Down off the Shelf

Bumps in the Night

2010-07-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

So last night the household was minding its own business in the usual way for 3:30 am. Sleeping soundly. As the Christmas story goes, not a creature was stirring. All adults, all dogs, all passed out. And then the phone rang. The offending mobile phone was answered by its owner, which woke up half the household. (The half of the household that doesn't need assistive devices to hear or interpreters to determine dreams from reality.)

And then the noise happened. Seriously--sounded like a gunshot. Right below my window. Of course, things are louder at night than they are on TV and so the noise could have originated from a 50 yard radius. I've had crisis training. I know what to do in an institutional building if there's danger. You're supposed to lock the door, turn off the lights, and hide out of the sight of windows.

So I left the room, and sat in the foyer where there are lots of windows. I was out of sight of the windows though. I was. Because I was terrified. How often does the phone ring, someone answer it (at 3:30) and then you hear a gunshot right outside the house? Never in my life. So I had to do roll call.

Thankfully everyone was alive and the house was not being stormed by mobsters, or a gang interested in the last two pieces of birthday cake in the kitchen. But still, the noise? It wasn't normal. And I was terrified and not moving from my spot on the floor outside of my bedroom door outside of the sight of windows. So I made Dad call 911 to report whatever it was we heard. They promised to send a car by to cruise the street and take a look.

So at 3:45, it's time to move on and go back to sleep. No way am I going to sleep on the room over the street where the gunshot noise had happened and was VERY LOUD.

"Carolyn, you can sleep in here."
"Nope, that's okay." (I'm am an adult, after all, I think. Sometimes)

Then I hear:
"Honey, you should go get her."

Ummm...
"I can HEAR you!"

So I opened my door, scooped up Ry and made a run for it across the hall (in front of windows) to crawl into bed beside Mom. Ted followed. And then he had to sniff the strange room. And Ry had to lick all the people in the bed. And Ted had to scratch (he has a very jingly collar right now). And then we all pretended to sleep.

Until Dad must have decided that 4:30 is an acceptable time to get up and go to work because no one was really sleeping except Mom and I'm surprised at that because an extra person and a dog in the bed probably made her too hot.

When Dad, apparently, made it safely through breakfast and morning news and walking the dog outside without being gunned down by mobsters or people after the cake, I decided I could go back to sleep in my own room.

I am, after all, an adult.....sometimes.

Day Off

2010-06-18T19:05:00.000-04:00

Today was my first non-weekend, non-school day in forever. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with myself, so I did what I always do. I made a list. It turned out to be a marathon errand day!

-Washed Car
-Vacuumed Car
-Oil change for the Car
-Gas for the Car
-Gas for the Lawn Mower
-Oil for the Lawn Mower

The Lawn actually got Mowed. My neighbor inspired me. I had been planning to wait until evening, but it's actually much cooler at noon in my yard than it ever is at 6 or 7. She was working on her yard so I figured I could take a few minutes and get mine done. My other neighbor had already done his ten feet of my yard so it wasn't even worth it to go over that section since he mows much shorter than I like.

-Library
-Recycling
-Bank
-Book Store
-Ollie's
-Bank (different bank)

When I got home I remembered that I forgot to go to PetsMart to get Ted a new Occupi gadget. I got him one this week, but Ry loves it and Ted doesn't get a chance. I knew as soon as I paid for the first one and walked out the door that I should have gotten two.

-WalMart
-PetsMart
-Target
-School Office

And then I spent 15 minutes trying to get the Busy Bone in the Occupi. It's still not there! I didn't realize how much those things were supposed to keep the adult busy while the dogs jump around at your feet excited about their new treat.

We're going to go for a walk to get some of our wiggles out and then I'm going to work on a project. I think it's been a very successful day! Tomorrow I get to do all the inside jobs to get ready for vacation.

Heat Challenge

2010-06-13T16:27:00.000-04:00

It's the time of year when it starts to warm up just a tad. It seems like there's only 1-2 weeks in the spring when it's just cool enough that I don't need to shut the windows during the day. Not to cool for heat. Not to hot for dark rooms and fans.

We're past that...way past.

So I've explained to several people in the past week my procedures for coping without central air. It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it's cheap, and it's manageable.

And it's a challenge!

Yesterday morning the house was 72 when I got up. I always gain a degree as I get ready for the day. Between the shower, lights, and hair dryer it can't be helped. It was over ninety yesterday and about 8 the house finally reached 80. Each evening I have to wait until sticking my arm out the back porch indicates that the temperature outside is at least the same as it is in the house. That happened at 9:20. In the next 10 hours, the temperature in the house only dropped 3 degrees. Not great, but to be expected when it's so hot.

So today the house started at 77 and was 78 by the time I left for church. Since then it's reached 80 and remained stable. It started to rain at 4 and a cool breeze came through, so the windows were opened and the fan turned on. If the sun comes out then I'll have to close it all up again. But, maybe these few minutes have made a difference.

Regulating the temperature is just a puzzle. Which windows to open and when, how fast to put the ceiling fans on, which lights to use, how long to run the hair dryer.

Year of...

2010-06-07T21:12:00.000-04:00

I decided at the end of December that it was going to be "Year of Carolyn's House, 2010." And that's just about as far as I got with that project. As far as New Year's Resolutions goes it's a fairly typical example. I did manage to get a new couch. And the next day my dog ate it.

So, "Year of Riley and Ted's House, 2010." So far they love the new purchase! It's squishy! It's fun to leap over. You can sit on the back cushions and just snuggle down deep for a nap. And it's in the perfect position to see out the front door. A good purchase I guess. Except I now need a new couch because the covering of this one is slowly being shredded.

The other thing I managed to do in the house makeover was add three bookshelves for storing things (not really for books), and two lamps.

And now it's summer time. And I'm realizing that I've lived in the same house for over 7 years and I haven't painted anything past the first six months. And I haven't cleaned out the inside of a closet in 7 years. Or mowed the backyard in 7 years, or taken out the window AC unit that I don't use....

It goes on and on, this list of things I haven't done in 7 years.

So, this week, I mowed part of the backyard. Got myself some boots to provide mental courage against snakes and I tried to think like LawnBoyDad who I decided would just mow and mow until something broke. So I mowed and mowed until I hit a tree. Well, until I knew I would hit the fallen limb if I kept mowing. I dragged the limb out to the street and then stopped mowing. I was getting a little too far away from 'shore' into snake territory to feel confident. Like to the point of no return. Maybe next week I'll get further.

Small steps I guess... because yesterday I emptied the bottom of a closet to sweep and mop.

Maybe I can still turn this plan into something that makes me more comfortable in my house than it makes the spiders...

Addicted to Sound

2009-11-13T20:14:00.003-05:00

I think worse than eating the fundraiser cookie dough straight out of the cartoon is my addiction to noise.

Radio in the morning (weather, basic news, music to help me track time in the shower). Radio in the car (love love love NPR). Talking people at work. There's rarely five minutes where someone doesn't walk by and say hello. But even if there were a gap between visitors, I talk to myself enough to fill in the silent space. That's probably not a good thing. At home the ipod is play or the TV is blinking. And then I get in bed at night and wonder why my brain is buzzing.

Noise addiction is not a good thing. My to-read stack is taller than it has been for 18 months. At that time I had eight weeks of summer to read my way through it! I've become a big fan of my job and have started checking out more books from the library. An awesome thing, but they're piling up! And the bookstore. Oh the bookstore that I love. I have willpower, but not in great quantity.

I think I need to take back the quiet moments and find some hours to crash on the couch with a book instead of Project Runway (which ends soon--so see? An extra hour!).

If you need a book recommendation, I have many. I've read some truly fabulous books this fall, which is why I'm so bummed about my stack. So far I have a great reading record and I can't wait to see what else I picked out!

Here are some of the great ones I've read this fall. Most of them fall in the teen category, but a few are great for adults as well. Impossible by Nancy Werlin: amazing and a fairly fast read. Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins are masterpieces and jaw-dropping books. Fire, and prequel Graceling, by Kristin Cashore are wonderful adventures if you like fantasy. Okay, all of these are fantasy, but Fire and Graceling are in kingdoms.

Less TV, less wasted noise. More books!

A Little Bit Louder Now

2009-10-25T21:25:00.002-04:00

Teddy R. (for Roosevelt) arrived in our house a few days ago. He's certainly not loud, but there's a lot more action in the house now. And I think he drinks more water than I do!

He's Teddy the Collector and likes to gather things from around the house for whatever spot he's occupying at the time. While I was working on a plumbing project today (and it wasn't small!) he helped himself to my wrench, screwdriver, and a gasket (which was from the old part and is now in many pieces).

He's mostly Sheltie and weighs about 12 pounds. A bit shy around people, but he's warming up to me. And he loves his new brother Riley (who is a bit worn out right now from the playing-he's getting to be an old guy).

Quiet House

2009-09-06T14:03:00.003-04:00

My house is way too quiet. Pepper was my talkative dog. He barked when I came home, howled when I left, and tattled frequently on his brother. I miss the noise. I miss the noise of just having him in the room.

Pepper was the one who talked to me. He brought me his ball, helped me cook and followed me around. He knew the words "slumber party" meant he got to sleep in the bed and that "where's your brother?" meant Ry was outside playing. He was the one who would come and sit with me by the couch and could communicate with his eyes.

I often got tired of playing fetch and now I miss it. The excess tennis balls I keep around the house aren't needed. My house will be less hairy. Less noisy.

And life just got messier without him around all the time because I miss him terribly. I've said that Ry is not a good "only dog." He's not.

I don't think I am either.

An Ode that is Poetry only to Mom

2009-08-24T19:14:00.004-04:00

Mom said to me, "go blog."

But I have nothing to say. Not lately. When the world is full of routine back-to-school issues such as copies, computers and schedules.

And Mom's birthday is smack in the middle. The day before. When I can't think of anything except which items on my list have yet to be checked off and which items I have forgotten to write down.

I know Mom doesn't mind the phone calls that divert into the task I've forgotten and suddenly remembered. And that I've not gotten around to sending a card (for the last five years, at least). Nah, Mom doesn't care.

Because Moms count time in dinners home, useless phone calls, giggles, tears and smiles. And for me, time gets counted in the babbling conversations that she's listened to since the first day I returned from the great adventure of school. Rambles that have happened for the first hour after a long drive or flight. When I care nothing about the other stories, but just need to gush out my life as fast as I can. That's how my mom counts time. Because she loves me. Because that's what Moms do.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Naptime

2009-07-08T16:12:00.003-04:00

You know I'm of the irreverent sort. Gotta find the fun when you can.

Right now I'm watching my grandmother nap.

With a napkin on her head.

I'm thinking maybe she needs one of my yoga eye bags as a gift.

Game Time!

2009-07-02T16:36:00.002-04:00

I visited the local Goodwill and thrift shops to find children's games today. After several months of thinking it over, I decide to build a collection of games that my kids can check out from the library. It's still in the baby stages but I have a plan.

Plan goes like this:
1. Find games
2. Illustrate or Photograph pieces, putting them in labeled bags so that there's not an excess of missing pieces as the games go home with the kids
3. Write illustrated, kid-friendly directions

See? Simple!

So today I picked up a few Clue Jr.'s, Museum Caper Clue (how awesome is that?!), chess, Jenga, dominos (Dora themed), Mastermind (never played it), and Chutes and Ladders. So exciting!

Lazy

2009-06-01T20:53:00.002-04:00

I am really really really really enjoying the end of school. I admit--it took me a few weeks. A good month in fact. I still felt really busy even after I was done with classes. I had several meetings, prep for meetings, trainings, and it all sort of kept going even when my homework obligations were finished.

But now...I don't have meetings. And there's no trainings. There's certainly no homework. There are even no lesson plans (well, there are, but long story).

So now....

TV!

Books!

Stupid online games!

Even, a later bedtime. Yes, I've been going to bed an hour later. Shocking.

I'm making up for every single minute of homework that I've done in the past two years. Just in a week. A weekend even. Yesterday, I barely moved from the couch after getting home from church (Where, I admit, I had been on my feet for 4 hours in heels working in the kitchen. The heels were a mistake.).

I'm enjoying my comfy comfy couch and being a completely lazy person. It's great.

Unfortunately, the work of summer will be upon me soon and I'll have to get un lazy. And then school starts again. And then I can only dream about these three weeks at the end of the year that I enjoy supreme couch potato-ness.

Feeling Vicious

2009-05-31T17:08:00.001-04:00

There's a fly in my house.

I have a weapon and I'm not afraid to use it.

Paperwork

2009-05-23T14:42:00.001-04:00

Apparently, I have not graduated. Ugh.

I think there's a paperwork glitch and I've contacted my advisor. It looks like I will have to repay my graduation fee so that they can reprint my diploma with the next available graduation date.

Unless Dr. S can work his magic.

Here's hoping....

Zoo Report

2009-05-14T21:32:00.003-04:00

Went to the zoo today.

It's a great trip with the second graders.

What I love about this trip is that it's so well organized. The planning starts months ago, but only on the actual day can you tell how nice the organization is.

The teachers have a list of animals from the zoo and divide the students into pairs to do research. This is the part that I help with, but not a lot. I think I mainly provided access to the resources. Each pair prepares a report, writes a dialogue and creates a costume for their animal. They present their monologues to the first graders when they dress up and freeze like statues in their room. They get 'activated' and present their information 'in character.'

At the zoo, there's so many adults to help that it seems excessive....except....

I overheard another chaperone from a different school trying to keep track of her charges and was really thankful for our large adult numbers. I was responsible for two children. That meant that we got to see what we really wanted to, moved at our own pace, had no arguments over where to go, each child could hold the map, I didn't have to hold the stuff of 6 kids and it was just wonderful.

Wandering Boy was usually a few feet ahead of us and always said "okay, let's go!" Shuffling Feet was trying her hardest to read all of the map and walk at the same time. She told three other adults, "Look! Ms. V said I'm in charge of the map!"

How awesome is that?

We saw alligators, tarantulas (I have a great picture of that one), elk (awesome!), and many other things. We got ice cream with sprinkles and toys in the gift shop. It was a great day.

I also know that teachers are generous, but until watching our teachers pass out cash to students who didn't bring money, it doesn't really sink in. Cash passed to students is not tax deductable. There's no receipt for items purchased. It's just that quiet, behind the scenes generosity.

So for those of you who are parents....or might have field trip kids: Send a stack of fives to your child's teacher for that extra field trip money. It makes an awesome difference.

Cake

2009-05-12T21:08:00.002-04:00

I had the most wonderful cake this spring. It seems like last week, but it was our last cyber movie night and that was before spring break.

Cake was from Olive Garden.

So when Dad suggested Olive Garden for dinner the other night I was very excited. But when I read the menu, I couldn't quite reconcile the pictures on their dessert menu with what I remembered.

I'm sure I was annoying to listen to as I raved about how great that cake had been.

What I ordered didn't live up to my memory, so I'm fairly certain OG changed their menu for the summer season. I wish I could remember it better. It was really great cake.

