So I'm a cooking nerd

Have you ever had leftover spaghetti or goulash that when you reheated it the next day, you found the sauce to be a little dry? Check out this 4 oz. packet of tomato sauce! You can just throw this in and not have to worry about opening and wasting a larger can. This is what happens when you send your husband to the store, and he comes back with all varieties and sizes of an item because he's not sure what you really want. And in this case it turned out cool.



I hate grocery shopping so much that I told Alan I'd do the laundry, ironing, and cook dinner if he'd do the grocery shopping. Okay, so I didn't end up doing ALL of that, but the ironing alone makes that a fair trade.

Spooked

Yes I love to watch shows like "A Haunting" on Discovery, but I wouldn't say I'm infatuated with all things supernatural to the point where I want to read about it, research it, etc. But if I'm flipping channels and it's on, I'm going to watch. I tend to be a believer more than a skeptic in haunting spirits or "ghosts" and am really entertained in documentary type shows on the subject. I just think there's a lot more to the spiritual/supernatural part of life than we realize. And I don't think I'm 100% convinced in demon possessions and exorcisms, but I'm not a nonbeliever either. Although...

I had this dream last night that I was being visited and haunted by a demonic force of some kind, and so I decided to get out my digital camera and record such a visit, at least the audio part. My bedroom was dark (as if I would ever have the lights off when a voice like the one from Amityville or The Exorcist was talking to me), but with the camera going I was able to record the voice and a little bit of a face with glowing eyes (which was laying in my bed on my pillow staring at me!). It was the kind of creepy dream that, even though I woke up with some morning light in the room, my heart was racing and I was kinda scared momentarily.

Anyway, the important part I'm sharing is that I had the common sense in my dream to record the "happenings." So if such things have really happened to so many people, why are we not seeing their home videos? Why so many reenactments in this day and age of technology? Wouldn't you want proof more than anything? Kind of makes me wonder...

More to love

The other day I was reading Dooce's post about the raccoon living in their chimney, and I was enjoying the story and pictures of the whole escapade, and then I get to the part where she mentions how big this particular raccoon turned out to be....about "15 to 20 pounds." Hmmm....who does this remind me of? Last time I weighed him, Junior was a healthy 17 pounds. We like to say he's big-boned, or plus-size, or husky....or just very fat.

Step back

I don't think I'll get fired anytime soon, but if I do at some point in my career, it'll be because I told an argumentative parent to go jump off a cliff....preferably one with stalagmites growing at the bottom. And okay I know they can't grow out in the open like that, but a teacher can dream.

Let's just say I had an intense conversation with a parent today. And I don't back down (to a fault I might add) when I believe I'm in the right.

Cellular phenom

I'm on my feet most of the day and therefore usually have my cell phone in my pants or skirt pocket, on vibrate. So there's this little phenomenon that is really getting on my nerves. I can still feel my phone vibrating even when it's NOT vibrating and it's nowhere near me! It's as if my body can't let go of that vibrating sensation. And since I'm a "righty" and therefore always keep my phone in a right pants or skirt pocket, (because my world would be completely off balance if I tried wearing it on the left), the sensation is always on the right in roughly the same spot. Before I ask if this has happened to you, let me say that I know I read an article not long back that talked about this issue...but come on, does this happen to you?

My daily surroundings

I had my camera at school today, because I've been intermittently taking pictures of each student over the past couple of weeks to include in a display on our classroom door. One of the kids remembered that I said something about taking a group picture of all of us, so here we are. Please note that the second picture is more their "true" selves and the craziness I deal with on a daily basis. Aaahh...Spring Break is yet a memory.

We did stuff

I just sat here thinking about all the things we got done around the house this week. Daa-uhm. We did a lot. Of course we had a little help (okay, a LOT of help) with Alan's dad being here and being Mr. Project Man himself. I was about to list everything we did, but that list is so long that it gets more boring by the item. Let's just say, we "did work." And I just got through painting the guest house bathroom a little while ago, so a nice hot shower is calling my name.

By the way, my little Maltipoo friend, Toto, is gone and Junior and I are sad. But then I just watch this snippet from a Rob & Big episode and I'm happy again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbjGBMiYYlQ

Being a Big Boy

Those of you who have witnessed firsthand the wrath of Junior will understand why it fascinates me that he has been the most gentle, patient host while putting up with a very young, spastic guest. Yes, I just referred to Junior as gentle and patient. He doesn't hiss or growl OR EVEN BITE this little white ball, and biting is a part of Junior's daily maintenance of the pearly whites. The proof:

But really, how could you be mean to this:

Babysitting

We're babysitting a Maltipoo for a couple days.

We're going to be busy.

I like dirt.

I should post a picture of my dirty feet and fingernails to prove how much I love digging in the dirt and planting in the spring. But even I have my limitations. No one ever needs to see dirt that has ground into a person's heels. It's never attractive. But people walk around every day of their lives with grungy feet. And then wear sandals! There are inexpensive scrubbers and tools that will take care of such nastiness, not to mention shoes that keep us from having to see your feet.

I digress. Here's a couple of plants that I expect to mass-multiply in a couple months, the tried and true Lantana and the Sweet Potato Vine:

Bargain shopping...should have put it on the list.

I don't know what's gotten into Pier One, but they currently have an explosion of cute things that are CHEAP! Not that Pier One is really expensive, but I wouldn't call them mindful of my pocket book. I got these candles for $3.50 each. Very cute outside on the patio. We'll get to use them for maybe another month or so before the Texas size mosquitoes and flies make outdoor dining a fond memory.

