Friday at last

Although technically it was a short week for me, it seemed like it took forever. I'm so glad to be out of school right now, but I'm still getting pounded with problems. I had to drop one of the students from the state tournament next week and now another has asked to be dropped. I still don't know about another one that just now got her grade updated. I may be only taking 3 or 4 students next week. I guess it means less hassle, but I can't believe students are so willing to give up a state competition. I'm really thinking of not even participating in TFA next year. I think I might let the kids try mock trial instead. It would save us a lot of money and I wouldn't have to go to as many tournaments. That would probably be a good thing since I'll be starting grad school in the fall.

I originally intended to start this summer, but the courses conflict with the dates for Nationals this summer. I'm not even certain that I'll have a student qualify for Nationals, but if I sign up for the summer session, I'm sure I'll definitely have a student qualify and if I don't, I won't have a single one. I think, however, that I am going to teach summer school. Yes, I would have to say that I am a glutton for punishment, especially since I'm already sick of teaching right now, but the thing is that I definitely need the money. With Josh being a senior next year, there's going to be a lot of things that I need to pay for like graduation announcements, regalia, yearbook, yearbook ad, among other things.

If I teach summer school I can get some extra money. Last year my principal said it would be o.k. even if I have to miss a week for Nationals. So, Andrew, that's probably my summer plans. I would still get most of July and part of August off. I may still try to take some kind of road trip this summer if I can, but I'll just have to wait and see. At least I have Josh's band camp paid for. I went ahead and did that while I had the money. I finally got paid for Vegas so I used some of that money and the rest I can use for our trip to Nacogdoches. Hopefully I'll have some left to use in Vegas this summer if we get to go.

Tomorrow I have to go to several printing places to get estimates on our reunion book. Only one company actually emailed me back with a price. I also am going to my brother's house at some point. My sister is coming to town (and I didn't even know until my brother told me last night) so I guess we'll all get together tomorrow afternoon. Then tomorrow at 5:00 we have our reunion meeting. On Sunday I'm playing again. Our new bishop is coming to the 11:15 service and staying for our sausage festival afterwards. Then I have a community band meeting. At least both mornings I can sleep in which will be very lovely.

Just one of those days

I feel like I'm not living up to my potential at all. I hate that feeling. I feel like everything I do right now is a waste. I don't like my job right now and I'm tired of everything going wrong. I spent a lot of time this year taking students to tournaments and working with them to get them qualified for the state tournament that we are going to next week. And now two of them may not be going. One of them is because she didn't realize that state was next weekend and she already had plans to do "wedding stuff" with her sister that is coming to town. The other may not be able to go because she still has an incomplete grade for last six weeks. I'm really thinking of not even participating in TFA next year. It just seems impossible to get the points we need and it's pretty costly. We may just do mock trial instead. Well enough whining about that.

I have choir rehearsal tonight and I don't want to go to that either. I didn't even want to cook tonight. I picked up Sonic (comfort food) instead. I guess I'm just in a funk right now. Don't mind me complaining, I know life isn't that bad, it's just one of those days. It will pass. I know that going to church and singing is probably the thing I need to do right now. Maybe it's having days like these that will really push me to get through graduate school.

It should be Friday

Well, I did end up going to school early because I forgot some things that I needed to leave for my sub. I did that, then picked up the car for the trip. I took the three boys I had entered up to Amarillo this morning for their competition. They had to present a 4 to 6 minute speech on bus safety procedures. It's a bit cheesy, but it's an easy competition for them that gets them to state and it includes money. All three of my students are going to state... which sounds impressive, but they didn't have any competition. But they are getting a $50 gift card and then at state they will get at least at $100 savings bond. We went out to lunch afterwards and then we went to Marble Slab for dessert. We still had time to kill and they didn't want to go back to school (nor did I for that matter) so we stopped at Best Buy so I could get an ink cartridge for my printer. We killed enough time that we got back to school during the last period of the day. Two more days of school and then a nice free weekend. Well almost free. I have choir rehearsal tomorrow night, a meeting about our 20 year class reunion on Saturday, Sausage dinner after church on Sunday, and then a band meeting after that.