Points to anyone who finds me a picture or a recipe. You know--fictitious points.

Paperwork

2009-05-07T19:59:00.002-04:00

Where exactly does it all come from?

Do you know how many trees are sitting on the desk in my office? A whole grove, I'm sure! An orchard! A stand!

It's crazy!

I KNOW I cleaned my desk off not that long ago. I had to organize everything for taxes.

Okay, that was several months ago. I was done by the end of January (I know--I'm scary like that).

And here it all is again! Coughed up on my desk! Even worse is the piles that I "organized" onto the table that's in here! There are three....so I think I'm looking at February, March and April on the table and the beginning of May on the desk.

I obviously need a different system.

I'm a crazy shredder. Everything that doesn't get piled up gets shredded or recycled. It's the 'others' I'm having trouble with!

I'm putting Mom to work making a bulletin board. Maybe having a bulletin board would motivate me. At the very least I can tack up a list that says "clean your desk."

Third Time for the Cone

2009-04-24T16:09:00.003-04:00

I was driving to a meeting today. It's warm out. It seems like spring didn't last long enough because once it reaches 80, it's basically summer and too hot.

About an hour into the drive I see the exit approaching and say to my passenger, "hang on, we're taking a detour!"

We had eaten lunch, but there's just something about McDonald's ice cream cones.

So we pulled off the exit and look for the McDonald's. We found it next to its "billions served" sign, in a heap of rubble with a dozer of some sort pushing chunks of it around. I don't think they serve ice cream there.

So we got back on the highway and stopped at the next McD's sign. As we exited, the little sign noted that the McDonald's was 1.3 miles to the right. It was worth it. We turned right and then saw the sign to turn left. We came to another exit for the same highway before we got to the ice cream, so we, again, got back on the highway. At the next exit we decided to try again.

A cone was really worth it to me to try at least a few more times.

Thankfully this McDonald's was not in rubble, was right off the exit, and had bottled water for $1. Which I thought was a bit under the current fast food price, but that's okay.

The cone was wonderful. Worth every extra detour!

Successful Start

2009-04-23T18:51:00.002-04:00

I got my lawn mower started on the first try today! By "first try" I mean within 30 minutes of pulling it out of the shed and trying to start it. It needed about 15 pushes of the magic button and several squirts of starter fluid. But it started. And that is awesome.

So my big fluffy grass is mowed and my dirt is mowed and my yard is all happy.

If someone was interested, hypothetically, in purchasing a graduation gift for their daughter--might I suggest an electric weed eater? They're very 'in' this season. All the graduates are raving about them.

At least, I'm sure I read that in some article of the top ten graduation gifts for 2009.

To Do

2009-04-22T16:23:00.002-04:00

1. I have not unpacked from vacation.
2. I have a paper to finish.
3. PTA is very time consuming right now.
4. I was supposed to be at a meeting right now, but I was running late and forgot where it was. Made the wrong location choice.
5. The appraiser called and we set up an appointment for before work tomorrow.
6. See #1....
7. There's an event at church tonight I was supposed to bring food for. This item gets sacrificed for #8.
8. I need to clean the house. See #1, 5, and 6.
9. I'm blogging because my head is crowded.
10. Church stuff is tonight. I think I'll be skipping it all. In fact, I'm tempted to skip dinner....
11. I need to go to the library (hey--it's legitimate--I need construction books).
12. Maybe I should eat dinner...

Remediation

2009-04-18T11:05:00.002-04:00

pete and Ryan are training Penny to come. Which first means they have to train her to like the treats being used.

"Maybe we should train her with cigarette butts," Ryan suggests. pete's not sure--are they organic?

Anyway, not the point, but mildly amusing.

See, Riley has gotten in on the game. He doesn't need to be trained to like treats. Penny is being told to 'come.' Riley comes. Penny is told to 'sit.' Riley sits. Riley's just in it for the snacks.

Penny's still not sure if she likes the snacks being offered. Sticks, grass, and belly rubs are just more fun.

Hee, Sammi is joining in. Penny has plenty of examples of what not to do. Don't chase cars. Don't jump for snacks, Don't bark at loud noises.

She's pretty smart. She has come three times in a row, to both parents. She can also sit. And has a cute little 'look at me!' wiggle with both front paws and ears flapping up in the air. pete said they're working on a double high-five.

This is all fairly boring, but it's a beautiful Saturday and we're outside. Life is good.

In the Wood Pile

2009-04-16T20:07:00.002-04:00

We were doing a workshop project tonight. There are a lot of those around this house. There are also a lot of wood piles. Chunks of wood. Skinny wood. Flat long wood. Wood.

As Dad was pulling boards out of a pile he unearthed a cardboard tube. Cardboard tubes aren't usually in wood piles so Dad pulled out the paper inside.

Really really large photo copy of a family tree. Not just any family tree either, one with people we know!

How cool is that!

Mom and I looked at it a bit until it became a play area for the four-footeds. It says that 'we' came over to this part of the world in 1638.

I'm going to dig more into this when rest time for the four-footeds comes about. And pete will want to see it tomorrow because pete really digs the connectional stuff.

We'll keep you posted.

Shower Dilema

2009-04-13T16:47:00.003-04:00

I don't usually post all the funny things my grandmother says, because she's getting older and it seems a bit disrespectful. But, this is just a hoot and a half.

I woke up to a bit of a remodel in the downstairs bath today. Shower doors were removed in favor of a curtain. This makes a lot of sense if someone were to fall inside the shower--an easier rescue.

We put up a clear curtain so that there is a lot of light into the shower, with the option to add a second 'pretty' curtain to the outside later.

At lunch we asked Gmom (grandmom for those that don't know code) what she thought about the new arrangement.

She thought it was fine, but wondered if because it was a 'public' bathroom if it was such a good idea, because of the 'extra' people coming in and out. Mom and I wondered about these extra people. Getting Gmom to shower is a chore in itself and it really doesn't happen when there are 'extra' people around. In this house if someone turns on water anywhere in the house during a shower, you have a limited time to get out of the way. Gmom can't get out of the way so when she showers anyone in the house is very cautious about not doing dishes, washing hands or flushing the toilet.

Back to the story. "Extra" people.

Mom and I left the conversation amused and a bit frustrated because there are just not extra people around during showers. Gmom even asked me about those showers for men and women.

Hey--who you let in your shower is your business.

A few hours later this came up:
"I've got a brand new bathing suit that I've never worn. It's real cute. If I were going to take a shower, I'd put that suit on. If anyone wanted to come in, they could."

Mom and I just stared at her. Mom said that the point of a shower is to get clean and covering up doesn't help that.

We moved on about our afternoon tasks while Gmom was obviously still thinking about this because, "I hope I can find my bathing suit, because I would like to have a good shower."

Of course the most important detail: how 'cute' is this swimsuit?

Too Much Cake

2009-04-12T19:56:00.003-04:00

I made a lovely bundt cake for Bible study group at church. Really--lovely. I had it sliced and powder-sugared and ready to go.

It was even on the 'right' counter, which in my house means the one the dog doesn't jump on.

I guess it was too close to the edge.

When I shower and when I leave the house for the day--that's when Sneaky Dog makes his counter jumping attempts.

He pulled the cake down to ground level and then I think Pepper joined in the cake-eating frenzy until I was able to intervene.

Half a cake! Half!

I had to ask a friend to bake another cake for me so that the Bible study group would have one for Monday.

So today little guy hasn't been feeling very well. He napped during our car trip and has been drinking a lot of water. Fun times cleaning up the cake his digestive system didn't want to actually digest...

If I had known the cake was going to end up on the floor, I definitely would have tried a piece right after it came out of the oven. It smelled delicious.

Closed

2009-04-10T13:18:00.002-04:00

I'm suffering terribly today.

The library is closed.

For three days.

And someone didn't return their book on time, and that bugs me. Not because of overdue books, but because I have a hold on the book and I'm next. And if they had returned it on time, I would not be suffering unduly.

It's stressful, I tell you.

Equally distressing is that I'm going to have to find a place to change my oil, inspect my car and rotate my tires. Because the Lube and Car Wash place was deserted and said "CLOSED" on their sign. I hate picking new places to get things done. It makes me a nervous wreck. It took me over a year to take clothes to the dry cleaner. I don't like doing new things. New people. New procedures.

It could be worse. The lube place could have been closed for three days and the library forever. That would be stressful.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz

2009-04-08T21:11:00.002-04:00

I had a great talk with a lovely new friend today. We were chatting about various things and then got around to cute little dogs and their clicky toenails.

I mentioned that Ry had gotten his cut at the vet last week and he's extra cute now because he has a nice soft thumping sound instead of a clicking sound.

But poor Pepper has long nails and I can't cut them easily because by the time I locate a nail in all that hair, he's in the next room.

She said she uses a Dremel tool to grind her pooches' toenails and that many groomers do as well. I decided to give it a try! Went to Lowe's and bought a Dremel. Cordless. (I know you want details.)

Charged the battery a little and gave it a whirl.

Then I went after the dog.

I think I could have gotten away with my nefarious plan except that when I was trying to hold him down, I lost track of the moving parts and they....

Um....

...got caught in his hair.

I know! Poor baby!

He hates me now. Or will until it's breakfast time. And good luck to me getting near him with the Dremel ever again. If I could just tell him that it would be easier with him sitting still it would make both our nail-trimming experiences better.

So nail-trimming might be a two person job anyway, but at least the loss of blood will be minimal. I don't really mind bleeding myself, but it's not fun to have to mop it up off the floor.

Take a Seat and Have a Laugh

2009-04-06T20:37:00.003-04:00

We have an interactive whiteboard at work. It includes all the usual: projector, computer, whiteboard.

The kids, especially the little ones, think it's fairly nifty when whatever body part gets between the projector and the board has the writing or image on it. I've heard about writing being on my back, looking like a tattoo, and "how do you know what to write when you can't see?"

The comments usually come when I'm trying to talk about whatever I'm writing or pointing at. So it's an interruption. And after over a year of having an interactive whiteboard, it's not new.

But a few weeks ago...

I'm in the middle of a first grade lesson. Students are choosing what parts they wanted for acting out a play. I'm writing names with parts on the board so that we have a record.

And from the back I hear, "Hey Ms. V, there's writing on your boo-tay!"

I turned around and just stared. Because if it had been any other situation, I would have been flat on my "boo-tay" laughing it off!

But this was a first grader, and what he said was a bit disrespectful. So I reminded him that this happens and we just need to deal with it and move on in our lesson.

Later I took the opportunity to share and had a rip-roaring laugh at the whole incident!

False Alarm

2009-04-05T15:25:00.002-04:00

Sadly, with the lovely spring comes the dreaded snake season.

I don't like snake season. It means 7 months of worry about stepping on something I shouldn't, or one of the pooches playing with something he shouldn't.

I was being a good homeowner today and clearing out fallen limbs from the backyard. I'm glad I did two trips with the lawn cart before my neighbor stopped me.

She reported that a copperhead was on the sidewalk when they got home yesterday afternoon and almost took a bite out of her young son.

Yuck. I hate snake season.

We talked a little longer about the lifestyle and habits of copperheads. I'm not an expert, but I do my reading. They come out in April (I was hoping that day 5 was too soon), and hang around days and nights through May. By June they're nocturnal. Which is good because I don't do yardwork at night. But a pain when arriving home after dark and wondering if it's a stick on my sidewalk or something wriggly.

My neighbor saved the body of the deceased so I asked to have a look. It's like watching a scary movie scene with my hand in front of my face--I don't want to look but I have to peek.

I took one look and said "That's not a copperhead! That's a garter snake!"

She thinks it's a copperhead, but there were no diamond shapes on that baby. Just a nice green line and some little square patterns on the side.

So we agreed to disagree and I went back to my yardwork without fear. Of course, I stayed in the front yard from that point forward!

Bubbles in Bulk

2009-04-03T22:08:00.002-04:00

This summer I was out of town and realized that I should have packed my bubble bath. So I dragged my travel buddy along with me to Walmart with shopping list that I believe at the time said "bubble bath, bananas."

A good list. The essentials.

I just wanted something purple (lilac or lavender), but I could have gone vanilla, and lots of bubbles.

It looked like the best bed was gallon sized.

Not really. But close.

It turns out that it's better bubble bath than my good stuff from B&BW. It smells great, has wonderful bubbles.

It ran out.

So sad I was.

Was at Walmart this week. Decided to check in and see if they had the same stuff.

They did!

Less than $3!

I can just pour it in and not worry about using too much. It's fantastic!

So excited about the bubbles....

Gah!

2009-03-27T19:41:00.002-04:00

Seriously!

Do we HAVE to bring dead animal skulls into the house! Do we HAVE to chew on them?

Ughhhhhh!

The first one was weird.

The second one a bit disgusting.

But this one you were chewing on and it make a very icky crackling noise.

Leave. Them. Out. Side.

Early Warning System

2009-03-14T21:42:00.004-04:00

Dear Family,

I made soup today. Very good soup. Lots of soup. I know you won't like it because it has green peppers in it. But I love you anyway. I also know you love ice. Unfortunately, the vast amount of soup that came into being today required a reorganization of the freezer. It has been determined by the Freezer Subcommittee (sub, as in branched off from the Cold and Frozen Department) that providing ice for an average of 2-8 days a year is not a good use of space. The soup needed room; the ice trays needed to go. This means, of course, that the ice cube storage box will shed its role as ice cube storage and continue to be available for breads such as bagels, loaves, and English muffins. The committee has determined that this container shall be termed "the bread box."

If, in the future, there arises a situation where ice will need to be provided to additional occupants of the home, please provide at least 3 days notice so a sufficient supply can be provided.

If there are any questions about the report, please direct them to yours truly,
The Girl Who Doesn't Use Ice

Larry, My Hero

2009-03-13T20:35:00.003-04:00

I think it's important to recognize heroes in our world.

So here's mine: Larry!

Three cheers for Larry! Woot! Woot! Woot!

Larry is my customer service hero of the day. It was like Christmas at work today I was so excited. Actually I was more excited than Christmas. I was so excited a did a nice boogie woogie for all spectators in the library. Including the parent volunteer.

Uh-huh.

So here's the deal.

I wanted to upgrade my library for the kids so they have more autonomy. New scanners from the library vendor are expensive and I couldn't justify nor afford such a purchase. I decided to investigate on ebay to see if I could swing a personal purchase.

Yay for ebay! Three cheers for ebay! Not really.

Back on track.

I found a scanner identical to my older one in the library, except it wasn't programmed by the library vendor. I figured that with my "success" with household tasks and taking apart equipment that I could get it to work anyway.

'Cause FixItDad didn't raise anyone afraid of taking stuff apart.

Found a scanner for a reasonable price. Offered $20 less. My offer was accepted and I was sent a new-to-me barcode scanner.

Yesterday I spent the day working through barcode sequences to try and program the thing to read our library barcodes. I was half successful. The scanner read the newest barcodes. Sometime in the past, the symbology must have switched, so there's a mix on the books.