Look at me checking things off my list.

Hi. I will bite you now.


Dude knows how to nap.


Yes, we (as in, me) have to vacuum our ottoman regularly.

I make lists.

It's time....to do so many things I haven't done in a while. I wanted to high five everyone in the hall yesterday when the bell rang announcing SPRING FRIGGIN' BREAK! I tried to wish my students "happy spring break!" but instead it came out as "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya! Get out! Leave my presence!" I think they felt the love.

I intend for my list to include more play than work, and here's what I have so far:

• Sleep.
• Sit on the back porch in my pajamas and drink coffee.
• Watch cooking shows.
• Cook.
• Sleep some more.
• Tan, if I can afford some sessions.
• Shop for swimsuits.
• Hang out with my father-in-law.
• Paint the guest house bath (yes, that is actually fun for me).
• Take pictures.
• Update the blog.
• READ.
• Run, when the wind isn't blowing 50 mph like yesterday.
• Wash my car, when the wind isn't blowing 50 mph like yesterday.
• Stay up past 10:00.
• Sleep.
• Work in the yard.

I know I'll still be grading papers and planning and will even have to go up to the school for a little while, but that doesn't bother me when I know it will peaceful and QUIET.

I plan to post pictures proving that I did many of these things. Not the swimsuit pictures though. :-)

"Miss Jackson, if you're nasty"

The last couple of hashers left about an hour ago. This was our second time to host a Hash and our fourth one to attend. That means that next month will be mine and Alan's 5th Hash, making us eligible to receive our Hash names. So tonight at "circle time" and later around the fire pit, other hashers threw out suggestions as to what our names should be. Alan's potential name is looking like "Lean, Mean, Bald Machine," while suggestions for yours truly were "Double Trouble" and "Mrs. Nasty." The names are by no means supposed to be complimentary, and mine derives from all kinds of inappropriate scenarios. We had a good time as usual, and this particular run was pretty long, grueling, and oh yeah....law-breaking. And who knew Midland had so many hills and valleys!

Right now I'm tired and just happy to have the BBQ smoke and beer washed out of my hair. Come join a hash sometime, and this will all make perfect sense.

Kicking back

So I survived administering my first state test as a real teacher....now I just have to wait on the results for a couple weeks. Once we finished that on Wednesday, the rest of the week for the kids has been absolutely no work and all fun. They deserve it, when the state puts them through such hell over a stupid test.

Today while they're watching movies (on the friggin big screen in my hi-tech classroom!) and playing games, I'll be finishing getting completely caught up on grading and inputting grades. I might even have time for that inconceivable and fuzzy concept called PLANNING.

Tomorrow we're hosting another Hash at our house, which we were hit with out of the blue. I have no idea what all we're going to eat, haven't been to the store, and have a "thing" I have to attend tonight at the school. I'm also disappointed because we haven't had the porch residing project done yet, and everything out back is dead and ugly. But I'm guessing since beer and food is involved, we'll manage to have an okay time. :-)

Finally!

Bailey's team had a fairly humiliating day on Saturday of the tournament, only to turn it around completely today, winning all three matches and the Bronze championship. For a team who hasn't won much all season, this was a much needed boost! Bailey went from playing hitter to setter and back to hitter again, and she's handled all the changes with no complaints. She was awesome as an outside hitter this weekend, a position she much prefers. She also serves as the team's captain. Here's the victory photo as well as a mini-clip from a game.

Having an explosive time in Lubbock!

Something that has changed in correlation with my working this semester, and no I'm not talking about the ho-humness of my blog. Our dinner routine is suffering. I just don't have time or feel like cooking much anymore. I think I made spaghetti one night last week and salmon patties another. I used to cook 5-6 meals per week counting the weekends.

So Friday night before we left for Lubbock, Alan and I had chips and salsa for dinner. A lot of chips and salsa. For me that was followed by 3-4 Girl Scout cookies. Yesterday I had a decent enough breakfast at the hotel followed by a couple more of those cookies mid-morning. Lunch was a mammoth pizza slice at the mall, followed by Peanut Butter Patties as soon as we returned to the gym. Dinner was McDonald's. I skipped the cookies this time.

I could tell there was going to be some unpleasantness thanks to the amount of non-vegetable/non-fruit products I've been consuming. God bless my body for waiting until we were back in the comfort of our hotel room to express its disdain. I was reminded of that scene from Dumb and Dumber where at first you get the sounds INSIDE your body. And it just went downhill from there.

I'm blaming Alan for the GS cookies. He bought five boxes at home, which we inhaled. He then bought 3 or 4 more yesterday at the Wal-Mart here in Lubbock. Several of us parents were sitting around yesterday morning talking about how each member of the family claims stake to whichever type is their favorite, such as: hiding them under the bed, tucking them away in drawers, or writing threatening messages on the box. So it was only fitting that Alan show up a little while later with MORE cookies. At least my favorite kind seems to be one that no one else cares about - Peanut Butter Sandwiches. How can you not love those?

Alright, time to go get ready for another day of volleyball. When we get back to Midland tonight, I have to make two huge pots of red beans for a luncheon at school tomorrow. Beans....hmmm. This could be ugly.

