No biggie. So June passes, it's summer, and we didn't even think about the cell phone. I thought I would be able to remain cell phone free. I was wrong.
We took our anniversary trip to the beach. I love the ocean!! It was extremely hot, but we managed to have lots of fun. Lilac Rain and I tried boogie boarding, while Jim kayak surfed. Nights were spent learning to play cribbage (so much fun!), hunting for shells, and stalking the ghost crabs. When we got home, there was a package on the porch. Jim had ordered new cell phones for both of us.
He opened the package and pulled out two boxes. I went about my business unpacking, starting laundry, and looking at emails. Jim took out a cell phone from one box and said, "This one's mine." Alright, whatever...it's a Blue Razor. He says, "Don't you want to open yours?" Sure. I open the box and can't keep from smiling and laughing. "Why would you do this to me?" is all I can say. Lilac Rain is bobbing around going, "What? What?" And I pull out the phone...A PINK RAZOR! I say, "You realize that this is *the* phone of sorority girls, right?" He just laughs and laughs...he finds this totally amusing, but then tries to find composure and plays stupid. "What? (shocked) Don't you like it? I thought that you would love it. I *told* you I was going to get you a Pink Razor. Besides, your new students will think your hip...totally cool because *you* have a pink razor." "I thought you were kidding!" Jackass crap weasel. Don't be alarmed...jackass and crap weasel are my terms of endearment for my husband that I truly love, even though he finds humor in the oddest ways. It's like a trade off...he can find humor in my horror and I get to lovingly call him a jackass, crap weasel or both. He then gets to laugh about it, because, again, he finds humor in the oddest ways.
So, I have a friend who has decided that my new name should be "Candy" for reasons that are so silly I don't even want to explain. Another friend asked me if I was going to start listening to Brittney Spears, NSync, and Hannson...like, OMG! Like, really? Totally.
Jim is constantly handing me the cell phone and saying things like, "Here's your Pink Razor. Call your friends on your Pink Razor. Don't forget your Pink Razor. " and laughing about it like there's no tomorrow. He's even getting Lilac Rain in on the fun. It's tag team torture, that's what it is.
I'm heading to Costco on Wednesday. My Pink Razor might just find a new home in one of the coolers.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Catching Up, Buttercup
So much time as passed...here are the highlights.
Wilco: Saw them in June. Little Miss Lilac Rain had yet another "moment" with her idol, Jeff Tweedy. She made her debut on youtube with this experience. You can watch it here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XYcRlR6PyMg
Kentucky: Jim, Lilac Rain, and I traveled to KY to meet up with some MI friends at Cumberland Lake State Park. It was great to visit with Rick, Chris, Alex and Ryan. Unfortunately, when darkness fell and we were sitting around the campfire, it was like we had been transported into a B-rated horror film. From the woods, *hundreds* of skunks would emerge...tails raised and ready to spray. They were coming to get us!! The entire campground was infested with them! We would lie in our tent, and listen to the skunks demolish our site. Very scarry...
By morning, the skunk smell lingered throughout the entire campground. At least the smell didn't stick to us or our gear.
After camping, we headed on over to Mulenberg County, to visit Jim's grandparents. Lilac Rain had a blast hanging out and playing with Granny and feeding the cat fish down yonder in the pond with PaPa. Other highlights include visiting Uncle Bud and Aunt Anna Sue, swimming in their pool, visiting with Great, Great (and for Lilac Rain...another Great) Aunt Mazine (she totally rocks!), and visiting cousins Karen, Allie, and Jessie-Poo before heading out.
Floyd Fest: I loved this more than my Bonnaroo experience, but in a completely different way! It's small, intimate, less than 10,000 people on the busy day, and looking over the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have a wonderful children's section, Children's Univers, and it is appropriately named! Tons of free recycled crafts for the kids to do. Lilac Rain made a bottle cap snake and a newspaper hat that she wore all day long! She got so many compliments on her hat, and was very proud to show it off. Not to mention the free t-shirt painting that they provided for the kids! Animal balloons, music, hooping, frisbee, a huge sandbox, jumping/harness/flippy thingy, and a water slide. My only complaint was the water slide. It was a HUGE blow up slide, with the pool of water that they slid into at the bottom. Unfortunately, the water got extremely nasty quickly from the mud and such, so we bypassed that experience.
The music was jammin' and we had a great time dancing together in the sun. The Hackensaw Boys made the festival IMO. Note for next year: Use more sunscreen!!!
Next week: August 9th is our 10 year wedding anniversary. Jim decided that we should probably do something to celebrate, even if we are oh so broke. The result of our brainfarting is a mini trip to the beach during the week.
And Finally: Summer is slipping away. Soon I'll have to go back to work. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful beginning at my new job. I've also spent a lot of time this summer thinking about community/family, quilting patterns, joining a quilting guild and writing.
More on all of that another day.
Wilco: Saw them in June. Little Miss Lilac Rain had yet another "moment" with her idol, Jeff Tweedy. She made her debut on youtube with this experience. You can watch it here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XYcRlR6PyMg
Kentucky: Jim, Lilac Rain, and I traveled to KY to meet up with some MI friends at Cumberland Lake State Park. It was great to visit with Rick, Chris, Alex and Ryan. Unfortunately, when darkness fell and we were sitting around the campfire, it was like we had been transported into a B-rated horror film. From the woods, *hundreds* of skunks would emerge...tails raised and ready to spray. They were coming to get us!! The entire campground was infested with them! We would lie in our tent, and listen to the skunks demolish our site. Very scarry...
By morning, the skunk smell lingered throughout the entire campground. At least the smell didn't stick to us or our gear.
After camping, we headed on over to Mulenberg County, to visit Jim's grandparents. Lilac Rain had a blast hanging out and playing with Granny and feeding the cat fish down yonder in the pond with PaPa. Other highlights include visiting Uncle Bud and Aunt Anna Sue, swimming in their pool, visiting with Great, Great (and for Lilac Rain...another Great) Aunt Mazine (she totally rocks!), and visiting cousins Karen, Allie, and Jessie-Poo before heading out.
Floyd Fest: I loved this more than my Bonnaroo experience, but in a completely different way! It's small, intimate, less than 10,000 people on the busy day, and looking over the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have a wonderful children's section, Children's Univers, and it is appropriately named! Tons of free recycled crafts for the kids to do. Lilac Rain made a bottle cap snake and a newspaper hat that she wore all day long! She got so many compliments on her hat, and was very proud to show it off. Not to mention the free t-shirt painting that they provided for the kids! Animal balloons, music, hooping, frisbee, a huge sandbox, jumping/harness/flippy thingy, and a water slide. My only complaint was the water slide. It was a HUGE blow up slide, with the pool of water that they slid into at the bottom. Unfortunately, the water got extremely nasty quickly from the mud and such, so we bypassed that experience.
The music was jammin' and we had a great time dancing together in the sun. The Hackensaw Boys made the festival IMO. Note for next year: Use more sunscreen!!!
Next week: August 9th is our 10 year wedding anniversary. Jim decided that we should probably do something to celebrate, even if we are oh so broke. The result of our brainfarting is a mini trip to the beach during the week.
And Finally: Summer is slipping away. Soon I'll have to go back to work. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful beginning at my new job. I've also spent a lot of time this summer thinking about community/family, quilting patterns, joining a quilting guild and writing.
More on all of that another day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