I contacted customer service at the library vendor (still haven't heard from them), my library listserv (love those handy people) and located a manual to my scanner.

This morning I found the manual wasn't helpful enough so I called customer service for the scanner (I think--could have been another scanner company). That's when I met Larry.

Larry is a genius! I was only on hold for about 15 seconds. (Isn't that awesome?!) Larry said that the library vendor programs their scanners to read all their barcodes and that the older ones have to have the special programing.

Keep in mind this fact. Larry never asked for a serial number. Or a purchase date. Or a service agreement. Or my firstborn. Or anything!

He emailed me a one page document with three barcodes to scan and good directions about those barcodes.

In less than ten minutes from me dialing the phone number, my scanner was correctly programmed!

I'm so glad Larry has a job! Hooray for Larry!

House Clean

2009-03-06T18:42:00.002-05:00

I love talking to pete on the phone for many reasons, but one is that she doesn't mind if I make weird noises. Which means that I can clean house.

Yesterday I was more productive than usual and got the kitchen counter and dining room table cleaned off. Dumped in some laundry. Then I started sorting boxes in the office. I cleaned out the dining room table box that I made when fixing roomba, which meant sorting mail and receipts. I cleaned up all my Schools Attuned paperwork, binders, and folders. There's still a lot of that, but I transferred it to the guest room, so I have time to clean in there.

I moved furniture even!

And then moved it right back.

All of this is very good, but the best thing was coming home tonight and being completely surprised by the clean counter and table. Awesome.

Plus, I think a fairy left M&Ms in my cabinet. Because I don't remember buying them. Or having leftovers. That's just weird.

If it works once, try it twice!

2009-02-21T16:11:00.003-05:00

As we say in our family "the nut doesn't fall far from the tree." Today, I take after Dad. I decided that it is project day around my house. The living room is shiny, laundry is going, dishwasher is going, my dining room table is in a box (there's a nut showing from Mom), and I decided to fix my Roomba.

Roomba lives in a house with two hairy dogs. I think there ends up being more hair on and in Roomba each week than there is on the dogs. After about six months it had problems digesting all that hair and couldn't turn one wheel very well. I did what anyone would do and searched for a tutorial and then took it apart. Success!

However, after several sessions, Roomba was missing several screws and had a noticeable limp to the right.

Finally, one day, Roomba stopped moving forward at all.

So today was the day to fix it! I laid it out on the kitchen table and started unscrewing all the parts that still had screws.

I decided to follow the advice of several tutorials and cut into the frame over the wheel so that to take the wheel apart in the future, I don't have to take the whole frame of the machine off the top. I didn't have anything good to cut with, except in the drawer was a pair of dog toenail clippers.

Worked like a charm! I was so pleased with myself.

Then I realized that I was working on the wheel that was functional and not the limping wheel.

Oh well, if the dog clippers worked so well the first time, they would work well a second time.

Now Roomba has a hole by each wheel to allow for easy fixes in the future. That is, if Roomba shows improvement today! I have high hopes. It feels like a lucky fix. Especially since I ended the project with more screws than I started with! Right now Roomba is charging, but in a few hours I hope to be able to give it a whirl and have the thing move in a straight line.

It will certainly cut down on the historical repeat of the dustbowl rolling across my living room floor. Well, so would sweeping three times a day, but that ain't gonna happen.

Oh Bananas!

2009-02-07T16:10:00.003-05:00

My apologies to the person who had to pick up my litter in the parking lot. I didn't mean to drop two bananas, but I think I did. I'm sure you must think I'm insane. I am at times. I knew I lost the bananas as soon as I got inside, but it was too cold to go back out there. I thought about sending an email, but how would I word it?

"Dear staff, I'm really sorry if you picked up my bananas in the parking lot. Don't return them because I didn't want them anyway. They were too ripe for me to eat so I brought them for a friend. Enjoy them if you want them, but I'm not sure where I left them and they might have been squished. If you ran over them, sorry for the banana smudge on your tires."

Right. Not a good use of company email. I'm the picky one about mass mailings, sending email to people who don't need it, and forwards. Don't send me junk and I'll try not to send you junk.

So no banana-mail from me.

I do wonder what happened to them though...I did wonder if they were found by the same person who found my lunch bag. That's an email I appreciated. Although, I'm sure after another day I would have realized I was missing my lunch...

I guess I'm not the most observant person in the world.

Need a book?

2009-01-25T21:15:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow the American Library Association announces a whole host of winners for various awards. The past few years I've been very excited that my predictions for the Caldecott Award won (Flotsam and The Invention of Hugo Cabret). This year, I'm cheering for the Newbery. Not since the Tale of Despereaux (the book, not that horrid movie) has there been a book that I've actually wanted to read or put in the library for the kids. The whole point of the award is to honor an outstanding contribution toward's children's literature. You would think they would want kids to read it.

So, for tomorrow, my birthday wishes would all come true if one of these books won an award. I don't read everything or even anything I get my hands on, but from what I've read this year, these are the books that have wowed me. There is one I love love, one that was fabulous, and two that I love in second place. I would be happy if one or more came away with an least an Honor. The Medal would thrill me.

Each of these books falls into the YA (young adult) category (except for the Penderwicks), but I still recommend them all for adults.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is such an intense book that there were days I'd read a few pages and then put it down. It's rare that I can't read a book I want to read because I'm so stunned by what happened that I need processing time. The Hunger Games is science fiction (not because of aliens, but because of the change technology, presumably, has wrought on the future, making it an alternate world from ours) crossed with reality tv. Participants from regions of the US are put into a game where the winner is the last left alive. It's a fight to the death. It's fabulous, intense, and I'm almost scared for the second in the sequence to be released (called Catching Fire).

Graceling by Kristen Cashore is a well done fantasy of kingdoms, princes, and special gifts. Katsa believes she has the gift of killing (more like a curse). This book puts me in mind of Ella Enchanted (again, the excellent book, not the inspid movie) with the landscape, although now that I think about it, there are no fantastical creatures. Just humans. Katsa discovers more about her gift when she meets Po, another Graceling, and when they embark on a journey to protect the innocent from evil. It's fantastic and a good blend of adventure, romance and self discovery.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall is almost like a novel written in the fifties. It has that feeling of nostalgia with a family of four sisters living with their absent minded father and out of control dog. It conquers the topics of matchmaking, grief, mystery, and sibling rivalry. This is the sequel to another Penderwicks book with a longer title. The author's second outing with the family has a tighter plot and doesn't feel quite so rambling as the first.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is a Revolutionary War tale from the perspective of a slave living with a family in New York City. The family is on the side of the British, which puts the heroine (I've forgotten her name) in the position to be a spy for the rebels. The story gives a perspective to the revolution not usually seen in literature and I learned a few things along the way. There's a sequel to this one coming to, as two slaves escape off the island and being to travel south to find a lost sister.

I'd be thrilled with any of these as winners but more thrilled with the ones farther up the list. Newbery doesn't seem to like science fiction as much as other genres, although we do have The Giver on our side.

As for the Caldecott. I loved Eric Rohmann's My Friend Rabbit and have worn my copy to a looser spine (rare for me), and there is much talk about his Kitten Tale. Even though I'm not a big fan of cat stories and can't say that I remember the book, I do recall some of the illustrations and they're very good. I'd be glad for a repeat win for Rohmann. Other contenders that are floating out there--I'm not very familar with.

I'm hopeful and crossing my fingers!

I went to PetsMart and all I should have gotten was a Tshirt

2009-01-17T17:05:00.003-05:00

Pets are entertaining. You know mine. You may think they're not so great, but I'm a proud mama so I'm thrilled when they do stuff like ignore the mailman, trash truck, and school buses.

We're not doing so well at sharing and property ownership.

There's a reason the pet business is booming. They're spoiled. Flat out spoiled.

Wiggle-butt has a nice pooch bed made just for him with his name (his real name) on it.

Along comes Fuzzy-butt to the family. Fuzzy-butt didn't come with things like pooch beds, so for the last five years we've gone through a variety of padding type ones. They get used at home and very-well used at the kennel when I send both pooches to the 'spa' (I don't think that term really fools them).

This is where the spoiled bit comes in. It's cold outside. My bed is warmer and he loves me. We're codependent. (I've been told.) I thought maybe getting him one of those beds with sides on it would help him be warmer during 'caterpillar' season (when he curls up to sleep rather than being stretched out upside down, paws up). A good start to retraining him to sleep in his own bed.

Got him a new bed. Wiggle-butt likes it, but he likes my bed better, and Fuzzy-butt likes Wiggle-butt's new bed better. It's a pitiful comedic plot.

Since I got the bed Wiggle-butt sized, and Fuzzy-butt's fuzzy parts really hang over the edge I decided to go back to the store and spend the money on a larger size so that they're both spoiled. Really, who ever wants hand-me-downs?

Got the bed today. Wiggle-butt loves it.

Fuzzy-butt is sitting in the small one. Wiggle-butt doesn't even take up half of the new bed's size.

Comedy.

Real Life is Better than TV

2009-01-12T20:04:00.002-05:00

I probably watch too much television. But, when I'm watching television, I'm usually working or pretending to work. So instead I like to think that pretend to work too much.

While I like funny TV, and enjoy the humor in such shows as House and Grey's, I don't watch any sitcoms. I'm going to be testing Big Bang Theory as soon as it rolls up on my Netflix list because the one ep I caught was hysterical. Anyway, no 30 minute TV for me.

Instead, I like to get my funnies from radio and real life. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is on NPR, usually after Car Talk, but also at other times, and as a podcast (my format of choice). It's better than sitcom, it's better than news, and since I don't watch the funny news on Comedy Central, I'm sure it's better than that too.

The news is amusing, the guest panalists even more so, and people who make stupid choices are flat out hysterical. The guy that believed the bank teller really couldn't take his withdrawal slip because it was from another bank?

Funny-ish, but funnier on radio.

You have to try it.

Technical Support

2009-01-07T21:19:00.003-05:00

Dialed the number.

Listened to the note about visiting the website if I have an order.

Pressed 1 for "technical support."

All of their agents are busy, but be assured that my call is important to them.

So I'm on hold. Nice music in the background.

While I'm holding I'm checking to see what the cost would be if I choose to replace my TiVo. And if TiVo is good quality and value, according to Consumer Reports.

My call is still very important. Excellent. I was getting worried.

Since I'm holding I'll tell you that TiVo's fan stopped running so it thinks it's overheating. It's stuck on the perpetually optimistic "Welcome! Powering up..." screen.

My call is answered by Megan!

She was very polite and took my model number.

I explained that the unit was stuck on the welcome screen, but I had seen the error message earlier today in the midst of rebooting.

She gave me directions for restarting the unit and trying to 'debug' it.

While I was pressing pause and waiting for the green lights to turn orange so that I could press the number 57, I apologized for not having nice hold music she could listen to while I waited.

"I don't think our hold music is that great, but it's been awhile since I listened to it."

"It's not the worst I've heard," I replied.

Megan shared her recent experience of jungle music on a hold line.

I told her if this doesn't work, it's okay because my mother just asked what I wanted for my upcoming birth anniversary.

I wrote down the rest of my directions which involve waiting for a green screen and 3 hours of time.

Then I thanked her, wished her a nice evening, and we said farewell. She did offer a final reminder that they are available 24 hours a day.

Seating Chart

2009-01-05T19:10:00.003-05:00

I have a new rug in the library with alphabet letters. It's very basic in design, but I bought it for it's shape--a semi circle. When reading aloud to students and sitting on the floor with them, a lot of shapes don't work very well when I sit with the kids. A semi circle will allow everyone to see and someday I might be able to afford another to match for a full circle.

The alphabet letters allow me to create a seating chart. This will be very helpful to provide boundaries and so that I can learn the last 3% of student names I have automatized yet.

I asked teachers coming in with their class today to help me for a moment find good seats for each student. While waiting in line a first grader announced, "My mom said I can only sit on the letter T."

For some reason, this struck the teacher and as quite funny. If I hadn't been in front of students I probably would have dropped over and a chair and laughed until I needed a brown bag to breathe into.

The teacher said, "Your mom knew we were getting a rug? That it would come today (it had arrive 30 minutes before these students arrived)? That you would be getting a seating chart? And that the rug had alphabet letters on it? Your mother is smart!"

It was just so funny.

Irony

2009-01-04T15:06:00.003-05:00

It's very sad.

So sad.

I have on my desk five flash drives.

Flash drive one is small and I had library stuff on it. It's old, but it's the only one that works on my old laptop. So I keep it around for inventory.

Flash drive two was bought to replace flash drive one, but is also small. It was useful. My lessons started including video clips and it was too small to use all of the time.

Flash drives three and four I bought to differentiate between work and Schools Attuned. They are larger and were better for video and sound files. The work one is the one I use all the time.

Flash drive five is large and new (got it off woot!).

Today I got them all out of my purse with the intention to back them up and consolidate. (I was really planning to procrastinate on my lesson plans.)

Two minutes ago, the dog jumped off the computer chair too close to the computer, knocking the flash drive out of the computer.

It looks like it has a broken leg.

I'm praying.

........

Wow. It made the beeping noise. And the box popped up!

The end of it is about snapped off, but I'm really hoping that the important electronic part didn't disconnect.

........

Success!

Moral: Back up your files or your dog may do something horrible (Wiggle-butt has eaten two flash drives and has now broken one).

Use MY Bag! Sheesh!

2009-01-03T20:02:00.002-05:00

pete and Clark were sharing with me the other day about their grocery store and bagging non-policies. The store sells reusable bags, but it appears to them that none of the staff has been trained to accept them at the checkout and to put groceries in them.

Duh.

See bag. Fill bag. People take bag home.

I guess it's not that easy.

I had a similar problem at the bookstore.

Yes, I only went in for one book, but even so, I took my reusable Barnes & Noble bag with me. I've reused it at B&Ns before and it wasn't a problem. It shouldn't have been today. But, the young women at the checkout must not have seen it laying on the counter (right next to the book). She followed through on my coupon, the membership card swipe, the debit card swipe and I noticed her putting my book in a plastic bag.

"I brought a bag. Sorry, I should have mentioned it sooner."

I did feel badly. I was swiping cards and keying numbers and not looking to see where she was putting my book.

She took my bag...

...and put the book AND the plastic bag in my cloth bag.

OY!

Was the bag too 'used' to give to the next person? Could it have not gone to the top of the stack?

I know it would have taken a smidge longer to unbag the book and rebag the book, but really? REALLY?

Really.

Moral of the story: Use your cloth bags. Take them everywhere. Speak up and tell the folks at the checkouts that you don't want their plastic or paper.

First Friday

2009-01-02T18:14:00.002-05:00

First day of the year--"meh," I say. (Being added to a dictionary next year and has been in the news as a new word--beware Bananagrammers!)

"Meh." An expression of apathy and indifference.

However...the first Friday of the year?! Much better than "meh."