A Real Live Teacher

Looks like I can finally claim that title. I found out today that I got the teaching position at the school where I've been subbing for the past few weeks. I'm excited, but I gotta say it was a bit anti-climactic to be told in FRONT of the other person who interviewed for the SAME JOB. That, plus the fact that a parent has scheduled a conference with myself and the principal tomorrow because she's worried about this transition for her daughter, made me a little less than giddy today.

Still, I'm a teacher!

From Frumpy to Fabulous (for a day anyway)

Perhaps last night I was still trying to catch up on the lack of sleep we got over the weekend...getting up at 5:45 on Saturday for volleyball, waking up at 5:30 (voluntarily) on Sunday to do some grading in the hotel lobby, and then not getting back to Midland until 1:00 a.m. Sunday night. This, followed by having to get up at 5:30 Monday morning for another workday, had left me a bit sleepy.

So I get going a little later this morning than usual, and was thus changing into work clothes with just minutes to spare before needing to leave the house. As luck would have it, the zipper on my favorite denim skirt broke, and I was left standing in confusion at my closet waiting for some decent outfit to materialize. It never did, and 10 minutes later I was leaving the house in a rush in a poorly thrown-together mixture of pink and browns. Not pretty. My hair looked bad, I had to wear glasses thanks to this pinkeye condition, my socks were too dark for my shoes, and I felt fat all day.

Hmmm, how do we resolve this so that it doesn't happen anymore this week? Why, a trip to Target of course! Thank you, Target, for $12.99 shirts that me feel like a hundred bucks. At least for a while. All the women out there know the "lift" you feel when you wear something you feel pretty in, so go spend that minimal amount when you need it. It's worth it.

My Valentines

There are 17 little third-graders that I spend the majority of my time and attention on lately. That needs to change soon, but they sure are cute.

Bit of this and that

After two 13-hour days in a row, I'm so glad to be home by 5:00 today. I left so quickly after school, that I didn't even stop to see if there was a staff meeting. Oops.

Even though I'll sort of be working tonight (inputting grades), I'll be wearing jeans, followed quickly by pajamas, hanging out all cozy in my own living room, and will hopefully be catching something good on TV. Speaking of which, I have become such a junkie of "The First 48!" Where has this show been all my life? It's so addicting.

Today I interviewed for the teaching position that I've been subbing in for the past 5 weeks. It went okay, and I'm hopeful but not overly-confident. Oh hey, I only made two kids cry today. Yes, they should definitely hire me.

Alan and I have mutually agreed to sort of ignore Valentine's Day this year. It's kind of a goofy holiday if you ask me, and better suited to all the cutesy elementary school activities. It may sound unromantic, but at least we're trying to plan a weekend away as soon as we can work it around the volleyball weekends.

Saturday Morning Grading

This is how Junior helps with my Saturday routine.




I'm pretty sure this is not what I taught about fractions this week. I see a Reteaching session in the very near future.

Divine health

I'm setting myself up for certain illness by writing this, but I'm just so surprised I haven't gotten sick yet. Every day for the past 2-3 weeks I've been around sick kids with sore throats, fever, and the flu, and yet I haven't had as much as a sniffle. But If I don't come down with something after today, then my immune system has surely been touched by God himself!

A boy who was not feeling well used my cell phone to call his parents, and then clearly stricken with nausea, rushed towards the restroom where he promptly vomited in the hallway. Back inside the classroom, I sat there looking at my lovely gold Razr, wondering how to avoid all those active germs. All I could come up with was to squirt sanitizer on my hands (which I've been applying about 10 times every day) and when it was almost dry, rub it all over my phone.

I then came home to Bailey who is now running a 100+ temperature.

Glad I didn't wash my car

Couple things I despise about this area - wind and sand. We had the pleasure of driving through both on the way home from Amarillo today.

Amarillo by morning, Amarillo's where I'll be...

Sitting here in the hotel room in Amarillo while Bailey gets a much deserved nap, and Alan channel surfs between The Fantastic Four and Star Wars. We just got through watching the really horrible Charlie's Angels II. The whole reason for my tuning in was so that I would be so bored and annoyed that surely I would be lured to sleep. No such luck.

No wins today in volleyball, but Bailey's 15 year-old team was forced to play up to 16s and 17s. Not exactly a fair tournament, but it was good to have that kind of competition. I think most of the players and parents are going out to eat tonight, and then we'll be back at the facility bright and early at 7:15 tomorrow. I'm hearing that we'll be done by noon and home in time to watch the Superbowl! I don't think I'll have time to throw any cool finger foods together like DeeBee, but at least we won't miss the commercials.

Many hotel chains these days are trying to impress guests with the trendy, clean, white, spa-type of bed linens. Problem is, there are no real blankets on the beds. So I called the front desk asking for blankets, and both Bailey and Alan thought I was being demanding. Alan went so far as to say that given a few more years I would be much like my mother, who is known for requesting and demanding service that most of us would be too embarrassed to request. Uh, no. When you're paying $95 a night for a nice but not outstanding hotel room, I think they can give me a blanket for the damn bed. And guess who is all curled up in the very warm, soft and cozy blanket right now? ALAN.

All over the place...

I am really a boring blogger lately. Nonexistent is probably a better term. I don't know why my brain is lifeless and blank, but I'm guessing it has a little to do with how much I'm NOT at home doing fun things, like watching HGTV or picking up a new pasta recipe from my friend, Giada.

