Lettering Around

Nikki lettered in softball last year as a freshmen. I took her this summer to order her letter jacket complete with patches for "Newcomer of the Year" and Class of 2011.

She's hoping this year to make a district team (came close last year but was in a REALLY tough district). She's been working hard on her batting average (should be around 350-400) and on-base-percentage (should be over 500) and her angles in centerfield are getting better with every practice. She's even tightening up her infielding.

Right now she would like to go to Tarelton to play ball and become a teacher. Too soon to start worrying about that? I think not. Man, it's a lot of work...and MONEY!

Homecoming 2008

Nikki looked beautiful in chocolate brown and her date was an absolute gem. After picking her up at our house (entire family in tow), they met the "group" at a wonderful house with a wooden bridge and trellis area. Perfect for pictures. Then the group caught a "limo bus" to a Japanese restaurant and then it was to the dance. Nikki got sick (figured out later it was from some medication), but she had a great time. They even went to the "after party" and she slept over with a friend.I look at Nikki and I can't believe she's 15! She'll be gone before I know it. And then what will I do with my time? BUG STEPHEN!

Yep, that should do it.

Haven't had enough of the election process? Anxious for more details and predictions? Your wish is this website's desire.

http://www.change.gov/

It's the transition website for President-elect Obama. You can send them your election day memory or your wish for the country. You can research all the appointees and all the agenda items. You can even apply for a job! Hook me up. I'm thinking assistant to the speech writer for Obama. That guy's got talent!

If I'm hired, you can all come visit.

Stephen Turns 45...Well, Not Really!

I had the bright idea to throw Stephen a surprise birthday party. It all began 5 years ago when he turned 40. I just couldn't get it together. 50 seems such a long way off so I could not resist 45!
So I invited a few friends (he'd want it small) and began to plan. Wow. I don't think I've slept. Here's why. Stephen checks our bank account at least once a day. How was I supposed to pay for anything?

I ordered him a neat photo book of scenery pictures from our last two vacations, paid for it with a credit card and had it sent to a friend's house. Solved? NOPE! He found the email that confirmed shipping! I had to lie and say his mother wanted one because I didn't know it had the mailing name and address on it. I quickly lied again (not my specialty) and said she'd lost her card. Well, she did melt it in the dryer!

I bought the party supplies Friday night but forgot and put it on the debit card. Well, it is a weekend, right? Wrong. Sunday morning I'm greeted with, "So, what'd you get at Party City?" Ah, another lie coming...."Um, it's for our tournament." Safe? Hardly! Hours later he asked again exactly what I'd bought. Grrrrrr.

And then the day comes. I manage to get out of the house, fill my trunk with the goodies with one partner in crime while another partner called with a "flat tire" to use the whole damsel in distress ploy to get him out. What happens? Two guests arrive early and RING THE DOORBELL! Are you kidding me?

Ah, well, here he is enjoying his gifts fit for an old man. It was a success and I'll never forget the look on his face when he took me aside and said in his most romantic voice, "So, how much did this cost?"

Not really. He asked that second!

Sooooo Tiiirrrreeeeddddd

I'm too tired to post. I'd put a picture but that seems like a lot of effort right now. Maybe later.

Sooo

...sleepy...

...must grade papers...

....zzzzzzz

Late is Better Than Never

So Stephen and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, September 2. A school day. A LONG school day as Nikki had volleyball until almost 10. I'm beginning to think there is no other kind of day BUT a long one.

Anyway, after a long weekend of debate tournaments at Naaman Forest and then softball tournaments at Hurst along with Nik's first date to the movies with her new beau (yep, the other one didn't last...something about his being too clingy), Stephen and I decided to get all spiffed up and have our anniversary dinner.

Oh, please. The best we could do is a wonderful dinner at Mi Cocina followed by a tanning session because our money was almost used up in that account (yep, bad for you but a burn in Mexico would have been worse) and finally, dessert at Sonic...love those .99 jr. banana splits.

These pictures should have been taken before, but no. He was in the car with the motor running so they are after when I'm on my sugar high. My body just doesn't know what to do with the real thing anymore.

The First Day of School

OK, I guess it's the "first" first day of school. Teachers in our district go back tomorrow.

What to wear? What to wear? Colleen, on this one, you and I are two of a kind!