I did work all day. It was good to work all day. I haven't worked all day since a few weeks ago. I'm not even sure I worked all day then. I think I spent my time waiting for vacation to start.

Work was good. Sometimes it's just nice to lay your hands on your work space before actually working in the space.

I emptied my inbox, labeled shelves for doodads that I collect over time, made a list, shelved books, sent email, made a flyer, installed software, crossed two things off my list (it was a short list!, reserved a book at the library, browsed amazon and Barnes & Noble online to see what's coming out soon, checked my list, went to the library where I made a new list and checked out an armful of books.

Yeah Friday!

This is the best kind of start to the New Year because the weekend is right now! You don't have to wait! Work ONE day and ONE day ONLY and then it's the weekend. How cool is that?

I think I'm going to work on another list and clean off my desk. It's Friday. I like to go wild and crazy on Friday.

No Pajamas

2008-12-25T21:32:00.003-05:00

For the record, I should admit that I did not guess my Christmas gift from Mom. I really thought she got me pajamas. Apparently the "I can't believe you guessed it look" on her face was a "why on Earth would I get you pajamas?" look.

I obviously can't tell the difference between the two. Ah well.

Banana This, Banana That

2008-12-25T20:52:00.004-05:00

Bananagrams is a Scrabble game, but better. Lots of tiles to make your own personal scrabble puzzle. It's not really easy, but it's better than scrabble because it eliminates wait time, gives you more tiles to work with, and you can rearrange as needed. There's also the entertainment value of learning new or creating your own English words!

Words like "lavoo" and "harrell."

Don't those sound like good words?

We think they should be added to the dictionary. Except they probably need definitions first. We also found that we need a new dictionary, because the 2001 copyright doesn't have nifty words like 'woot.'

This simple post cannot express the hilarity of this game, but it's mostly what you make of it. If you're a boring game player in general, it's just a regular semi-fun game. If you're an entertaining game player, then it's double the fun.

Bananagrams can be found at amazon or mindware, but not at Target or Walmart. Their loss.

Christmas Day at the Theater

2008-12-24T19:41:00.004-05:00

We have three choices for a family movie on Christmas Day.

2:50
"Despite striking visuals, [it] feels unimaginative and familiar."
-Rotten Tomatoes

3:00
"...uneven, poorly paced, and lacks whimsy."
-Rotten Tomatoes

4:20
"Easy to watch, easy to forget."
-USA Today

Christmas Movies: "One thumb up for predictable"

2008-12-24T19:26:00.004-05:00

*Today at lunch:

Mom: "We have to go to the store."

C: "Good. We need milk."

Mom: "Maybe after this movie is over."

C: "That's okay--I can reenact it in the car for you."

Mom: "Okay."

C: "Except I haven't seen it before."

I told her that all holiday movies are the same. It only takes seeing the first minute to figure out what's going to happen at the end. They're just like impending doom movies except for end-of-the-world movies have the pet that recovers from the brink of death to live happily-ever-after and holiday movies have the new puppy given as a gift at the end.

I tried the same thing tonight. "This is the one where they pretend to live in this house and..."

Mom told me she has seen it, so she knows what's going to happen.

I haven't seen it, but I still know what's going to happen.

I'll be happy to share movie plots with anyone who wants me to make them up!

*You think I remember each word that was said? Uh-uh. Generalizations here.

Replacing the Stocking

2008-12-24T09:41:00.006-05:00

I don't have a stocking.

I figured it was because I was sneaky, or have the reputation for being sneaky. The truth is that secrets are a lot like dessert. I like to talk about dessert, but when it comes to eating dessert after a meal, I'm just too full.

Anyway. I don't have a stocking. It has something to do with the fact that it has puppies on it and I must have said "why do I always get the dog stuff?" last year. I really don't like being defined in such a limited way. I have this fear that once I like something I'm going to be overwhelmed by gadgets and knickknacks surrounding that theme. I don't do themes.

Mom says she'll make me a new stocking. One with fewer puppies. At this point though, that seems like a lot of work. Rather than rushing and doing the project in the next 12 hours, I figure she can do a quality job in the 8,748 hours left before next Christmas.

Instead of a stocking, it seems I get a drawer. I was just fine with the drawer concept. Drawers are quite useful. But, now that I think about it, they're not very holiday-spirit like. So maybe I'll go and just find myself a good clean sock.

Reindeer and Elves

2008-12-23T21:17:00.004-05:00

I know I'm a fairly irreverent person.

At lunch today we were discussing holiday music, or movies, or maybe no such thing and I'm just making scenarios up. But, I did suggest that we reenact the song about Grandma and have my grandmother, Gmom, stand out in the street.

It was a joke, and it was funny.

She said she couldn't do it because there might be cars. Maybe a forest would be better!

Really, she said that. Ha!

I think there was also talk about elves.

Speaking of elves. Mom's having trouble with the ones assigned to her this year. We've decided that gifts are not very important. Last year we decided it was the end of the big gift and shopping just because the advertisements on tv started to sing and snow.

And while I have a well deserved reputation as a sneak it's the thrill of the chase that's fun to me. I like to guess.

Mom wishes that today I didn't also share her brain because it took me less than 10 seconds and only one guess. And all she said was "WalMart."

So I think she has to hire new elves.

The fun thing is that even though I know and she knows that I know, it hasn't ruined the gift. I'm still very excited.

This year I would be excited about socks. I really need socks. And socks can be quite fun. I'm all in favor of the sock. Well, socks, in the plural.

Cake on a Rug

2008-12-20T12:53:00.003-05:00

I'm usually fairly good at cleaning food out of my school bags when I leave the house unsupervised. I remembered yesterday to get the leftover pizza, cookies, and breakfast chex mix out.

I forgot the Cake in a Mug.

Whoops.

Now there's cake on the rug. More than one rug. And on the floor. And outside the dog door. And on the dog. So much on the dog that he no longer smells doggy, but chocolatey.

I can't decide if I should lecture him about calories or dump him in the tub.

I'm kind of disappointed that I'm going to miss out on the experience of baking a cake in a mug. And that the wonderful friend and teacher who gave it to me surely didn't intend to indulge Pepper's sweet tooth.

Sheesh.

Ten for Vacation

2008-12-19T19:04:00.003-05:00

Ten Reasons I Can't Wait for Vacation

1. Pepper will be too busy to want to play fetch with only me. I get fetch-free time!
2. I will make cookies. Mom will make cookies. There will be cookies.
3. I get to play cards! I love cards!
4. Poker is different than cards and gets its own number.
5. Dad will make me exercise and be outside. I guess this is a good thing.
6. There might be snow! I love snow!
7. I'll eat vegetables.
8. I can read my stack of books.
9. Christmas Eve service at midnight.
10. I can wear blue jeans on weekdays!

Life is just Fun

2008-12-17T20:22:00.002-05:00

I know I say it a lot, but life is wonderful. It just is. I know I get cranky and grumbly and just plain annoyed sometimes, but life is grand.

Let me name the reasons.

Woot had something I really needed today. I was very excited because they were cheap!

I got a flu shot today. I went to the doctors' office and they were out. The pharmacy across the street said that Wednesday is the only day they give them. How awesome is that?!

I went to the library. I love the library. How can anything go wrong there? And after the library I got to snuggle up with such a cute little boy who wanted just one more story--even when I told him all that was left in my bag were landform books. He wanted landforms too, but his mom and I convinced him that I was allowed to eat instead.

When I got home I talked to my sister. Always makes my day happy.

A friend from HS found me on Facebook and friended me.

And now! Now it's movie night! Whoooo! Movie night is awesome. Lisa, Serena, as she is known far and just 'round these parts, and I are enjoying some quality virtual friend time. For many years now we've scheduled 'movie nights' and have rented the same movie to watch while we use instant message to chat. It's always quite a hoot to get synched up to the right part of the movie, but it's worth it! Tonight it's Mamma Mia! so it's worth it to get it right. And it's a blast and life is good.

Book List

2008-12-16T17:17:00.003-05:00

My mother, whom I adore, has a list. She carries her list in her purse so that when she goes to the bookstore she can see what she already owns and has ready. My mother, whom I adore, is crazy.

A list.

I love lists. But not that kind of list.

If I had a list of every book I've read, or even the ones I own, it would have to be electronic and would not fit in my purse. Electronic is certainly an option. But, think of the work to add all those books to a new spreadsheet or database?

I am lazy and do not need to spend my time like that.

However.

I bought a book. I bought it because I love the author. My friend loves and knows the author. Started reading the book, thinking "huh, the plot with this dude sounds very familiar. But the girl? Can't remember her at all."

It's a good thing that I am a very neat reader. Not on purpose, but just naturally.

This morning I looked at my shelf, and sure enough, I probably bought the book when it came out, but didn't follow up with the rest of the series. So I decided to go back to the store to swap it for the second.

I never return books to the bookstore! I can usually remember the plot of all the books I've read. It's a lot of books I know, but my brain is good like that.

I must have gotten older when I wasn't looking.

Gosh Darn Cute

2008-12-12T20:28:00.003-05:00

I'm in baking mode this week. Just like my sister and her spreadsheets, although not quite as bad, I printed a schedule for baking this week.

And then I kept remembering meetings or getting emails about meetings and found myself really short on time. I was a bit bummed, because I worked hard on my schedule.

However, events worked out fairly well and tonight I think it's batch six that is coming out of the oven in a few minutes. And these are the cutest cookies I have made all year! So cute! Bunny cute!

Although not bunnies, because bunnies aren't really a Christmas symbol. Instead these cookies are decorated with those Kraft holiday marshmallows. Pink stars. Green trees. Really adorable on cookies.

The cookies are an adapted recipe from an orange flavor one decorated with orange slice gummies. I made it a peppermint flavor cookie and was looking for mint gummies when I saw the marshmallows. They are awesome. I hope they taste okay. I don't actually like marshmallows, except to look at, but the dough was good. Cookies made from good dough are very rarely bad.

Seriously--cute!

Pens, Bills & Memory Loss

2008-12-01T18:28:00.003-05:00

[6:30 pm]
I'm paying bills tonight with my favorite pens. I got them at Dollar General. I got them by accident. I failed to plan ahead one day (as happens to me often) and didn't have cash on a trip. I went in to buy something cheap, planning to get cash back. I bought pens. There was no cash back.

But, I loved the pens. I bought out the local Dollar General after stopping in one day looking for 'just right' containers. Didn't find the containers, but I got a lot of pens.

Anyway--pens. Yeah!

And bills!

Yes, the bills are kind of yay. I don't think I'll ever grow up enough to the point when paying bills doesn't instill that feeling of "yes, I did this. I am an adult." inside of me. Bills do that and so does mowing the grass.

What is my point?

[6:33 pm]
I've forgotten my point....

Hang on a few minutes--I'll think of it...

[6:42 pm]
Not yet...

I can't even finish paying my bills now, because I don't know why I started writing. But it was a good idea and must have been important enough to share. So it's a good thing you're not actually waiting to find out, isn't it?

[6:54 pm]
I still have no clue.

bills...my favorite pens...handwriting...money...savings account?...utilities?...OH!

I remembered! Ha!

[6:56 pm]
So, I got some of my insurance statements today with the fees for services rendered from the medical professionals to me, the patient. Now, medical paperwork can require some deciphering, but I'm willing to help you out on this one.

They go something like this:

Faculty SVCS 30.00
[Receptionist said, "hello, please sign your name here and fill out the page on top of the clipboard, sign and initial everywhere."]

Faculty SVCS 135.25
[Nurse #1 said, "please step on the scale...hmmmm...and your height please? Just sit down in this chair here while I put on this very tight blood pressure cuff....hmmm."]

Faculty SVCS 21.55
[Nurse #1 says, "please wait in this room, the doctor is not in the building yet, but you know how he is and he'll be here shortly."]

Faculty SVCS 57.05
[Nurse #2 says, "the doctor is in the building, but let's chat first about all the symptoms you do not have and then I'll let him talk to you about why you're really here."]

Faculty SVCS 22.00
[Doctor enters the room and says, "hello."]

Gifts

2008-11-28T20:17:00.003-05:00

I was told by a TV anchor that the holiday season started today. I'm not sure about her, but I consider yesterday a holiday also. Maybe she's not from around here.

On the other hand... she could be correct because my grandmother gave me a gift today. Two pairs of knee-highs stuffed in a toilet paper tube. I said 'thank you.' We all gave up a long time ago telling her we wouldn't wear the old shoes, vests, or 'attractive' dresses she wants to give us and have just started taking things that are offered. She has a need to share what she owns, but what she owns is not something that holds particular sentimental value to either of us. Unless I'm missing the significance of knee-highs in her life, other than preventing her from wearing warm socks.

So gifts! I'm not shopping this year, except for five people. The list has grown from the original two I predicted, but that's okay. I don't expect people to shop for me either. But my family is doing stockings so anything you can put in a stocking is fair game.

I was told this week I need a sifter. Or was it a strainer? I can't recall. You're also welcome to bless my stocking with another set of measuring spoons or a 3/4 c measuring cup. I'm almost out of cinnamon and could use a new container.

If you need stocking ideas (for mine or others), here are a few of my suggestions:

Small cooking items, such as those for measuring, utensils, or spices. You might want to look at Spoon Sisters (the dipping spoons--just what I need for my almost depleted cinnamon). Don't go with anything too specialized because these items tend to be stored and only used once every few years. It's not worth it. These Zoo Sticks (scroll to the bottom) are interesting if you want to learn how to use chopsticks.

Now, you might be looking for small electonics, and those can be pricey, but there are cheaper flash drives now (and who doesn't need a spare?) and batteries are something most people can always use. There's this list on amazon, but I have to say that I have had horrible trouble with Cruzer brand flash drives at work and wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

For crafty people you could go with some new knitting needles, crochet hook, stickers for scrapbookers or those pens that are great for writing captions.

If you're looking for something very practical, you might try a tire gage, chapstick, packets of tissues or baby wipes for travel, tea bags, hot chocolate, other perishable snacks, or a few Forever stamps.

A Procrastinator's Journal

2008-11-21T20:17:00.002-05:00

I'm putting it off. I admit it. It's horrible!

I have a paper to write. It's due in nine days along with my final.

Monday:

I managed to write my survey for teachers. Discovered Mah Jong online, but it was very small print and I'm getting old, so I squinted, but it was fun.

Tuesday:

Considered writing my literature review. Proofread my survey and emailed it to my work address. I felt all noodle-boned from yoga so I sat and watched Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht (thanks Cousin--this is so your fault!).

Wednesday:

Put my survey in to be copied at school.

Completely ignored my work and cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom. Started some laundry. More Jon & Kate. More Mah Jong. I spent my productive time finding a version that had larger print. A successful campaign.

Thursday:

Distributed survey to teachers with significant chocolate bribe.

Opened my document and typed an outline!

Worked on laundry.

Found some more articles for my literature review. Considered actually reading them.

Finished the night with Mah Jong. The scramble version!

Friday:

Cleaned the bedroom, the dining room table, and more laundry.

