Calgon, please.

Oh lordy, what a long week already. I need a mini-vacation. Tomorrow will be another long day, and how fortunate that I can't sleep! Ugh. And Halloween? Man, who knew it was so time consuming! Alan and I have put many hours into our costumes already, and we're not even finished. But it'll all be fun in the end. Lots of pictures for the blog, I'm sure!

The old yeller dog

I cried in front of my homeroom class today.

At the end of every day we have Read Aloud, where I read a chapter book to them. It's my special time of the day with my homeroom. We sit on the carpet at the reading center, we turn off the lights except for a cozy lamp, and they sometimes draw what they "see" in their heads. For the past three weeks, we've been reading Old Yeller. I told them early on that I was probably going to cry at the end, which wasn't giving anything away, since the main character tells you on the very first page that he kills his dog.

Knowing we were almost to that part today, my eyes had already glanced ahead at the exact part on the page where it happens. So there I am, two paragraphs before, having to stop and take deep breaths. Of course some of the kids thought it was amusing that I was getting upset, while others were chastising the ones who were making fun of me! And then there was the little girl sitting at my feet who was crying before I was. But I trudged on and with my voice breaking up read the line, "so I put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger." Here came the tears! I was thankful for the dimmed lights - ha.

But seriously, what is it about a dying dog that brings out more emotion than a dying human?

In Time for Halloween

Anyone who lives in West Texas knows that real estate prices have been ridiculously high for a while. Midlanders aren't going through the economic doom that much of the country is experiencing. In fact, the economy is pretty sweet around here. It's hard to find a home that hasn't already been snatched up within hours of being put on the market. So it was no surprise to us to see the "sold" sign on the house next door within 24 hours of being listed.

What did surprise us, however, was that the owners were already selling the home. They just bought it about a year ago, did a LOT of renovating, and looked to be a young couple who were settling down for a while. So why move so quickly?

The previous owner was an elderly lady who had been living alone for quite some time after her husband died. Her health was not good, but she was still able to live on her own and had friends and family visit frequently. Alan went over there a couple times to help her with things like lighting the pilot light, but we didn't have a lot of contact with her. One night, a little over a year ago, I woke up to flashing lights coming through our bedroom window. Out front were several emergency vehicles, one of which was an ambulance. We learned over the next couple of days that the woman had fallen, hit her head, and died.

So back to today. From talking to neighbors, Alan learned that the couple is moving because of the GHOST. The husband is gone a lot, and the wife is afraid to be home alone because of certain disturbances...like faucets being turned on and off. When Alan told me, my eyes lit up! I was so excited to be next door to a haunted house! That is, until I started hearing unusual noises the past few nights and began wondering if she's visiting her neighbors. Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo.

P-U

Did you know that if you cook vegetable soup with lots of cabbage all night long in your crock pot, that when you wake the next morning your whole house will smell like poo? Me neither!

Feeling maternal

I think anytime someone starts a blog with, "I had this dream last night...," readers instantly yawn and move on because who wants to hear about a dream? It's REALLY not that interesting to ANYONE other than yourself. You are the only one to whom it seems real. Good thing it's my blog page and I can do what I want. :-)

So I had this dream last night that I was in Wal-Mart with a group of young kids that I was semi-responsible for, like a school field trip or something. One kindergarten boy cut his foot, because he was running around in his socks through the metal clothes racks. He was bleeding pretty badly, so I picked him up and we headed to the nurses' clinic in the Wal-Mart. Yeah, you know, those nurses' clinics in every Wal-Mart. By the time I walked in the clinic, the little boy was now a baby about 9 months old. When I realize that I had accidently picked up someone's baby, I start to panic and head back out into the store. I'm thinking, "oh my God, someone's going to think I kidnapped their baby!"

But no parents were frantically looking for their child, no Adam alerts called out, nothing. I was still very panicked and spent the next 2-3 hours with this baby looking for the mom or dad. How could they not be looking for him? Then the Wal-Mart becomes a restaurant at night that is closing soon, and none of the staff seem concerned at all about my situation. Actually, they seem annoyed that I won't go home.

One thing I keep thinking during the dream is how cute the baby is, how good he's being, how nice it is to hold a baby again....and how PLEASE GOD LET ME FIND HIS PARENTS because I don't want to keep him!

The dream just struck me as funny, because Alan and I recently kept sweet little Holden for Brandi and Luke for a couple days. It was so fun, and we really enjoyed our weekend with him! And I really missed him just a few days later!

I think most women naturally reach an age at which they don't have yearnings to have babies anymore. I reached that age many, many years ago, yet it was still possible if Alan and I ever changed our minds. But we haven't, and we WON'T. The life that we see just around the corner looks pretty sweet. And then there'll be grandchildren to satisfy those maternal instincts. Babysitting suits me just fine.

Bottoms up!