I'll skip the teaching stuff from last week. Over this past weekend, Alan and I painted and really-and-truly-this-time organized the garage. Prior to painting, our garage had perhaps the two ugliest colors of green you could ever choose for garage walls. Mint green on the lower half, pukey pea green on the top. And honestly it looks like the garage was one of those afterthought additions to the house - one that is designed and constructed by an amateur at best. So we spent a whopping $5 on a gallon of wrongly-mixed paint or whatever it's problem was, and painted the garage an off-white. It took Bailey about a day and a half to notice the change.

Speaking of Bailey, we're headed to Amarillo this weekend for her volleyball team's first club tournament of the season, and we're pumped! We love the tournaments. Unfortunately, I just found out tonight that my little sister Ashly will be in town from Virginia this same weekend, so we're going to miss seeing her. What bad timing.

This is random, but if you need a little pick-me-up, I suggest watching last week's episode of Rob & Big and their adventures in training Minnie Horse.

Do work!

It always feels good to get a lot accomplished. Thanks to Dr. King for the long holiday weekend, Alan and I reorganized the garage, got laundry done, painted the interior of the guest house, and did the "deed." You know, grocery shopping. And I got a cazillion papers graded. I think that says a lot for us, or mostly me, considering HGTV was tempting me with a marathon of House Hunters International today.

Now I'm pooped and needing a good night's sleep before starting the week tomorrow. It's gonna be another Nyquil night.

I have to blog 7 times this weekend to make up

I should have a dozen funny or interesting stories from teaching this week. I don't. I should have SOMETHING to talk about. I just don't. My brain is over-saturated to the point where I can't pull anything of interest to the forefront. Everything's foggy and I'm tired. But I feel good about the week (now that it's over) and hope I improve a little each day.

What I really don't like about this whole working thing is having to wonder who's going to pick up Bailey everyday, when am I going to get to the store to get bread and detergent, what can I throw together for dinner that isn't from a box, when in God's name will I get these papers graded, and then every day's highlight: when can I get in my pajamas, wrap up in my blanket on the couch and watch House Hunters or Rob & Big?! I LIKE BEING HOME. But I kinda like those little kids at school, too. I wouldn't want to walk away from this until I see if I can become much better at it.

Still...we just added some more channels to our cable today and boy, does that make home more enticing. :-)

If you love Jesus, CALL FIRST!

There are a couple of very attractive, young, hispanic Jehovah witness ladies that are bound and determined to catch me at home at a convenient time someday to tell me all about The Lost Kingdom. But they don't have a good grasp of the "convenient" part, since they boldly show up unannounced like every other religious group of visitors tend to do. Twice I had wet hair from a shower, another day I was on my way out, and today I was braless and in pajama bottoms. So I either don't open the door, or I do and tell them it's not a good time. Strange how churchy visitors feel the message they're bringing gives them the right to show up at a stranger's house unannounced. Anyway, I really do want to talk to these ladies, and not because I need to hear about The Lost Kingdom. It's likely that I'll have students in my class someday that practice those beliefs, and I could use some info on how to be a little more sensitive to it.

Obviously, I know they're never going to call first. But I'm not likely to be out of my pajamas at 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays either.

My learning curve feels like Mt. Everest right now.

Feeling a little overwhelmed after my first week of school. And I did what every teacher says not to do - I brought work home for the weekend. Papers to grade, lessons to read, logs to fill out. Funny thing about teaching is that you have similar tasks that people in other industries have, such as paperwork, data organization, phone calls, plans to prepare, etc. The difference is, you don't get time during your workday for these tasks. You're sorta busy with 18 little humans that demand almost every minute of your day. I'm really trying to manage my time, but I just don't have the experience yet. Still...it's such a cool job!

Soon

A week and I haven't posted? This whole working thing is really cutting into my priorities. I'll have to work on getting back to what's important. :-)

Um...

Look, this is just the way nature produces the butternut squash. You have a dirty mind. Or have you recently watched Superbad, too? If you have, then you're excused from your immoral thoughts because there's no way you could have just watched that movie and not thought of such things. Anyway....the butternut squash. The vegetable that took me half an hour to peel, slice open, clean out, and cut up. That's a LOT of time in the kitchen cutting up one vegetable, and I'm not exaggerating. And get this - it cost $8. Yes, it was a four pound squash and yes, it turned out to be heaven in a gourd, but still...$8 for a single vegetable?

I can only hope that some frozen food manufacturer out there has done all the work for me and has mass produced this veggie all chopped up in a nice convenient bag. Because that creamy mashed butternut squash we had with dinner tonight? Wow. It was that good. But not good enough that I'll buy another one of those phallical looking vegetables and go through that again. Oh, I forgot the best part. A very elderly lady behind me in the checkout line took one look at my gourd and said, "Well, it looks like you're going to have some fun with that squash."

I don't make this stuff up.

The little things

You'd think I was unwrapping a present each December when I get these mugs down from the top shelf of the cabinet. I forget about them for most of the year, when they get pushed in the back by all the non-seasonal, non-holidayish, or company logo mugs. But I'm so excited when I get to use them again, and unless they're both dirty at the same time, they're the only mugs I drink my coffee from all Christmas season. We got them one Christmas a few years ago from DeeBee, and they're like the gift that keeps on giving! Unfortunately...it's time they get pushed back again.

Some more Okies we love

Is it any wonder we love hanging out with the Richardson's?





Joe and Heather (and Dillon!) came through town while visiting family and helped us ring in the New Year's. We watched "Superbad" New Year's Eve, which I have to say is the perfect movie to watch with people you know really well. 'Cause you're going to hear more in two hours about a guy's tools and how he wants to use them, share them, etc. than you might have thought possible. Good times. :-)

We spent two days eating, drinking, and being dorks with two people who keep us young. I hope they never grow up.