Opened Mah Jong and here I am.

Hey...there's still time! I have nine days!

Get Well

2008-11-16T18:26:00.003-05:00

I have not been feeling well.

On Friday I taught six classes during the day, which meant reading aloud more than six books. I was exhausted by the end of the day and my voice was shot.

After school one young man was hanging out in the library with his mom. We participated in the following exchange.

"Ms. V, are you sick?"

"Yes, I have a cold."

"Can I come give you a hug?" (Now, remember, I vowed never to turn down hugs...)

"You want to give a sick person a hug?"

A quiet pause.

"Can I make you a card?"

The story just has to stop right there, because that is just awesome. The wisdom of six. He then proceeded to make me a card expressing his feelings for me and get well wishes.

They are much appreciated and I have his card sitting out to remind my body that I do not need this cold!

Chicken & Rice

2008-11-10T18:40:00.003-05:00

I love my mother.

My mother gave me the gift of soup. She loves me. I love soup. I love her.

I haven't been to the store. I have crockpot mac and cheese in the freezer, but I've eaten that for two days and it's just not as warm as soup. I also haven't gotten milk for tomato soup. It's not as good with water. But, there was soup left in our sick person food stash that Mom got while I was recuperating.

Chicken & Rice. Do we really need fancier cuisine than Campbell's? Truer words were never spoken than these: Mmm Mmm good.

Conehead

2008-11-08T18:01:00.004-05:00

So I've been out of town, out of the loop, and even just plain out of touch.

I don't really think I want to get back into the loop either. I keep thinking "Christmas vacation is just around the corner!" I cannot wait for time to slow down over the holidays so that I can sit around and read my stack of books.

Except...that's what I've been doing the last few days. After being knocked out for five hours under general anesthesia I stayed in bed and read. I think Mom got a bit tired of the hotel room for three days, but I didn't feel much like moving around. I did work my way through my library books and a stack of new purchases. If only I could stay out of the bookstore, I might have actually finished the stack I took with me. But life doesn't work that way for me.

I don't really have any funny stories to tell. I wasn't on steroids after this surgery, so I wasn't very funny. I do feel really bad for the people who were checking into my hotel when I came back after being in recovery. My stomach didn't care for the anesthesia and travel combination. Thankfully, the hospital sent me home well prepared.

I was very well taken care of and even though I have a cone strapped to the side of my head it comes off tomorrow! Mom's been taught how to change my bandages and I think she's a bit disappointed that she only gets to do it once. Tomorrow I get to take care of myself. I just have to be careful washing my hair because I have to do it sideways with baby shampoo. And I do need to wash it, because after five days Mom says it does begin to smell a little.

I'm supposed to take pictures for the doctor, but if anyone else wants to see what a resected left ear with a skin graft looks like you can let me know. I would think you're a little bit odd...

Tags: They're not just for shirts anymore!

2008-10-29T21:23:00.007-04:00

Tags are awesome.

I don't know if you really pay that much attention to my blog, but you'll see that I just started to label posts. I've done this deliberately. At the beginning of my writing adventure I didn't want to label anything because I was afraid I might get into some ruts and that typing "dog," "family," or "silly story" might be daft. I was thinking that my faults would be exposed and you would see what a limited and shallow individual I am.

Well, I'm still all that, but tags are freaking amazing!

Have you given them some thought? Do you know what a 'tag' is?

On Blogger, you give 'labels' to posts. But these are really tags. Delicious uses them also. If you haven't visited delicious, you can start with the link on the right and explore some of mine. They're not stellar, but they're a start and I'm still working on tagging about 250 that I imported and have not shared yet.

So, posts, bookmarks...many other things are 'tagged.'

How cool to use this as a search strategy! So long keyword! Now, I don't have to search for a word that might be in the title of the post or item. I can simply identify a categorical tag or tags if need to narrow my list.

I'm not waiting for the next Office version, which should make use of these. Think about it. When you save a document...how do you decide where to put it? There are two ways I've seen. 1. You put it on your desktop or in a folder of 'important stuff.'

Oh boy, does that get messy! Admit it. There are some of you out there. You have so many file icons plastered across your desktop that you can't see the grinning face of whatever creature you have a picture of.

2. You are super organized (this is me) and you have a massive amount of folders to help you subdivide information.

I'm not saying that I want to suddenly dump my files into one folder. (I shudder at the thought!) However, wouldn't it be great to add tags when you save a document? You can choose the keywords to attach to the file. Then, the next time that you're searching for a recipe, but you didn't save it in the right file, and you know it has broccoli and basil in it, but you can't remember which comes first or if those are words in the title...

You can type a tag in your list and choose "recipe." Then you could subdivide further based on your own tags.

I think tags are cool. So, I've started to label my posts. I'm going to go back and update my first 50 posts and then we'll see exactly how limited and shallow I've been.

And I'm hoping that the file storage we use regularly follow in this trend in the next few years so that we can choose our own keywords to locate files. I think the paperclip genie summoned at the Ctrl F keystroke might find a vacation a nice change.

Get Your Sticker!

2008-10-27T17:28:00.004-04:00

I got my "I Voted" sticker today! I love these things! They're great. A nice flag...a good strong stick to the back. And, I wore a red shirt today to match. Bonus points for matching.

Most excellent.

But, like balancing my checkbook, it's the process that reminds me how great it is to be on top of adult-type tasks. It just feels cool to participate in our country.

I did my homework ahead of time and printed out a sample ballot. If you haven't looked for one for your district, I strongly suggest you do. Just google your county name, "board of elections," and your state name all together and it should pop right up. My board of elections site gave sample ballots, a link to the state site where I could look up my voter registration information, and a schedule for early voting.

There is no reason to walk in to your polling place unprepared.

I realize this site is setup like a game, but there is some merit in knowing who said what without actually knowing who the who is. Got that? If I had found the debate speeches written out with no names attached, I would have used that to make my decision also. But I was in kind of a rush since I won't be in town on Tuesday.

Anyway: get a sample ballot!

Then you need to mark it. If you look at your state's board of elections website, you may find some helpful voter guides. In NC there is a booklet that profiles the judicial candidates and most of the commissioners. It gives personal statements and brief histories. It was much easier for me to make my decision from a personal statement than from a television commercial. That and I always like to vote for the lady who signs the elevator licenses. Okay...so I know her name from the elevator, but I didn't vote for her because of that! There are probably worse reasons to vote for people though. You can do it! Make good choices!

Get your sticker!

Make a Difference

2008-10-25T21:12:00.003-04:00

Someone at church today said that today was "Make a Difference Day." Not a big deal because there is also pancake day, clean off your desk day, a day for avocados, one for letter writing, and several to send cards and get candy.

We did a mission weekend at church with the goals of connecting our congregation across our normal little groups: people with babies, people with kids in school, and people who are thankful their kids were raised up right.

It was lovely. Just flat out great.

What I did today wasn't marvelous or grand in the scheme of the world, but next summer there will be far less weeds in a camp's volleyball court. Our group was told that if we didn't come to do the job it just wouldn't get done and would be left for the next camp director and groups of volunteers. Our time with the rake, hoe and wheelbarrow made a difference.

Very cool.

Then I checked my blog list quickly and see that Tomato Nation reached their fall donation goal of $100,000 for Donors Choose projects. Also awesome. I admit that I have sat still only long enough to write email and blog in the last few weeks and haven't surfed for a project to donate to. But I still have time. And from experience, I know how important those Donors Choose projects are.

Anyway...a difference was made today in so many ways by different people. Isn't life just fabulous? What's your plan for your week? If you can find some metaphorical weeds to pull, I think you should go for it!

"Recalculating"

2008-10-24T20:16:00.004-04:00

This summer I had an up close and personal experience with a GPS. From the looks of sales, so did half of average American households.

Dad loves his new toy. Loves it so much that the first weekend I participated in its use this summer, we drove around town mapping the boat ramps.

Not kidding.

One must always have canoe and kayak access.

We only marked the boat ramps after the GPS drove us back and forth between two of them as we searched for canal access. The name of the ramp we were going to was assigned to a different location on the map. I think we drove back and forth between the two three times before figuring out the issue. We also had to use a map to do so.

Later this summer Mom and I used it to navigate around Little Rock.

I then realized that the GPS was invented to make us stupid.

I'm sure I have enough soap boxes about traditional child-raising strategies (movies...) and I certainly don't need another one. However.....

How are kids (and some adults) going to learn to read a map if the direction you're traveling is always toward the top of the map?

So much for N, S, E, and W kids, now it's "drive .2 miles, destination on the left."

All said with a British accent.

I said at the time that the only thing a GPS is good for is if it came with a map of the zoo and was able to say, "The tigers on the left are indigenous creatures of India. They are mostly active at nighttime for a few hours, and spend most of their time sleeping. Their diet consists mainly of zebra."

Now that folks? It would be worth purchasing a GPS.

On Tuesday I had to metaphorically eat my words. I thought of a second reason to need a GPS.

I wanted to go to Barnes and Noble. I was traveling between there and here and had a very handy map and my trusty brain that knows how to drive across two states home. But, I'll admit that Barnes and Noble is not on my road atlas. (It should be!)

I really really really wanted to shop in a book store that was not local. I was in the mood for a different floor plan. I didn't have the time to stop off the exit ramp and just hope I ran across one.

So, a GPS is good if it has zoo and museum tours and for the moments when I really need a Barnes and Noble.

Other than that...I think the world is just going to be lost and not quite the brightest bulbs...

Maybe we ought to rethink our use of useful gadgets and not rely on them quite so heavily to find the local grocery store.

Brainpower. It's amazing. It makes life wonderful.

The Checklist

2008-10-23T21:26:00.002-04:00

Winter officially began yesterday. At least, in my world. I came home from the wedding and found that my heat was already on. Which was wonderful because it meant I didn't have to go through my usual ritual of checking the pilot light under the furnace, running in to turn on the heat, and then going back outside to stand and wait. I do that in case the house blows up.

Yes. Really.

So I get home and it's gotten cold enough for my settings to kick on, because apparently, I never set the thermostat to "off" during the summer. No AC here, so it didn't matter what the setting was.

Because it is officially winter in my house, this means that in the evenings there is an official checklist.

1. Socks
2. Blanket
3. Tea or Hot Chocolate

That's it. Steps for staying warm during the arctic season when temperatures dive below 74.

Hey--in my house, that's arctic!

But, the checklist kicks in at about 68 and becomes a survival tool at 66.

In case you want to try this at home, I should probably warn you that past ten at night the checklist changes from Tea and Hot Chocolate to Rice Sock.

Which is a big huge gigantic hint to pete that she needs to sew me a new microwave warming thing because my feet are cold!

Without snow, this cold is a waste of my time. Bring on spring!

My Stock is Up!

2008-10-23T16:57:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite time-wasting, but fun websites is the Hollywood Stock Exchange. It was mentioned on Good Morning America during the one summer I had time to watch morning tv (back in 2000). Since then I have made $50,000,000 fake dollars and have a portfolio gain of almost 3,000%.

It's quite fun. I decided to waste time today and check things out (mostly because I saw a High School Musical newsbit on USA Today).

They have a new beta version. Completely new layout.

I'm not sure I can cope. Everything seems to be orange. There are new lists. I could even talk to people if I wanted to. There's even levels and unlocked privileges. Oy.

Too many options! I just want to see how much my High School Musical gains this weekend. It's a game, not my life.

Let's Toast with Toast!

2008-10-22T20:06:00.004-04:00

Here it is! Words of Wisdom from the gal with two dogs...I'm a couch-potato marriage expert.

I don't have a story, advice, or even anything funny. Just a few thoughts I've gathered in the past few months. And if they wanted to, pete and Clark could escape for a few minutes and have time to grin silly at each other and look cute, because I guess what I have to say is more for this gathering of friends and family than for the two of them.

Last month I was listening to a podcast about office organization. Not something that usually inspires wedding toasts, I know. The author discussed the topic of goal setting and made the suggestion that people who are serious about their goals set time aside to reflect and focus. Not just any amount of time. A day. A whole day!

I was immediately captivated! I want a day to vacuum, mop and curl up on the couch to read and that's unlikely. But a day for goals? Definitely a challenge. I think it's important today that as a collective in support of Clark and pete, we encourage them to set their goals, support them as they do so, listen, and most importantly give them time. I'm in a book study right now at my church and during one session a woman shared a fact she heard on the radio: spouses spend an average of 12 minutes a day talking to each other. It may be that couples busy with kids' activities make up more of that average. But, I also know how easy it is to say 'yes' at church, and 'yes' at work, and 'yes' to family, and 'yes' to friends. Because how do we say 'no' when we're asked to do something we can do successfully? Or to say 'no' when we just have to show up? I know how much Clark and pete enjoy spending time with friends and family and jump at the chance to travel for special events, but I also know how important it is to have days to do nothing. Days to set the foundation of their marriage that will last decades.

One of my book study chapters also inspired me. The topic of Chapter 3 in "Good to Great in God's Eyes" is about pursuing great people. Today is not the beginning of this pursuit. That started a while ago for these two. What they did today was let us know that to each of them, the other is a 'great person' to pursue. We should each have great people who shape us, keep us spiritually balanced, lift us up. While they've chosen each other, they're still going to need the rest of us around as models on their spiritual journey, as husbands and wives, caretakers of a household, and for other roles they take on in their life.

I appreciate the Methodist church for several reasons, but my favorite is the sacrament of baptism. Even though I'm not a parent, relative, godparent, or anyone important I have the privilege of promising to take care of the child presented before the congregation. I promise to guide him or her in spiritual development and I take that promise seriously for every infant, child, and youth in my church. I think that today we're honored to witness the same beginning to a new life and we need to commit ourselves to its success.

I'll wrap this up with the suggestion that we make our vow from the church a true one to this new marriage in our midst. I ask you to raise your glasses to show your promise to give them time, guide them, listen to them, pray for them and love them.

Frosting on the Wedding Cake

2008-10-21T20:26:00.002-04:00

This weekend was a family celebration as my little sister got herself hitched to a wonderful man.

Some of the highlights were the Star Wars Throne Room recessional. I think the congregation was wonderfully surprised. I know I didn't want to recess back down the aisle.

The cake was fantastic! Chocolate chip layered with wonderful frosting. I think it's the best wedding cake I've had all month...

Dancing was a blast! I'm not a dancer. Like card playing, it's kind of hard to be single and practice dancing. I usually avoid the dance floor because the only time I'm near them is at a wedding and I don't want to make a fool of myself in public.

The last dance was something the DJ threw in. I thought pete and Clark were going to do something, but "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music was unexpected, even to them. Three of the bridesmaids found themselves on the floor acting the song out. It was great. Someone told me it would look good on video. That's the moment I realized that the cameraman with the bright light had a video camera. I'm really stupid sometimes.