How do I love thee, Nyquil, let me count the ways:

1. You make me feel better every time, regardless of how sick I am.
2. You're made with alcohol.
3. You make my leg jitters go away.
4. You allow me to sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. This is impossible without you!
5. You could taste much worst.
6. Your commercials do not irritate me or gross me out.
7. I mentioned the alcohol already, didn't I? Oh well, it's worth mentioning again because it's the only alcohol I've had in weeks.

And now it's time for another swig, and of course, bedtime. :-)

Maybe Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle?

I need ideas. I have to dress up as a storybook character for Halloween at my school. So far I've thought of Mary Poppins, Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus series, Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, Little Red Riding Hood (Bailey's suggestion), and...yeah that's about it. I teach Reading and can't think of a good storybook character. Help!

Okay, I'll Play!

DeeBee tagged me to play a game called Seven Facts or something like that. Of course I'll play! Why would I go get ready for work when I can be goofing off on the computer?

Seven Weird or Random facts about me:

1. Clowns creep me out.

2. I live with a mean cat that attacks and bites me almost daily.

3. I can't eat at Quiznos because of a weird Hobbit-looking troll of a man that was sitting next to me at a Quiznos once. It was the first time I had ever been there, and I've never been back. You just had to see him. But I've really worked on my issues with dwarfs and am a big fan of "Little People, Big World." So don't hate me.

4. I don't like tags - on clothes, blankets, pillows, whatever. I cut off every pillow tag the moment that pillow enters the house, and I can't have a blanket/sheet/throw tag near my face.

5. I broke my arm when I was 6 or 7. My parents didn't realize it for a week. ha.

6. I'm stealing an idea from DeeBee here and mentioning a recurring dream I always have: tornadoes. I have so many tornado dreams, and they're usually very cool. I'm fascinated with tornadoes.

7. I went to Europe when I was 15 with complete strangers, except for my French teacher who I didn't want to know any better.

Okay, I'll tag a few others:

Elizabeth, Just South of Sanity
Melissa, New Leaves in March
Naomi, blog it on your myspace!
Brandi, ditto

Out with the old...

The past week or so we've replaced a few old things with items of this century. The plain, white toaster that probably cost $10 at the time, has been replaced with one that does more than I'm sure is necessary. And the hand-me-down coffee pot that did its job just fine but just wasn't pretty enough, now has a large, stainless steel, programmable version sitting in its former spot on the counter. But most importantly, the ugly black and grey computer chair that stabbed you in the elbows because the armrest padding had disintegrated somewhere, is now replaced with this:



As if we didn't spend enough time on the computer.

Baby Talk

Nope, that's not something Alan and I are "in" to. But hey, if you and yours do that, more power to you. Actually we're babysitting a one-year old for our really good friends this weekend, and I'm so excited! To think of taking care of someone innocent, someone who won't roll his eyes, who won't stay out late or do anything involving the police, and who generally won't make me worry is going to be so fun! I can't wait.

Tuna Casserole

It's perhaps my favorite comfort food, and yeah, it doesn't hurt that it's extremely easy to make. I don't why or when I started having mine with a sour pickle, but it's a must-have accompaniment! I add whatever cheese I have on hand that needs to be used up - this time it was sharp cheddar, gruyere, and a small amount of Velveeta. I also add cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, milk and butter, and always have to have crushed Lay's potato chips on top. Any interesting recipes out there for this simple classic?

"Autumn" if your hoity-toity

I love the beginning of Fall. It's 68 degrees this morning, the wind is blowing, it's cloudy, and there's a hint of rain. We all know it won't really rain, but the suggestion of it is still a welcome change. Alan and I went for a short bike ride and just took cinammon rolls out of the oven, so it even smells like Fall! As much as I like the summer and will soon be wishing it were back, I think the beginning of every season is awesome.

Update

Daddy is home and doing much better, although I find it disconcerting that there is still no diagnosis for the mysterious autoimmune disease they say he has. It was pretty touch and go there for a couple days, but he's home and even back on his exercise bike! I guess the good news is that they've ruled out any serious issues with his heart. However they discovered he has an enlarged heart and diabetes on top of the prostate cancer that he's been dealing with for a few years now. But my dad is a positive person, deeply religious, and proof that attitude is everything.

Neglect and Renewal

I'm usually particular about having grass and weeds in my flower beds, not to mention renegade vines, but being preoccupied with other things has really taken a toll on our yard and landscaping. Ouch.



I just haven't had the desire or motivation to do anything outside, and the mosquitoes and flies have only been adding to my list of excuses. I haven't even taken the time to fill a jug of water and nourish my potted plants. Poor babies!





So I awoke today with a renewed sense of Destroy and Conquer! The vines are gone, the invasive grass and weeds have been chemically altered (sorry, Mother Earth), and the plants are finally watered. I may even buy some pretty fall mums today and get back to a once favorite pasttime.

Eighteen

Happy Birthday, Addison!