Taking reservations

Thank goodness for my awesome camera that I bought around this time last year as a graduation present, because I took ONE picture so far this Christmas. One. I'm gonna tell myself that the reason I took one measly picture is because I was just having so much fun watching and experiencing the moment with the kids and Alan and family, that I didn't want to stop and mess with the camera. And although that might be pretty accurate, I wish I had more pictures to remember this Christmas.

Wednesday, Alan and Addison and I went to see "I Am Legend." (Stop reading now if you plan to see it.) Will Smith's an awesome actor, and the concept of the movie was cool and all, but just more sad than anything else. A number one rule in movies - NEVER kill the family dog. Ugh.

The past three days Alan and his dad have been working on the guest house - laying insulation underneath, adding baseboard trim to the interior, and next they'll hang a much needed door for the bathroom. Soon it'll be time for my part - painting. It's cool to see it all coming together. Time for visitors!

Peace and stuff

Isn't there a saying that whatever you're doing at the end of the year is indicative of the year to come? I know it's not technically New Year's Eve, but if next year I'm spending more time doing what I've been doing the past couple of days, it'll be a good year. 2007 won't go down in my book as a stellar year, but I have a good vibe about next year.

And now I'm ready to get into my pajamas and watch Survivorman, which I just realized is on. The past 24 hours I've gotten to watch everything I consider a must at Christmas - Rudolph, Elf, and Christmas Story. So Survivorman is a good transition away from Christmas!

We have an out-of-the-blue chance of snow tonight. Weird.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve

I like Christmas Eve way better than Christmas Day. Christmas Day has the potential to be oddly depressing. But Christmas Eve, when we usually open presents, is always better. Although the girls don't hold and shake their presents trying to figure out what's inside anymore, or even beg to open one of the presents a day early, watching them open their presents is still the best part of Christmas Eve. I'm guessing it always will be. And Alan and I living in the same town is not bad either.

But Christmas Day....ewww. New Year's Day can be like that, too, now that I think about it. I can't really explain it. And since I've never, not once, heard anyone describe a disturbing feeling that comes over them during what's supposed to be a happy-go-lucky setting, a feeling that makes them want to be anywhere but in that exact time and place, and a feeling that smacks them upside the head out of nowhere....well, the more I talk about it, the weirder I seem.

So here's to Christmas Eve! We're having brisket, fried potatoes, and baked beans. Nothing weird about that!

Perhaps you can relate

The piles of crap are getting to me. I can't see the surface of the dining table, because it's covered with unwrapped presents, wrapping paper, tape, receipts, cards that I have yet to address, and whatever else we happen to drop off as we walk by. Maybe you have a similar pile? I'm really glad I resisted the urge to buy or make some sort of centerpiece for the table this year. I would have never been able to enjoy it.

So to ease my cluttered mind today, I have to tackle other piles. Like laundry. And trash. And the mounds of leaves in the driveway that won't stop blowing into the garage every time the door is raised. If I can conquer those piles, maybe I'll have the peace of mind to tackle that dining table.

Tried, can't do it

I just can't blog about Christmas shopping. And that's all it feels like I've been doing lately. I'll spare you the details.

By the way, I have no idea why Blogger decided to cut my banner in half.

Ready for the New Year

Yesterday I spent the day shadowing the teacher I'm taking over for after Christmas break. She's really a great teacher, and I picked up some classroom management skills from her in just one day. I already know the students since I've been subbing for her all semester, and they're a super group of kids. There are always, ALWAYS kids that are quirky, strange, and downright annoying in any classroom. This one's no exception, but it just makes it more interesting. And because this is a magnet school with an emphasis on technology, you would not believe the high-tech gadgets I'll get to teach with. Awesome!

The best news, however, is that Alan is not going to Houston. I won't say much since the ink hasn't dried on the paperwork, but he'll be changing companies and staying in Midland. And you know, I can't thank his current-but-soon-to-be-former employer enough for forcing his hand. Kinda wish they would have done this sooner. (Insert smiley face here and visual of me doing the butter churn dance.) Oh yeah.

Bring it, Mother Nature

We all have this internal clock that requires it to be light and dark out at appropriate times in order for us to sleep and wake up at normal times of the day. (I know this because I watch Bear Grylls take his clothes off, I mean, attempt to sleep in the Arctic with only two hours of darkness a day.) I think I must also have an internal thermometer which controls what I can and cannot accept as appropriate celebrations in the seasons. 40 degrees out on July 4th? Probably not going to feel like having hot dogs and watching fireworks. 79 degrees and sunny in December? Really not feeling the whole Christmas spirit right now. I don't know how people in Arizona or Florida do it during the holidays.

It warmed up enough today that here it is midnight, and the inside temperature in the house is 73. That's one degree away from when our A/C was kicking on a couple months ago. So while I'm supposed to be Christmas shopping and getting gifts in the mail, instead my body thinks I should be mowing the yard and working on my tan. I don't like being cold and I don't like winter, but I'm realizing I need a little of both to be "feelin' it."

We be jammin'

I already sent this link to some of you, but check out our family as dancing elves. Thanks to Vagus for the idea.

Dress-up time

The Lee volleyball banquet was held a couple nights ago, so here's a pic of Bailey and a few teammates. When you mostly see these girls in jerseys and ponytails, it's so cute to see them all girly-girl in their dresses and heels. The season was so much fun, and although I was sad to see it end, we found out this week that Bailey made the 15-yr old team in club volleyball which starts next month. I can't wait!