The toasts were awesome, if I do say so myself. I promised I would post mine, but I need to get the file from my flash drive and I'm lazy. The best man warmed up the crowed nicely with a funny and thoughtful collection. He really caught the crowd's attention when he told us that Ryan had now joined an exclusive group of men who have married out of their league. Since I love my sister and think she's the best thing since the bread maker, I concur!

Spending time with pete's friends was so much fun before the weekend. I had a great time with all the other women at our special event. They've lured me into the world of facebook. I'll look you up and we'll see how making 'friends' goes. I got a quick lesson on The Wall tonight.

I think those are my highlights for now! Toast will be posted tomorrow!

Hugs are Magic

2008-10-14T20:44:00.004-04:00

We're been reading a short motivational book at work. It's posted on Shelfari--212 degrees. The idea is that at 211 degrees water is very hot, but doesn't boil. Just a little bit more and you have something strong enough to power engines. We're encouraged to look for ways in our professional practice that we can go the extra degree.

I have decided to be a hugger.

It sounds strange, but I keep coming back to it in my mind and I've decided that it's just the right thing to do.

I'm the keeper of the books. Sometimes, the one with the magic. Sometimes I'm just the one telling them to go back and walk instead of running.

I'm often on the move, talking to someone, working on another problem, and coaching a child to choose a book with pictures from across the room at the same time I'm calling out to another one where the dirt bike books.

And my kids like to hug.

They come up and grab my knees, say hello, and then we both move on in our day. It's just one of those things.

But I've decided that hugs are more important the the person, the problem, the pictures, or the dirt bikes.

So I'm going to be taking my hugs more seriously.

For me, taking this moment to enjoy my knee-hugs, is improving my professional practice just a little bit more.

Hugs make a difference and life is just a little bit more wonderful.

Fine Line of Time

2008-10-13T18:44:00.002-04:00

I just realized.

I have a lot to do!

Yesterday I had plenty of time. If you needed me to do something, I would have been happy to help you. Put off my own list? No problem!

But right now? At this moment?

A deadline!

And I'm out of time.

My to-do list seems infinitely longer than the time I have left. It's that moment where there's seemingly no possible way I can get it done. But I know I can, because I've done it before.

Just don't talk to me.

Training

2008-10-11T17:56:00.002-04:00

It took me two years to housebreak my dog. I figured he had a life on the street before me and I could be patient. Eventually he got the hang of using the dog door and taking it all outside. Except when it rains--the he relapses.

So we're still working on it.

Just like we're working on his habit of climbing on the kitchen counters. Again, I'm patient. Arthritis will eventually set in. He's smart and waits until I get into the shower or leaves for the day. I can see it in his eyes and give stern warnings, but really, what can I do? When I actually catch him (which is rare) I can't get too mad because if he jumps off the counter in a hurry he may break something.

We're working on the one too.

But the last issue is more something I guess I need to work on. My dog won't come when he's called. He comes for the word "treat" and usually a shake of the reused peanut butter jar that holds the treats. I keep trying to wean him off the treats, to just the shake, and then to the word. It's not working. Today he sat in the yard looking cute while I called. It went something like this: "Come Ry! Come! Come! Look--come means 'get in the house!'"

He ran straight from the door.

Who knew? He just needed a complete sentence...

Sorry for the completely pet post, but life is kind of dull otherwise and my mother begs. It's not pretty.

Me-Speak

2008-10-02T21:31:00.004-04:00

Writing has always been one of those things that I was very much just okay at. I hated English classes in high school because I was restricted by form. It got a little better in college when we did more creative writing. I've always done well summarizing articles and doing some journal writing when I felt like it, but never anything consistent nor anything very professional. I also did poorly in grammar and just like to write the way I write, not the way you have to write when you're not allowed to use prepositions. I have Grammar Girl to help me with that now.

The blog has been fun because I get to write how I think, which is not always in a straight line. I don't usually mind except when I try to express myself verbally to someone who doesn't know me. Expressive Language (technical term) is not something I'm good at. I've done the self evaluation with all of my Schools Attuned background and I know very well that my brain is best at sleep/arousal balance (I can wake when the dogs' toenails hit the floor--open the door to let one of them outside--and be back asleep 30 seconds after he returns. I'm great at falling asleep and waking up.) It's my brain's greatest strength. It sounds funny, but so true.

I'm not great at Social Cognition or Expressive Language. Two things that make it a little tricky to date. Whole other topic and so we'll move on. Just thought you should know there's a reason I can't tell a story chronologically and don't like small talk with people I haven't known since the Smurfs were on regularly.

Writing. This week I had two writing assignments. Yesterday I was inspired and wrote the toast for pete's wedding reception. It is awesome. It's just in draft form and only my chosen advisors get to read it in advance (no family--sorry, it's a rule). It was so much fun to write! I was crazy inspired! I should have been writing or at least working on my lit review, but instead it was Private Practice and toast.

Tonight was the deadline for my literature review for one of my grad classes. Technical writing is really difficult to get back into the swing of after four months of blogging and not writing much else. It took me an entire five minutes to figure out my rhythm. It was a long five minutes. I got through it because I followed the steps in my book under the chapter heading "Literature Review." Books are nifty-useful.

So writing. Way cool stuff. I say that because I have to shake the technical speak out of my head. I like me-speak better because life is just more fun that way!

Bunny Funny

2008-09-30T20:19:00.002-04:00

There were two flash drives for sale at woot today. I was reading the comments to see if they were good flash drives, because I've had so much trouble with a particular brand at work recently (cruzers--don't buy them). I could really use 4 gigs. So I went to the discussion to see what the wooters had to say.

"Other possible uses for these:

If you take these, add an apple (or pear) then press them with the usb side down into the fruit at 2 and 10pm you'll have a bunny!"

Hee. Gotta love that one!

Taste Test: Perfection

2008-09-29T20:17:00.002-04:00

I love podcasts. They are an amazingly simple, yet powerful piece of technology. If you have never listened to one--you need to do so. You do not need an ipod, but they're nice because then you can listen and do other things.

My favorite podcast activities are driving, shelving books, cleaning my house.

Beside the point.

I was listening to The Splendid Table, a current episode for once (not because they don't have new content, but because I've been behind and catching up from summer). The host, Lynn, had a guest on to talk about Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I know!

While The Splendid Table often has interesting segments, rarely do they discuss food I cook. Lynn invites callers to ask about different topics. One woman asked about what to do with all the figs that are in season right now at her new house. A bumper crop. That is not me. But it's fun to listen to.

So, cookies! Something I make AND eat! Even better--the Toll House recipe. You've already heard what happens when I stray from this beloved combination of ingredients.

The guy is on talking about how the recipe was written back in the early 20's or 30's (I can't remember) and our baking techniques have changed since then. Makes sense. He suggested making a few changes to the techniques so that your cookie turns out the way you want it. Sometimes the recipe gets knocked because they turn out too flat.

He said to consider chilling the dough before using it. 36 hours is optimal. To use chocolate that breaks into pieces and when melted melts through the dough and doesn't remain in its shape (which is not the Nestle chip). And something else I don't remember.

I decided to try refrigerating first. I made the dough last night. I had forgotten how easy chocolate chip cookie dough is to make. I refrigerated and I baked this evening. The last batch is cooling on the pan now while the dog stands guard.

The other dog is guarding the first dog.

It's a system that works. Always nice to have a dog that tattles and can't jump on the counter himself.

The cookies turned out fine, but they are not the best batch ever. Which I think is probably part of the charm of cookies. Who wants the perfect batch? When I get there, what good is it going to do me to work at making them better? I'll just get less cookies...the joy of seeking perfection in a bowl of dough will be lost.

I learned a two things: refrigerating chocolate chip dough doesn't make them worse and milk makes anything better. There's wisdom in this folks (somewhere, I'm sure).

Saturday 180

2008-09-24T20:44:00.002-04:00

Recently, our Superintendent posted a message in his monthly announcements to the faculties insisting that teachers enjoy their Saturdays. There are only so many of them left for us to use and we should use them wisely, was his premise. It was more powerful to me than any rah-rah "doing a great job" message. Because if you appreciate my work then you also know that I deserve and even need some time off. That message doesn't always come across in education, or, I imagine, in corporate America where the message is to give 110%. Our worth in our jobs only seems to be appreciated when we put forth the work of more than what is expected.

It gets a little tiresome to not have the first 109% of your work or effort appreciated. It only gets recognized at 110%.

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm guessing we've all felt like that.

Today I feel cranky. It's like those kids books where feelings are shown and we tell kids it's okay to feel different emotions.

I'm literally sick, and I'm tired.

So, tonight I made myself a list and kept it short on purposed: write a few thank you notes, put the laundry in the dryer, find just one article for my literature review.

That's it!

And here I sit, blogging.

I wrote my thank yous and can hear the squeak of the dryer. I know the clothes will be ready to fold before it's time for bed and I was dreading the task. The research was stressing me out, but that's why I figured one article was better than nothing and a step in the right direction. It's not 110%, or even 90%. But it's 50% right now and that's okay.

I was tired, cranky, and annoyed because when people asked how I was today all I could say was "I'm here." And I was. I showed up, did my job and even pushed past 100% to help as many people as I could today. But I couldn't help everyone and had to say "no." It felt horrible.

But tonight with my simple list (and I hear the dryer buzzer) I got off track and started thinking about Saturday. Because Saturday is free of obligations. Sure, my literature review is due Monday. And I have lesson plans to write. And a house to maintain. And other things I probably haven't thought of. But I don't have be anywhere unusual or for anyone else. Just me. All weekend long.

So I made a list! Of things I get to do! Yoga! New pants! New shoes! Thrift shop! Groceries--I can't wait to have milk in the house again! Maybe even a movie. I feel so much better just contemplating this small snippet of time when I get to be 100% me and don't have to meet expectations of anyone else. I'm my own worst critic. Saturday is coming and life is wonderful!

D is for Taking a Step Back and not STRESSING OUT!

2008-09-22T21:18:00.004-04:00

When I was in college, I failed miserably in Spanish 2. I wasn't supposed to do poorly--after all I tested into Spanish 2 and bypassed Spanish 1. Sounds great, doesn't it?

The only problem was, no one told me I tested into Spanish 2 and it was sophomore year before I tried to take Spanish 1 and was told I wasn't allowed.

So into Spanish 2 I went. It was horrible. I survived only by whatever cliche you want to insert here. Grammar Girl says don't use cliches. At least, I think it was her.

I was miserable in Spanish 2. My professor was very helpful and consulted with me several times about my mediocre grades. It came down to the wire--I got a C.

The only problem was I needed two semesters of Spanish 2 and I knew that making it through with a C the first semester would not prepare me for Spanish 3. I couldn't imagine a worse horror. (And that's because I don't watch horror movies.)

I did what any person would do (or maybe just me) and asked for a D.

That's not a typo.

It was rational. Getting a D meant I could repeat the class and get the D erased from my record. I could also build a strong foundation and make it through both semesters of Spanish, maybe learning something in the process.

D was the best decision I could have made. I took Spanish 2 and 3 back-to-back during a modified summer course.

I'm in the same boat right now. In my last semester of real classes for my degree and looking at writing 2 research papers, one with a month deadline, and the other with two months. Neither is a pretty picture.

The idea of an incomplete crossed my mind earlier this week and I felt guilty. I should be able to do it all, right? Tonight in a discussion it was suggested that since I'm doing an internship next semester I could take an incomplete and it wouldn't affect my graduation date. Those were the best words I could have heard. It's not my plan, but it's an option. And options are what makes life so interesting!

Dead and Stupid

2008-09-21T16:52:00.002-04:00

Friday night I was headed out of town to my sister's bridal shower. It had been a crazy week with meetings, a sore throat, and the impending doom of school work. Plus the shower. I had lists of menus, groceries and items to pack, but wasn't thinking about some of the regular details of travel. Such as packing deodorant, shampoo, or charging my cell phone.

And as always, I start near the end, but not at the end, and definitely not at the beginning. That would be too easy and quite possibly, too boring.

When I got my cellphone about two years ago I told my family it was for emergencies only. My emergencies. Not theirs. This is not the "I forgot to get bread at the store, can you add it to the list?" phone. Put the bread on the list and don't call about it.

It is my phone for travel and those moments when I run out of gas (yes, I've done it twice).

But Friday afternoon I was ready to leave town with only the dogs to put in the car and I realized my phone had died sometime in the last century. At least, Wednesday felt that long past.

So the phone is dead and I'm feeling a bit stupid. But not that stupid. I've traveled enough to know that the chances of getting to my destination are mostly on the positive side. There's always that moment of uncertainty though and I wasn't about to drive to a new place, 7 hours away, during the time of day when I'm at my worst. My brain doesn't like to work on difficult tasks after eight.

Even though I'm in a mad rush to get out of the house, to get to DC before my witching hour, I wasn't about to do it stupid.

Drove to Best Buy. Asked the "Wireless Consultant" if she was allowed to help me find a product (hey--she had a clipboard and looked like Survey Girl). She was and she was great. She did tell me my cellphone is old and tried to give me a car charger with what looked like a firewire end thingamabob (technical term). Thankfully, they had one for my older, but beloved, model.

I was really relieved, even though I was now running 30 minutes behind schedule. Started the car, found the right adapter end from the selection in the package and heard the wondrous beep of a power connection successfully made.

No longer was my phone dead or me stupid.

Until Saturday.

My dad tried to call my sister on her cell twice during our party. Both times I was the closest relative to the phone and both times I was incapable of answering it. I couldn't figure out how to open it! Or which button to push!

How was I supposed to know that, apparently, a long dash on the button means "press to talk." Or that the phone slid up.

Once I did manage to open it but I couldn't figure out which end to talk!

At least I can say I'm stupid by choice. I could work a cell phone with the pros if I wanted to. But do I really want to be contacted when I'm out and about with life? Nah. You can reach me when I'm home and can talk to you while sweeping, mopping, and doing dishes. After all, I've upgraded to a phone with speakerphone feature. Life is good.

Conversion

2008-09-13T22:09:00.002-04:00

My friend Serena has been posting YouTube links during our regular chat sessions. She does it a few times a week and sometimes I watch and sometimes I don't, depending on what else I'm working on at the time. I know YouTube is useful and I embrace the technology, but it hasn't been a go-to place for my entertainment. I still aim toward reading activities on the web.

But tonight....tonight I'm a convert. Because of this. If you're not yet a YouTube viewer, and you don't trust me--you should.

See...it started here at shirt.woot. I bought the shirt for today (which may not be the same shirt when you check out the link). I couldn't help it. It's $10, I like the fit of their shirts, my others are great, and I could use a few new Tshirts. So today's shirt is always changing, but sometimes you can go back and get old shirts. If I had seen this one when it was for sale the first time, I would have gotten it. And I thought about this one too.

Now, this story is like even the ones I tell in person. Not linear. (When am I ever?)

So I shared the shirt links with Lisa and Serena tonight. Serena is a young thing and must have missed the Muppets. Because she didn't recognize it right away. It could also be because she doesn't carry a weird song bank around in her head. No telling. And, lest you think I'm not so sharp, yes, I know the Muppets are not 'the original artists.' But from my childhood. For this song. So true.