Do I venture out and wear those cute, new dressy shorts I just got? Or stick with the standard dark jeans and sparkly wedge sandals that are really flip flops but who cares? Maybe some capris to split the difference.

The jeans win. It's not every day that I get to wear jeans to work so when I can, I DO! No school spirit shirt for me. I just got a cute sleeveless babydoll sweater that gradually changes from hot pink to rust. Gold wedge "sandals" and I'm all set.

I'd take a picture of my clothes all laid out...but it's past my bedtime.

Nighty Night!

Darn Those Olympics

The Olympics are killing me.

You see, I have a sickness. Once I start something, whether it's a book, a movie or a dinner, I MUST finish it.

So, I drag myself home from teaching teachers all day when school doesn't even start until next week with more meetings that I can't wait to attend AND waiting for Nik's practice or games to be over so it's really late, I flip on the tube and immerse myself in USA pride, gold medal glitter and talented individuals that make me feel inadequate on so many levels. Good times.

And by the time I realize what I've done, what trap I've not only allowed myself to get into but actually created myself, it's too late.

Do you know what time the Olympics go off? Nope. Not midnight. NEVER! They are ALWAYS on some channel and I've got 'em all.

Softball at midnight. Boxing in the afternoon. Recaps of everything all the time.

I'm sleepy, but I can't sleep. Michael Phelps might win another gold and frankly, I want to be a part of that history. It's vicarious living that's getting me through the days right now.

Where have I been?

1. The Good News: Nik's team competed in the 16U B Southern Nationals Softball tournament held in Garland. They were the host team, something of a courtesy invitation. Hmmm. Someone forgot to tell them that. This spunky little team, mostly girls who are 93s, went out there and placed THIRD! Can you believe it? So, that means I spent most of last week sitting in 100+ degree heat while she played in it. But, boy did she play. She had multiple doubles and RBIs, her base running was flawless and her fielding was good. The best part was her Uncle Kerry got to watch every single game. The other parents started calling him the good luck charm. Oh, and the BF got to watch some, too. She played best when he was there...he should definitely show up more often.

First Day of School Excitement

So, in the true spirit of the nerd that I am, I have had one whole day away from summer school and I've found myself googling new activities for the first day of school. They have no cure for this illness of mine so I thought I'd just go with it. I actually found some really cool ones. Here are my favorites.

1. From Kim's Korner, make it all about you. Make a bulletin board about yourself. Include pictures.
2. Also from Kim's Korner, especially if some of the kids will already know you, have them fill out a KWL chart on you as you introduce yourself. (For those who have lived under a rock, this is a 3-column chart with the K column for things they KNOW about you W is for WHAT they want to know and L is for what they LEARNED.
3. KK continues with having the students "illustrate" free-form maps about her and a quiz the next day. It helps them learn how to map!
4. From Education World, use a variation of telling the students about your expectations about them to have them tell you their expectations for their teacher.
5. Also from EW, have the students fill out a questionnaire that becomes a time capsule that they compare at the end of the year.
6. How about laminating a large piece of paper and having each student sign in with one fact about them. During free time, the students can read the chart. Another EW jewel.
7. My TTF got a good one from her teacher...as each student enters the classroom, have them take as much "toilet paper" as they need...no other explanations. Now, they must write one fact about themselves to share on EACH square. Can be done with candy, too, but be careful of allergues. And TP is pretty cheap!
8. More HERE
9. And HERE for the new teachers on your staff
10. And finally HERE but skip past the ones you have to pay for to the links below

So, for all you teachers out there, enjoy.

I Was Almost Killed Yesterday

I'm still shaking. Seriously. Here's how it all went down.

I was turning into a local mall. It has a divider and then splits into a circle around the mall. I look up and in the distance police lights caught my attention. And then, I saw it. A black car was driving right at me and the police were in hot pursuit.

Here are my thoughts in order.

1. Am I on the wrong side?
2. Maybe I should turn hard and block him for the police followed by jumping out of my car, aiming my cell phone at him and screaming, "Freeze. Citizen's Arrest!"
3. MOVE OVER!

I chose #3. Wise choice. I moved over and safely made it to the mall. My heart was pounding so hard I could hardly breathe.

Shoot. I could have been on the 6 o'clock news.