Marathon update

It appears Alan's past three months of training for another marathon will be to no avail. Looks like he has developed bronchitis once again, so our trip to Dallas is probably canceled. He's going to give it a couple more days before deciding though. It's a shame, too, because his times have been really awesome lately. But it's only Wednesday, so we'll see!

Running and Hashing

Friday we leave for Dallas for Alan's second (and maybe last) marathon. It didn't help matters though, that he woke up this morning feeling sick and getting worse as the day goes on. The weather is expected to be PERFECT, so keep your fingers crossed that Alan has recovered!

Speaking of running, we had a fun time at the Hash we hosted Saturday afternoon and evening. The trail Alan and Keith designed made for a fun run, and the beer stop half-way through was a BONUS. The trail ended in the alley at our back gate, and we spent the rest of the evening eating from the grill, drinking, and telling dirty jokes around the fire pit. Very classy. Next month's run is scheduled, so that'll make three hashes for me and Alan. Two more after that and we get our nicknames. Classy, and so grown-up. We have definitely found our group.

The fun has begun

From the moment the Christmas tree box comes down from the attic, Junior rightfully claims the tree as his own. Assembling the tree, putting on the lights, touching the tree in ANY way -- these acts are all violations in Junior's world. He will live under, and sometimes in, that tree for the next month. By the way, did you click on the photo and see those fangs up close? I live with those fangs every day. I currently have a 4" square area on my calf that looks like someone came after me with a pitch fork. Alan will attest.

In other fun news, more than half of the Christmas tree lights have burned out. Yes! But it reminds me of that song that's the spoof on the "12 Days of Christmas" where they keep talking about the lights burning out? Love that song! Just thinking of those lyrics makes the fact that I have to go to Wal-Mart this morning to get more lights more funny than anything.

But my favorite tree, the little 2 ft one with all the ornaments that the girls made when they were little - was up, lit, and decorated in about 15 minutes. I was very tempted to call this our official tree and forget that big monster.

A good kind of busy

Tomorrow I'm attempting to get the Christmas stuff down from the attic by myself, while making every effort not to hurt my back again right before another hash run. Since we're hosting this run, it'd probably be a good idea if I was fit enough to participate. I also have high hopes of getting the tree up, the house decorated, and food bought for the party. Tomorrow's the only day I have off, so it all really needs to get done in one day. Throw in a couple more errands I can think of, and I'm skeptical at best. Still, it'll all be fun in the end!

9 hours and we're back

I gotta say it's a little strange for the weather to get colder and more wintry the further south we traveled towards home. But aside from the brief period of snow and bad roads, we still made it back to Midland in good time.

Not sure I'm that glad to be back home though. We had a great time in Oklahoma with DeeBee and the kids, so now I'm missing their company! I'm also going to miss the portable electric blankets below, Mia and Brandy:



Some holidays are fun in that you get to see your family, but stressful in that you're spending your time running around from house to house trying to ensure everyone gets their fair allotted time with you. But this Thanksgiving was just plain relaxation, shopping, couch potatoing, eating, and of course a lot of video games:



The main reason I'm glad to be home, however, is because we felt bad leaving Junior alone for five days. Matt was nice enough to come by a couple times to check in on him, but he obviously had a negative reaction to our being gone. He tends to get mad when we leave town for a few days, so it's not unusual to come home and find a trail of destruction. This time it was magnets knocked off the fridge (the breakable ones), leather flip-flops chewed, papers and other junk knocked off the counter, but mostly....the freaky cat molted hair all over the place! I know he tends to shed hair when he gets upset or worked up, but good grief. There were tufts of hair everywhere, like you would expect had their been a major cat fight in the house. But Junior seems to have survived, and it didn't take long until he was attacking my jeans and holding on for dear life. Welcome home, dear humans!

Even the cat will get fatter

Tomorrow we leave for Oklahoma to spend Thanksgiving at DeeBee's. The past few years the girls have spent the bulk of their Thanksgiving holiday at their dad's, mostly because they enjoyed hanging out with certain family members on his side, i.e. YOUNG people. I understood why, but still it feels a little odd when your kids are not around on a major holiday. So it's kind of cool that we're spending Thanksgiving together this year. As the girls are getting older, I don't expect we'll have many more family trips.

That leaves Junior in charge of the house. And without Alan around to play chase with and me to stalk from dark corners and hallways, I suspect he'll be doing a lot of this:

More from Oklahoma in a couple days...

It's 3 a.m., I must be lonely

Not really, but that song is stuck in my head because it really is 3:00 a.m. The things your mind dwells on in the middle of the night when you can't sleep are just plain random.

My head hurts.

Maybe I should get bangs tomorrow.

Lots of laminated letters of the alphabet...cut out individually....yeah, with the vowels a different color...with magnets on the back!

I need running pants.

Maybe I'll run tomorrow.

I should have brushed my teeth.

I hate my hair.

Might do some Christmas shopping tomorrow.

I need aspirin.

It just goes on and on, and none of these things are important enough to lose sleep over. I should have taken Nyquil.

I'll just sit somewhere else. Thanks.

A token posting

I have nothing to post, so here's a photo of Junior proving he has a rarely-seen-by-the-public sweet side.