To give Serena a reference, Lisa posted this clip of the recent commercial for Coke. That's all it took to inspire me. It took less than 10 seconds to find the video clip we started with here. The Muppets. Gotta love Kermit. The songs are the best. I'm going to have to Netflix them.

So watch the Muppets if you like and when you're done, enjoy a few of my other favorite YouTube clips. Life is good. And music is better. And YouTube is just plain cool.

Straight No Chaser (this on is posted for Dad)
Dancing (there was a New York Times article about this guy recently explaining how users create content and make news--interesting to the librarian inside me)

Proposal

2008-09-11T17:45:00.002-04:00

First graders are hysterical.

Their boldness and cheek often have me biting my lip as I force myself not to laugh, but to guide in the social graces without hurting feelings.

Today it was "THE RED ONE THE RED ONE!"

Twenty first-grader were using the computer lab for their third time. This is the best class to visit the computer lab ever. Their first day in and they knew just what to do.

Twenty first graders can be loud. When they're wearing headphones they get both softer and louder at the same time. Hence, "THE RED ONE!" One kind young lady was giving directions to her neighbor. She was the only one talking in the room, and everyone was wearing nice padded headphones. I about dropped on the floor it was so out of the blue and funny!

About two weeks ago I received a lovely invitation. The young man wanted a very speedy relationship because in the space of 30 seconds of bathroom line monitoring we progressed from "I like your hair!" to "Can I be your boyfriend?" to "Will you marry me?"

I had a delightful conversation with his mother, who I work with, and I just chuckled as I shared the story.

Life is never dull with a first grader!

To the Big Box

2008-09-06T11:52:00.002-04:00

I had a few items on my shopping list this morning, but not a lot. I love Target on Saturday mornings. It's quite peaceful at ten. I wouldn't go out much later than that on a weekend because I don't like insanity. At least, not the insanity of people with carts going slowly down an aisle on the left side. These people should put on their blinkers.

Anyway. Target is five miles away. Not too bad before noon on a Saturday. But then I remembered that there's a new Walmart north of me, a drive away from the city.

I think I'm hooked.

It's only three traffic lights! Just three!

And this is a new Walmart so it has wide aisles and groceries.

I felt guilty buying milk, eggs, and cheese there, because I usually go to the grocery store around the corner from me. But I didn't need lots of groceries! Just dairy.

I had a list, but it wasn't organized by the store because I never go to Walmart. So I went back and forth a few times. Got my exercise in, which was good.

The only thing that would be better would be a Barnes & Noble in the same shopping center. The Dollar Tree is good, but I need books.

Career Advice

2008-09-05T20:45:00.002-04:00

It was just over two years ago that two people in the same week made the same out-of-the-blue job suggestion to me. At the time they were interesting and complimentary statements that didn't mean much until the third person made the same suggestion.

I ended up asking for a new job, receiving it, and loving it.

I've gone back to school in a program that has been quality, a time commitment, a bit of work, but generally mentally easy.

This week, I got two suggestions about my future schooling. I admitted I was 95% sure I wanted to pursue an add-on degree to my current MLS and gain more official technology experience. This would make me marketable for a position as a district coordinator in the future. But not now, because I love my kids and where I am with my library program. The degree I'm fairly certain I can handle.

But? Two wise souls said to me "You really want three masters degrees? Why don't you just get your doctorate?"

"What? No way! I don't need a doctorate. That would be WORK!"

You might not know this, but I'm really lazy. Extra work is not really something I want to do.

Except. It makes sense. And when the most reasonable effective instructor (a doctor herself) tells you to just get your doctorate?

You listen.

So I'm listening to what my brain is saying, my life, etc. And I'll start to investigate programs to see if the year 2010 can handle a doctorate program.

Isn't life wonderful?!

Procrastination

2008-09-01T12:39:00.002-04:00

I started writing lesson plans two hours ago and have made very little progress. Instead I registered for the conference I'll be attending in October, and I created a Shelfari account.

Shelfari is really quite nifty and I'm having such a good time that I just need to quit now! If you click the new widget I added to the right, you can see a shelf of the books that I've read recently. I think I might work on adding three separate shelves for what I've read, am reading, and have stacked up to read.

Mom's going to come after me if she doesn't see The Book Thief listed. I should have been reading that one a long time ago, but haven't gotten past page fifty.

I started using Delicious a week or so ago, but I'm just now adding a list to the side of the blog. It's social bookmarking, which is a great way to organize links if you work off more than one computer regularly. You can also use it to search for information because you can see what was good enough for others to bookmark.

So, if you also need some procrastination time, you can play with these new toys!

Now Serving: Mistakes

2008-08-30T14:47:00.002-04:00

I've been in a baking phase for the last 4 months. Not the best thing in the world for the hot season in a house without air conditioning, but I can't help it. It's a new addiction.

Today I forgot to turn my mixer bowl that quarter inch more to really lock it into place. When I turned it on, the bowl turned, came out of its groove, and the handle stuck against the back of the mixer. Not only that, but the lever to lift the top up and down was stuck. I had white chocolate, sugar, and butter to cream and a mixer that wouldn't budge. Not to mention the other three recipes that were stacked on the counter.

I did what I always do in difficult situations such as these. Called Mom. Mom wasn't any help, but Mom listened because that's what Mom does. I moved on to my next tactic (which proves I take after my father). I got out a screwdriver and picked some random screws to remove. That didn't help any, but it made me feel better. I also figured out that my racing stripe comes off the mixer so I can clean under it. It looked a bit disgusting.

Mom and I hung up because she only listens so much. I fixed the mixer right after that by hitting it with a screwdriver. I knew the screwdriver would work in the end.

Finished my California Dreamin' mix and stored it in the refrigerator to chill. I began to work on the next recipe.

Last night I was blog hopping, recipe browsing, and generally wasting the evening. I searched Betty Crocker and Food Network for new ideas. Found a general all-purpose kind of cookie at Food Network called "Kitchen Sink" cookies. They sounded appealing for the work crowd with lots of different kinds of chips and marshmallows, so I saved the link.

Today I opened my laptop and made my grocery list.

When I was ready to bake though, I searched for the recipes at my desktop computer so that I could print them. I found the "Kitchen Sink" recipe and all the others.

Started baking and thought "wow, this is kind of a healthy recipe even though it has all this junk in it." I was putting in applesauce, egg white, 2 T butter. I was really impressed.

Usually when I bake I'm organized. All the ingredients come out, the dry goods get measured and mixed in a small bowl. Everything goes back in the right cabinet or refrigerator as I finish with it. Spoons get put in the sink. I'm a fairly organized baker.

Not today for some reason. I started at the top of the recipe and worked my way down. Until I got to "cranberries" and "apricots." I thought "where's my toffee and marshmallows!"

I had printed the wrong recipe and was staring at a bowl of very little butter, applesauce, egg whites, oatmeal and whole wheat flour. With no desire to add cranberries or apricots (not that I had them on hand even if I wanted them). I was going to scrap the dough but Mom (who I called--because this was a crisis!) said I should keep it. Dad said I should add chocolate chips.

Well duh.

I added all the leftover bags of chips from my cabinet--swirled, regular, and mini.

They turned out okay. I overcooked the last batch because I wasn't paying attention.

So sometime tonight I'll bake the real Kitchen Sink cookies and the California Dreamin' ones. Maybe I'll even mix up the doughs for the chocolate cookies I want to try.

Drip

2008-08-27T18:39:00.003-04:00

As promised: Pet Peeve #287

In bathrooms there are four pieces of decor that are a must: toilet, sink, hand drying apparatus, and usually a mirror. A trash can would be optional. With these five items, and the traditional four walls in a restroom, there are limited combinations for where said items can go.

I understand that. Rooms can be small.

But, does the paper towel dispenser have to go over the toilet? Really?

Because water drips on the seat. People can't help it! And who thinks about their hands during the drying process. That's the moment before exiting the restroom and who's really thinking about drippy hands?

No one thinks about it until the next person comes in and finds a wet seat.

Not fun.

Wet Dog

2008-08-25T21:04:00.003-04:00

I was going to update my blog with my pet peeve about paper towel dispensers and toilets. But I decided to bathe the dog instead.

Pepper was quite thrilled.

Pet peeve #287 later this week.

And if someone will convince Ry I will not chop his ears off with scissors even though they look scary, I'd appreciate it. He's paranoid just because I got a tad too close a few months ago.

Fabulous Fun Facts

2008-08-20T18:44:00.002-04:00

For our opening staff meeting we were asked to share a Fabulous Fun Fact about ourself that no one else would know.

It's hard to think of random facts that haven't been shared over the years of working with interesting colleagues. And facts that are actually interesting. I contemplated sharing various facts, but dismissed them all.

I finally settled on Phil Collins.

I don't mind Phil Collins. I mean, it's Phil Collins. Tarzan soundtrack is kind of a lot of fun and appropriate for playing around kids.

But, Phil Collins was also the soundtrack to the drunk driving video shown to me 15 years ago in driver's ed class. I can't get it out of my mind. So when 'In the Air Tonight' comes on I have to turn the radio off. I made sure to delete it out of itunes as soon as it was downloaded off of some sort of compilation CD my sister uploaded.

Today I thought of another fun fact I could have used. I have never eaten ice cream out of the carton. Well, until five minutes ago. Shouldn't that have been a ritual of my teenage years? Did I miss something? I'm sure I could have shared that fact if I had thought of it before Phil popped into my head.

I was almost desperate enough to see if there's a website of Fabulous Fun Facts that people who have to do games like this can look up and borrow. If there's not a website of those, there should be.

Things like: once fried on egg on the sidewalk, ran a marathon, had a pet rat named Spot, visited states with an odd number of letters, or have ridden all the coasters at Cedar Point.

Much better than Ice Cream and Phil Collins.

Grime does pay

2008-08-14T16:47:00.002-04:00

I have a bad habit.

I pick up my trash. I know--shocking. It seems that most of the country lacks this bad habit.

What can I tell you...I think cleaning is my life's calling. I'm not kidding. I'm more than happy to bus tables, wash dishes, and pick up trash. At Thanksgiving I'm a lousy cook. Mostly because I haven't tried. Why learn how to bake a pie when there's a sister to do it for you? Or numerous other relatives. I'd rather stake my claim on the sink and the dishwasher.

Even in public. I can't go to public places like amusement parks, regular parks, or parking lots without picking up trash. I know it drives people crazy, but I can't stop. The world has too much litter.

So of course I'm joking about this being a bad habit.

What is wrong with people that they can't pick up after themselves! Mom and I went to a zoo yesterday to just walk around and find lunch. Lunch was decent. The location was decent. The trash was bad. Every table in the main dining room had a mess on it except for one or two. It wasn't the fault of the staff there. It was very clear that it's a pick up after yourself kind of place.

I can't stand it!

It bothers me that people don't take care of their messes! A nice date once ruined his chances after leaving his cup at his seat after the movie. Seriously.

Pick up after yourselves!! We make plenty of trash in our houses because of the products we buy and the food we eat. We certainly have too much in our landfills. But the table next to me, the ditch, and the floor of public places are not the space you want to be using!

So I cleaned up. Mom was reading her book and finishing her tea while I bused tables. That's just the kind of girl I am.

And besides, I made eleven cents.

Subtitles in 3 speeds

2008-08-10T19:32:00.002-04:00

I got a new fan today because my old one fell out of the windowsill. Nothing too exciting except to get the fan I had to go to Target more in a day than I go in a month. The first time it turned out that I didn't have my wallet. I left it at home after making a phone call and needing cards last night. I did go out to check in the car and then went back in to have them put my items on hold.

After church I returned, dropped of prescriptions and then bought my items.

Got to the car. Didn't have my keys. Stowed the fan under the car out of the way and went back inside to look for my keys. Piece of cake--they were at the pharmacy desk.

Even though it wasn't a horrible experience, it was too many trips in and out of Target for the day.

So my day has gone along nice and regular since the Target trip.

It got cool enough outside to put the fan up in my window. Also very easy...stowed the remote in a drawer, because who needs a fan on a remote? Companies are making life way too boring for us regular people. I guess if I had the fan in my attic it would be useful. I'll think on the bright side.

Because the fan was on I turned up the volume on my DVD a little and wanted to turn on the subtitles. I love subtitles. Another entry on them later I'm sure because I'm that enthralled with subtitles.

Apparently, the subtitle button is the only button on the remote that also changes the speeds on my fan.

To keep it low I was reading in French. Not really. I can't read French. And the French subtitles are at the top of the screen and not the bottom which I don't like.

So, a fan that works. But no English subtitles.

Kids are COOL

2008-08-10T15:55:00.002-04:00

There are 52 weeks of the year and when you start to think about how we use those weeks, maybe 3 end up with really significant events and memories. Things like Christmas, large family gatherings, weddings or new babies.

But this week was better. Week #1 out of all 52. The week I put on my calendar before all other things.

This week I was blessed with four youth working together to work for God's Kingdom. At the end of the week their parents thanked me for my time. But really? I didn't do anything. I'm just there. I am always filled with thankfulness for them that they share their kids with me. It's always on my mind that even though for these particular youth I wasn't there to promise at their baptism to help raise them to walk with Christ I did make that promise for others that aren't quite old enough for this event. I take that promise seriously and its one of the reasons I am part of my denomination. I can't imagine a baptism without being asked if I'll help the parents in the spiritual upbringing of their child.

Anyway. With two other adults and four youth we did yard work in the heat, spent two days building a wheelchair ramp so that a woman and her son can get in and out of their house, and gleaned tomatoes.

As our youth director told the kids: gleaning is so deeply Biblical that it's waaaaaayyyy back at the front. Farmers are instructed to pick their crop once and then to leave the rest behind.

We went Saturday to a tomato field to do as instructed in Deuteronomy: pick for the poor, fatherless, foreigners and widows. It was amazing. We had 21 youth and about a dozen adults picking tomatoes so that a pastor could give them away to people who needed them. It was great!

Kids are pretty cool. They need adults to guide them and raise them, but expectations have to be high. Because they'll meet them. To expect any less is to let them down. My kids worked for four days in the heat with few complaints to help those who needed it. Sure, they need some help learning how to hammer a nail and reminders to carry lumber with a partner, but they did the work. And when they do what is expected of them, adults usually just stand by and pale in comparison because so often we don't set high enough expectations for ourselves.

So my week? Awesome. Best week of the year, hands down. It's better than Christmas when it's hot and I have dirt so far down in my shoes that my feet are tan. Because it's worth it to spend time with these miraculous kids who have so much to teach me about living in the spirit of God.

Nightmare

2008-08-09T06:45:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a dream that I was in the stage production of my most hated movie.

Oh yes. Everyone around me was dressed in black clothes as penguins. I, unfortunately, had blue crocs (the shoe of choice for dancing human penguins) and didn't fit in. So we decided that I needed yellow crocs so that I would stand out. Kind of like Chilly in 365 Penguins.