What Monica Needs....Ordered by Julie

1. Monica needs a job. Does teaching not qualify as a job anymore?
2. Monica needs new holes in her skin? Um, what?
3. Monica needs another dress washed. Fitting. I don't wear dresses. However, I do own them.
4. Monica needs more scrubbing. I promise I took a shower this morning.
5. Monica needs a Bicycle Master Plan. That's just what I've been saying all along. I haven't ridden one in decades, but wouldn't riding a bike be just like falling off a bike? Something you never forget how to do?
6. Monica needs forgiving. And there it is. All the others were just softening me up for the real suggestion.
7. Monica needs to die her hair a darker shade. I made that suggestion myself, but the summer months are not the ones to do that. Besides, blondes don't have to work as hard. Like, OMG, right?
8. Monica needs new PR. See #6.
9. Monica needs to eat something. You know what? I am hungry. Wow. Google does know everything.

So, I'm off for a PB&J! Do you think Google knows it's apple jelly?

The End of Summer School

I can't believe it's finally here. Summer school is over. We give the exams to the non-exempts tomorrow and then it's over. But not really.

Then we have to haul a truckload of materials and supplies back to our high school and haul them into our rooms. I've already informed Nik that she's getting up to help. In the 100+ degree heat, it should be good times.

Then we will drag ourselves home and hope for a short nap of exhaustion. Funny thing about those kinds of naps. You never feel refreshed after them. Nope. You just feel like another nap.

And a kid actually told me today that it was "not my job" to call his father when he didn't show up. Are you kidding me? Not my job? So, when I don't call, I'm wrong. Thank you, oh thou wise teen. I am so glad you are enlightened enough to know MY JOB! Hmmm. I guess no one would have called if he'd been in class.

Ah, but I digress.

Speaking of ... my new background

I don't know what to think. Love it? Hate it? It's from Leelou like Julie's, but I have no clue how to make it have a link. Julie? Next tutorial? It is really hard to believe I actually minored in computer science for two semesters in college.

Speaking of....Daughters

My daughter has a boyfriend and I turned the Big 40 all in one summer. Could there be a crueler combination? I think not.

Now, don't get me wrong. She's 15 so I guess she's old enough to have one of those. And he seems to be a sweetheart (but I'm not holding my breath). But she's still my baby.

And I've known all my life that eventually I'd turn 40, but there's just something about it that I don't like.

I think it's the fact that my eye doctor also told me, with a smirk, that my eyes were aging so he'd adjust my contacts so I wouldn't have to hold things so far away from my face to see them. And at my yearly my doctor suggested I buy stock in Premarin and Tylenol PM. The bottoms of my feet have no padding left...it's all gone to my hips. Need I say more?

I guess I should be thankful. My hubby will ALWAYS be WAY older than I am! HA! I win!

Now, I'll just grab my walker and scoot into the kitchen for sugarfree jello and pudding. Yum!

Speaking of ... summer vacation

Summer vacation. A term that brings school children to near hysteria in anticipation of two months of fun in the sun and not much else. That same term brings parents of said children to tears as they envision a whole two months home alone with their kids. And then there's teachers. Teachers savor the words as they whisper them in the fall, cringe when they mutter them in the long wniter months and boast of them to their non-teaching friends all spring.

When I was younger, much younger, I, too, relished the ideas of hours and hours of nothing to do but devour paperbacks, sip and slurp cold, fruity drinks, and exert no more energy than it takes to move from my stomach to my back on the float in the refreshing pool. In fact, that was not too long ago.

But I've come to question the true meaning of vacation. Since it has a root of "vacate" I'd think it had something to do with leaving something or someone behind, but how can that be fun unless it's your ex? And so if we all live for our vacations, we are vacating our jobs and if we want to vacate our jobs so badly, we must not be very happy at them. Wow, my head began to hurt on that one.

But it's true. Why have we coined the term "going postal"? Because some people REALLY hated their jobs. Bankers can't take the time to explain why you owe them for talking to a live person, cashiers don't even make eye contact as they ask you to open an account with them so you'll give them even more money and teachers have secret countdown to summer vacation lists that begin in August.

I have a suggestion. Let's all take a vacation from being so unhappy at everything and try to just enjoy living for a moment. Visit a hospital for terminally ill children and watch their parents try to eke out as many memories as they can in their limited time. Visit a nursing home and observe the elderly and forgotten as they watch the front door eagerly for a visitor. Volunteer an hour at a school and share some time with children whose parents should never have had kids.

Then ask yourself, do you really need to vacate YOUR life?