It was time

Last night I colored my hair, myself. I've never colored my hair or gotten highlights - whether at a salon or at home. I'm fine with the color, although the point was not to try out a new color but to cover the strands of gray that seem to be multiplying. I'm happy that it didn't turn out disastrous, but I'm sad that this is the beginning of the end. I have to do this forever now, don't I? I kinda liked my natural hair color, because it was....NATURAL! This color is a darker brown with hints of brownish/red. But as far as doing it myself, $9 at home beats $90 at a salon.

On On!

I'm going to keep this short since I smell like a BBQ pit and have dried beer in my hair. And that didn't happen because I got drunk - it was all part of the required festivities at the Hash House Harriers party this evening. I think this "drinking club with a running problem" is something Alan and I could stay involved with, particularly since we offered to have the next one at our house in less than a month. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and maybe next month I'll have pictures.

40 and Fabulous

This is me and Denise (my BFF!) at her surprise 40th b-day party Monday night. We are exactly a month apart in age, so no longer am I alone in the 40s. Yes!

Run, stink, eat

I'm not very good at this NaBloPoMo thing. Maybe I just don't have much to talk about, or much that I can talk about. Or maybe, had I not been a permanent fixture on the couch when I got home from subbing yesterday, I could have written something.

So I took a month off from running to get completely healed up and started back this past Sunday. It was ugly to say the least. Then I went on Tuesday after school when the weather was really chilly, which just happens to be my favorite weather to run in, and lo and behold those wonderful shin splints are back. Yes! But I'm going to try again this morning, because Alan and I are invited to a "hash and dash" (or something like that) on Saturday. Apparently the plan is a group gets together for an afternoon run and then finishes at someone's house for beer and BBQ. I just have to say - with temps expected in the upper 80s, I hope the party is spacious and OUTSIDE with lovely breezes to carry all the odor away. I know how Alan smells after an hour of running, so can you imagine trying to eat around a whole group of smelly, sweaty men? Gross.

Just doing what my body says

Happiness is arriving home after work on a cold day and smelling stew cooking in the crock pot. I had two bowls, followed by an hour of HGTV, followed by a nap on the couch. Now I'm going to take Nyquil for the sheer purpose of sleeping some more. I need sleep.

Whatever pops into my head

I just noticed on Melissa's blog that it's National Blogging Month or something like that. You're supposed to vow to post something every day in November. I missed the first three days, but I'll try to join the crowd for the rest of the month. We'll see. And this second posting of the evening is a good way to keep me from going to bed early. I've fallen asleep on the couch the last two nights before 8:30 p.m., so this is quite the accomplishment!

Cat fights

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21280368

This video sorta reminds me of one of my daily fights with Junior. And yes, I have been known to both slap and bite him back. Good times.

Expect much whining

Less than a week ago I mentioned the days when Alan lived in Ft. Worth and we had to do that long distance relationship thing, and then he moved back to Midland for about 18 months before we had to that "thing" again. That second time though, it was only as far as Levelland, which was pretty doable. But we still didn't like it and were so thrilled when the position opened up back here in Midland, and we were once again able to live in the same house together. That was a little over two years ago....and here we go again. This time it's Houston, which is way the hell too far from Midland. We're not going to pack up and move somewhere we have no intention of staying, and we're certainly not going to make Bailey start all over right in the middle of high school. Not to mention the fact that Addison would still be here, too. So Alan's going, alone. And that sucks. And I need to not think about it too much.

A good day off...

...is one where I get my fingernails dirty in potting soil. I fixed the window box that was sagging from the guest house window and then planted some jasmine in it for the winter. I need a manicure now, but it was worth the fun!

Joy in a jar

It seems forever ago, but back when Alan lived in Ft. Worth, I would drive or fly down to see him every once in a while. I developed a routine of going by Albertson's before leaving town and scooping out a little bag of either buttered popcorn or caramel apple jelly bellies. That's the only time I would buy them. So the other day when shopping at the now monstrosity that is HEB, I came across their brand new display of jelly bellies. So shiny and new and inviting....I couldn't resist. So I got both flavors.

Around the corner

Regardless of the year it's been, I think I'm looking forward to the holidays. And it's not even Halloween yet. Something about getting the holiday decorations and lights and candles out later next month is already getting me antsy. Maybe I want the appearance of coziness and comfort to make life seem a little more peaceful. The brain can be fooled, you know.

A short break

I'm a pretty normal person with a pretty normal temperament. Stupid people annoy me, inconveniences irritate me, and patience is not one of my virtues, but for the most part I keep it all hidden to strangers. And then I join other parents in the stands at a volleyball game and become a bit more verbose. And loud. It's amazing the license you think you're given at a sporting event to hurl insults at the refs and line judges, and to do so quite loudly. Those poor refs that we all yell at and accuse of being dumber that dirt are human after all. And those of us in the stands? We are perfect judges of depth and distance and have peripheral vision that cannot be rivaled.

So volleyball is over until club ball starts up in January. We got home from Abilene around midnight last night, but it was worth the drive and time. Time for Bailey to rest and heal up and for us to take a break from concession stand nachos, frito pie, and giant pickles. For a while anyway.

All kinds of classy

That's what we are around here. So when the winds blow as they tend to do in West Texas, what's a person to do when their cottage door won't stay closed? That's right - rig it with a bungee cord.

Rust

Looks like tonight we're expecting true Fall temps to blow in. Maybe my mums will appreciate the cooler weather. These were a birthday gift from Alan. Or was it for our anniversary? I never really asked to make sure, since both occasions fall within a day of each other. Either way, I couldn't have chosen a prettier color myself.