Let me tell you--it was a great dream and I was an excellent penguin dancer.

When I woke up, I wasn't quite as thrilled to be dreaming about Happy Feet as I had been in the dream.

My dream finished with me cutting up tiny spaghetti noodles. It was unrelated to the penguins. Life is just interesting that way.

Seasons

2008-08-08T21:42:00.003-04:00

My mother called me a "murderer."

I admit that it is true. I'm three for three and quite proud of my record.

I bought a house with a creek and a wilderness area. It's mostly wilderness because I lack the funds to hire a crew to maintain it and lack the interest and time to do it myself and by myself. I'm much happier cleaning the gutters and ....well, just cleaning the gutters. Gutters are by far my most favorite outside around-the-house job. More about gutters sometime when I have a story.

Here's today's tale, starting with a flashback...

I killed my first copperhead four years ago with the lawnmower. It was still a baby with it's little green tail. (They have green tails when they're born to entice small insects in their direction.)

I nabbed my second one two years ago in the road. I had to go back and forth several times before I got the tires lined up right.

It was worth the effort.

I know it's cruel. But, in my defense, let me say that I don't dislike all snakes. Just copperheads. I'm perfectly fine with the black snake that's been in my yard this year.

I am not fine with copperheads. I'm so far away from fine that when I get caught in a moment of panic I just want to sell my creative house for a white box with no trees, no creek, and certainly, no wilderness.

In my life there are two seasons. There is non-snake season from December to April and then there is Snake Season from May to November. When Snake Season comes I keep my eyes open when returning to the house in the dark. I'm so thankful for my motion sensor light that shows the driveway. I can walk to my front door with enough light to keep my eyes open.

And I'm glad I check. Because even though it's been two years since the last one, I never know. And this week, I eyed one right in front of where I park in my driveway. If I didn't watch out for them, I would have stepped right into its path. Instead, I knew what it was and aimed for it.

Of course I did. You know I did. I went back and forth FIVE times to get the other one! I am diligent when it comes to these things--they freak me out.

But, as I was aiming, it was moving, and it made it harder to get. My dog was only a few feet away and I didn't want to chase the snake into Ry's path, because Ry doesn't go into the house until he sees me get out of the car. So I parked back away from the snake and worked up the courage to walk through my yard where I can't see.

I was irritated that I didn't get the blasted thing.

Until the next evening when I was dashing home in the daylight and spotted it. It was still the edge of the drive and as I looked closer saw that it had several flies on it.

I guess I must have nipped a tail end of it or something and it was wounded enough not to get very far before it died.

I am not sad. It would be wrong to pretend otherwise.

I'm glad I got it, but it doesn't make me any less watchful when I get home after dark. In the last few days it has taken me about three times the minutes it usually takes to park and get in the house.

I admit I'm a chicken. During Snake Season...well, there's no other way around it. I'm just a paranoid chicken.

Stacks

2008-08-04T21:51:00.002-04:00

I've always been a reader. My family is full of them, but as a kid I was the worst of the bunch. "Come set the table for dinner."

Crickets.

It's not that I didn't want to (I didn't really), it's that I never heard the request. Nothing ever registered except the printed word. Maybe Mom should have tried notes.

Going off to college...lots and lots of reading to do. The semester I had World Lit and American Lit back to back was awful. No matter how many pages of something serious and required, I always had a me book.

And that habit has continued. Sometimes my me reading is online. Sometimes it's a book. I can't not read for me. I was just coded that way. Defense against table setting I suppose.

Recently though I've had two problems, which I'm pleased to report I'm working to overcome, but which have resulted in a new concern. The first is my fear of the public library. I used it a lot to check out books for my kids, but not so much for me. When the kids lost the books, our children's librarian was great and waived fines for me. Then I felt guilty and with a stack of fines piled up, just stopped going to the library.

For a year.

Yes. I, the librarian, avoided the library because of fines that were really not that bad. A year ago I decided that if I was going to pursue my career of choice I should probably get over my fear of the library. I paid my fines. It wasn't so bad. Like most things, the fear was worse than actually facing up to the task.

So the library and I were back on better terms, but even though I was debt free, I wasn't embracing library opportunities as I should. I still had a Barnes & Noble love affair.

Then my shelves started to fill up. It's not too serious of an issue. I do weed them out now and again or pass them on, but I was to the point where I would need another bookcase and I didn't really want to buy one.

And I don't really need to be buying hardcover books just to read them to see if they're any good. A bad habit.

NPR the other day introduced a segment before a break about people using the library more and cutting spending at the bookstore. I had to get out of the car before listening to the report, but I knew I was one of those people.

At the beginning of the summer I went to the library shelves to browse. I had forgotten how great it is! I used to check out stacks and stacks of books. I read everything! I'm the person sitting on the floor that you have to step over. Good thing I don't take up that much space.

Then, I discovered this wonderful thing called the request button and the hold list. Yes indeed, I put things on hold. What's awesome about a library (just like the store) is you can put things on hold before the library actually has a copy! As long as a new release is in their circulation system, you can put it on hold. You can even get it the day it comes out in stores!

And this......this is my new problem.

I now have the space for the books. I have no fines hanging over my head. I have embraced library services.

I'm out of time! I have three stacks of books to read! My library stack of things I've put on hold. If I put something on hold, it's a sure bet that someone else has too. Which means I can't renew it! Yes, I have three weeks. But three weeks is short! And I have three 'to read' piles! The library pile. The "must read before school starts because I've put off professional development all summer" pile. The "must read before my kids check them out" pile. OH! And pile number four! The "couldn't get at the library and they were paperback so I bought them" pile.

I'm not really sure how I'm going to get it all done with my time being eaten up by events and stickers (another blog for another day).

Summer has gone way too fast. My stack is too tall. I need another vacation! These library deadlines are just so much pressure. It's almost worse than college.

I'm not even sure why I wrote this. I could have had 67 pages read!

Ahh...plumbing

2008-08-04T11:00:00.002-04:00

On my blog and pete's, it's no secret that plumbing is an issue my family takes seriously. "There's no such thing as a small plumbing problem." Those shirts are coming someday.

After replacing my faucet handles successfully, one broke. So, not successful in the long run. After another lengthy search at Home Depot, I found a pair of handles to match the square stems in the tub. It turns out they fit perfectly and life is good.

Except, there's no such thing...as a small plumbing project. I could not get the cold water turned off and discovered that I'm losing about 100 gallons of water a day. It's not ecologically efficient nor financially beneficial.

Called the plumber. Plumber Guy showed up. He examines the problem and quotes a price for the repair. Then he starts to work.

"Oh...hmmm...."

You see, my tub was not done correctly. Story of my entire house, so I'm used to it. Cheapskates put tile directly on the plywood at the back of the shower instead of using the correct mold/mildew resistant tub and shower board. Which means the tile is being held together with prayers and a good layer of caulk.

"Well...the problem is this little broken piece here. Let me see the back of the shower."

I show him the back.

"Oh. Wow. This is all crooked. See how off this is?"

Sure enough, the pipes are in crooked.

"I was going to replace this here, but this pipe is in the way. It's welded on. If I replace it, I would have to replace the whole pipe up here in the wall."

Which means that my tile would go crumbling. And a whole pipe is expensive.

And, coincidentally, the money tree was cut down last week, so replacing the tile would not be feasible at this time. I would have plastic in my tub just like I have over a window in the winter.

Of course these are completely superficial issues because as Lisa said to me, "Is he cute?"

Plumbing project? I'll let you know how it goes. Romance? Let's not get our hopes up too high.

It's Not Free Rice

2008-08-02T17:38:00.003-04:00

My friend Serena and I are chatting, relaxing, and sharing cyber-food (no calories). We've started swapping fun sites in our currently free time.

First: the flaming cursor
Second: paint like Jackson Pollock
Third: or like Picasso (mine is "Not a Self Portrait")
Fourth: or generate a mood painting

Fifth: the far more challenging, but no less addictive Hapland
Sixth: we digress in smarts back down to this "in case you miss the office too much"
Seventh: there are always questions to answer at yahoo. Y'all are far smarter than some of these people
Eight: more Hapland if you're addicted. I would post Hapland 3, but it still has the best of me
Ninth: Find out how old you are and test your short-term memory. (Since the site is in Japanese: click "start" and wait. Memorize the numbers. When they're gone click the circles from smallest to largest)
Tenth: To gain insight into humanity, try looking at these found objects
Finalith: The Washington Post may not be something I read, but the Crickler is good for the brain

Probably enough for now, eh?

Postage

2008-07-31T17:06:00.003-04:00

Last night I was wondering how I could multi-task through an outdoor movie when it would be dark and in a field. I never came up with a solution. And then it rained. We had to move the event inside. Instead of Finding Nemo though I helped in the kitchen (standard for me) and then pulled the PTA box out of my car to start sorting through records. I've lugged the thing around all summer and haven't wanted to look at it.

I know this is a long story.

The box had records in it that were old and should have been dealt with sooner. In the bottom of one folder there were postage stamps. I put them in the 'throw away' pile because they were wadded up and only 33 cents.

But, today arrived and I had to mail old PTA membership cards back to the state office. I started to take Forever stamps out of my drawer when I remembered the berry ones wadded up in my trashcan. Luckily I did not put yogurt in there or anything messy. The stamps unfolded easily enough and even though they were all linty, still stuck.

So, nine years later, these stamps are being put to use. I'm sure someone in the PTA office will get a kick out of them and take them home to a seven-year old stamp collector who thinks berry stamps are vintage.

Life is most often very fun.

Uh-huh

2008-07-30T23:06:00.002-04:00

I was in transition today and listening to NPR about noon. Rainn Wilson was on in a fairly engaging interview. I've never seen Six Feet Under or The Office so I'm not sure I've ever seen him act. He sounded knowledgeable about many subjects until he was discussing Dungeons and Dragons and mentioned how much he liked "the multi-sided dice."

I have no working knowledge base of D&D, but multi-sided dice I'm fairly familiar with.

I Need Five

2008-07-29T17:24:00.003-04:00

Sam's Club does not operate like a normal store. Most of us know that. They have green cards. Their carts are huge. Nothing is less than $8. Today I flustered a checkout woman because I needed five bags of pretzels. Not four. Not six. And not Scoops.

"You know these come in twos."

"Yes."

She looks around for bag number six.

"I only have five."

"They come in twos."

"Right. I need five."

"I can only sell them in 4 or 6."

"No. I need five bags of pretzels."

"Okay, I'll put one back."

"No. I understand they're priced by twos, but I need five. They're for church and I need five."

"They come in twos. Do you want a bag of Scoops?"

"No, they're for church. I need five. Charge me for six, that's fine with me."

"Okay then!"

She was so mixed up she forgot I had a second purchase to make. I apologized for flustering her.

In other stores you can buy half of a deal and pay half of the price. Not at Sam's. They'll try to talk you into a bag of Scoops.

Mechanical wizardry

2008-07-25T20:04:00.003-04:00

You'll all be thrilled to know that my roomba is once again sweeping my floor for me! It has been in rehabilitation for about 4 months and the journey has been long and arduous. Of course, there's no life challenge quite like taking apart a roomba about six times, running diagnostics, and doing rain dances.

The rain doesn't really help the roomba, but it makes me feel better because it smells like dirt. And I like dirt. Except, I like dirt in the roomba, not on my floors.

As one website stated (and I'll paraphrase): you can spend as much time taking the roomba apart as you can actually sweeping your floor for the year. That's certainly true, but a much better use of my time. After all--I already knew how to sweep a floor. Now I know how to take a roomba apart successfully (because I've learned through repetition). I can clean all the wheels, run the diagnostics, and apparently I'm good at cleaning the front right bumper sensor even though I'm still not sure where it is.

Have I mentioned recently how life is good?

Dear God

2008-07-23T20:02:00.004-04:00

We needed the rain. It was wonderful (even though I'll have to mow in a few days)! But, it wasn't as great as this was...

You did the rainbow; I did the photoshopping. It was awesome and an absolute blessing at the moment. I admit it looked better in real life, but miracles are so often difficult to express in print.

Thanks.

Yard Treasure

2008-07-22T19:20:00.005-04:00

I know. I was as surprised as you are!

I will tell you that I don't actually sit on this couch. It's the dog couch. Strictly for the fuzzy and cute. Once in a while I vacuum the couch and wash the cushions and then it's okay for humans. That only lasts as long as I'm in the house. It's free reign after that. I have no control.

Today the couch hosted a lovely skull piece with horns five inches long. Could be tusks. I'm not really sure and this picture did come out a tad blurry. Tusks or horns? I don't think they're another part I'm not familiar with. Fangs? I don't really want to think about animals with five-inch fangs, so we'll stick with horns or tusks.

One of my culprits wrestled our specimen onto the couch.

Culprit 1?

Culprit 2?

Culprit 1 likes a good bone chew when his teeth feel up to the task, but he's not one to forage in the yard for treasure. Culprit 2 is a little more gung-ho about new-found objects, but lacks interest in following through on treats that are not actually consumable in a quick fashion. It could have been a team effort.

I'd like to request that there not be anymore treasure hunts in the yard for the foreseeable future. Maybe a nap instead?

Going Digital

2008-07-19T21:43:00.004-04:00

I visted my parents and watched real television recently. Real as in not on TiVo or from Netflix. Sitting down to watch a random show is not a habit I have--I'm mostly a deliberate TV viewer.

Anyway, that's beside the point. Or beside the beside that's getting closer to my point. I was watching more random tv in the last month than normal, and that means commercials and news. I also read the newspaper. For some reason in my parents area the media is finding it of extreme importance to inform their residents that their rabbit ear televisions will no longer work after February 17, 2009.

Really? Hadn't heard. And you know...somehow I missed the transition beyond 13 channels you change with buttons. Where did those go exactly.

It just seems a weird time of year to inform the public that their TVs might not work.

So we get the TV thing. Got rabbit ears? If so, you can get a coupon for $40 to help you upgrade your current dinosaur. Figure it out, move along and then ask your kids what an mp3 is.

But what started this post tonight is Mamma Mia. The musical. In the theaters. (One woman next to us in the theater groaned at one point and said, "not another song!" Um lady? MUSIC-al. ABBA? Right.)

Before the movie there were 20 minutes of previews, five minutes of commercials, and my theater has upgraded to one of those entertainment programs ahead of time. So thrilled.

Between the commercials and the previews the program informed us in an over-the-top manner that the movie was digital. And not film reels.

Huh.

Are we stupid? Not that we shouldn't know our movies are now being shown digitally instead of on projector reels, but did it have to take three minutes? Did they have to explain that the color would be better? Show the people talking about how great a digital film is? As the woman in front of me said later, "Wow--look at that explosion of color!" We were all so thrilled.

They should have just said: Ladies, this film is digital because Pierce Brosnan will look better in spandex than he would on a reel. Believe me, this crowd would have been far more thrilled about technology upgrades. It would have taken less than thirty seconds. The world is more digital now, did you know?