A.K.A.

Names I've been called this week:

Mrs. Schaeffer
Mrs. Schaeffers
Mrs. Skaffer
Mrs. Shaver
Mrs. Shay
Mrs. S.
Mrs. Chambers
Mizz
Teacher
Mrs. Dolan (a teacher I sub for)
Mrs. Chalambaga ( " )
Mrs. Chalambonga

The kids don't know it, but inside I'm smiling. Especially at the little ones. They're looking at my name on the board and trying so hard to make sense of all those weird letters that shouldn't be put together like that.

And I'm no idiot. I'm sure there were some names not meant for my ears to hear, although I did find out (because kids love to tattle) that a little bratty third grade girl made up a derogatory cheer about me on the playground. Love it!

Once upon a time...

...there lived an ottoman that grew a leg.



I suppose if I cared anything about this furniture I would not be happy that our abnormally large cat has found a way to climb up inside the lining and make it his hammock. Thankfully, I don't care.

Today

Kindergarten. Tired. Grouchy. Tired of my own voice. Sandblasted from the 30-40 mph winds at recess and after school. Glad I'm not working tomorrow.

de ja vu

Ever post something and then reread it and think, wait a minute...did I already post something just like this? So I checked and yep, I've already mentioned the Sunday night thing. I hate when that happens.

The swing of things

Here it is Sunday night, which once upon a time meant I suffered from the Sunday night blues, i.e. the end of the weekend blues. When I worked for the Almighty Chevron, I so dreaded work Monday morning. And then some time later, Sunday night meant that Alan was heading back to Levelland for the week. But tonight I'm not experiencing those bluesy feelings. Part of it, I think, is that I'm starting to get used to being in a new class and setting every other day. (Remind me of this when I someday blog about a horrible class and vow to never take anything but requests again.) But perhaps the biggest reason I'm not dreading tomorrow is that I get to be at a school around people I actually know, actually like, and consider to be really good friends. That's rare when you're subbing. There's something to be said for the comfort of familiarity and routine.

Even the Cowboys' loss can't get me down, but it sure would have been sweet if they won.

Turn away now if you're bored with books...

So I go to Barnes & Noble today to spend the gift card DeeBee got me for my birthday, and while I'm at the register the clerk tells me that her mother who has taught kindergarten for years had NEVER HEARD of Frog and Toad until just the other day. Woman. You teach elementary school and have never heard of Frog and Toad? You need to march your legs down the hall to your school's library, check out a copy provided to you free of charge, and go read it to your students pronto! I can't wait to read it to mine, no matter their age.

And then I've had my eye on this illustrated book of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening" for months, and so today with gift card in hand, I couldn't resist. (Bailey just so happens to be doing a project on Frost, so it's good timing.) I have to say though that during my last semester at UTPB, our instructor played an audio recording of Frost himself reading this poem, and whoa. That's how he heard his poetry? It was horrible!

So anyway, I'll be adding these books to my closet of teaching stuff. It's sort of sad looking right now...shelves of this and that just waiting to be moved to its new home in some campus classroom. It's exciting to think about though.

Dig it

I wish everyone could experience a varsity girls volleyball game like the ones around here, just once. I think you'd be a volleyball fan after the experience. The crowd is wild, the noise is deafening beyond belief, and the action non-stop. There's also a huge following of teenagers that show up, some complete with painted bodies and costumes, and they keep things going as well. But the real entertainment is how amazing these girls play. If you live in West Texas, you're crazy if you don't attend at least one Tuesday night game.

Between the excitement of the Cowboys game Monday night and the volleyball game last night, I'm not even missing the Braves right now.

If you hate the Cowboys

Sucks to be you. ha!

Fall blooming

When Alan is suffering from allergies, you'll know it from the explosive sneezes that can vibrate a room. I, on the other hand, have more subtle symptoms. I have this itchy nose and this nagging sore throat that doesn't really feel like a normal sore throat, but more like I swallowed a piece of glass that scraped just one little spot on the right as it went down. So I know it won't really solve anything, but I felt better today after attacking as much dust around the house as I had the energy to attack. Really amazing to me where all cat hair can sneak to and gather in thin strands and balls. And the white, feathery, cottony stuff from the pampas grass in the corner of the backyard? I swept it up from our garage and vacuumed it from our hallway inside the house. Weird.

But I'm not just cleaning for health reasons. My mother-in-law is coming for the weekend. She doesn't know I know, but I know! It's supposed to be a surprise for my birthday, but Alan's not that good at keeping secrets and I'm hard to keep secrets from. Anyway, she's coming for the weekend and I'm excited to see her.

Seventeen Years

Favorite Memories: Meeting you for the first time, our nightly singing in my bed, "Tell me about your day," always being a dog, using big words, playing store, playing with Reba, how sweet and funny you were in the hospital when Bailey was born, helping me decorate the Christmas tree, the emergency room when you cut your chin, "The Ballin," "Did I eat it?" (the balloon), all the stories you wrote, "Why is that man BLUE?", baking pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving, every recital, every band performance, watching you march in the parade, tubing the "scary" rapids in New Braunfels, watching you experience your first time seeing the ocean, making homecoming mums together, getting your braces off, your 16th birthday, and watching you drive by yourself for the first time.

Some I remember so vividly, others have faded with time. But I'm looking forward to many more wonderful memories in the future. Happy 17th Birthday, Addison!

Love you always, Mom