Next week is TFA state. We're going to Dallas after school on Wednesday. Next Tuesday is our primary election day and I still don't have a clue who I'm going to vote for.

Josh made dinner tonight. I couldn't believe it. It was simply Hamburger Helper, but he did it all by himself. Now if I could get him to do the dishes too! He does his own laundry so I shouldn't complain too much. Well, it's close to my bed time so I'm going to head that way.

Still busy here

The concert last night went pretty well. I played most of the notes. The clarinets on either side of me and I passed around squeaks last night. I'd squeak, and then the one to my right would, then the left one would. I really need to get some new reeds at some point. School was o.k. today. Nothing exciting. I'm actually trying to stay caught up on grades.

Spring is coming slowly. We'll have some nice, gorgeous days and then another cold spell with howling winds. I just ready for winter to be over.

Tomorrow I'm off from school again. This time it is the bus safety speech competition. I don't have high hopes for my students. They're not working very hard these days. I think they're getting an early case of spring fever. Problem is that I think I'm catching it as well. I seem to be getting to school later and later. Maybe I'll try getting to bed earlier tonight so I'll get up earlier in the morning. Of course tomorrow there isn't a rush to get there. Is there a cure for spring fever?

A note of relief

My ex-husband tried to call me several times today. I was a bit concerned thinking that something might be wrong, but it turns out that he is trading in his bike and getting a new one. That means that he will no longer be jointly connected to me financially. By paying off the loan that is with my bank, he will no longer have a tie to me and that frees up my credit. I have to admit that I'm surprised that his credit was approved since it was in my worse shape than mine, but I'm not complaining. I've been having dreams about him lately and I've been wondering why. Maybe it had to do with having this financial connection. I don't know. We've remained on friendly terms, but that is it for me. I often think back and try to figure out "what was I thinking??!"

Today at in-service I learned to use movie maker and helped others in the class. Then I picked up Sonic for lunch and ate it in my office while I read some blogs and then did some research on printing costs for our reunion book. I need to be able to take prices with me to our meeting on Saturday. After lunch we went through (yet again) more training on our upcoming state test that we'll be giving on March 5. They were originally scheduled for March 4, but the state realized that the date was our election day and felt that the schools would not be secure so they moved it to the 5th. That is the day that we are supposed to leave for TFA state and it means that we can't leave for Dallas until after school. (Even though the students would be finished testing around noon.)

Tonight I have a band concert. I brought my music home last week, but I haven't practiced. Maybe it will be the thought that counts. I am excited to play, however. I did pretty well last week for sight reading. A few of the pieces I have actually played before so it wasn't too bad.

It's windy here today. It's just a fact of life living here in the Texas panhandle. Did you know that Amarillo was listed as the 3rd windiest city in the United States a few years ago? It probably hasn't changed much. But the wind sucks. (But Josh would say "It doesn't suck, it blows!") I hate the wind.

Well, I better get ready for my concert tonight. Catch ya'll again tomorrow.

Oscar Night

I have the channel tuned to the pre-Oscar show, but I don't know why I'm watching. I haven't seen any of the movies that are nominated. I don't know if that means that I don't have a life (which is true) or if there just aren't any decent movies that came out this year. I saw a few like Hairspray and the new National Treasure movie (and of course Harry Potter 5) but that's it. Well, maybe I'll discover some movies I can watch on DVD by watching.

I went to Mass this morning and played my clarinet again. I came home and changed and then went to the store to pick up a few things. I spent most of the afternoon working on websites. Since I volunteered to do our new community band website, I put together some pages for the director to view. I also created a site for my new niece and updated my coaching speech site. I felt very productive today.

Josh got home around 5:00 and we headed to Amarillo. We went to Barnes and Noble so I could get a book that I needed for one of my students on the speech team. We have to have it for our upcoming state tournament. Then my son took me to dinner and even paid for it. We at at Red Robin which is a fairly new restaurant in Amarillo and we had never eaten there. The burgers we had were good, but fairly pricey I thought. I wanted to stop by Best Buy to get ink for my printer, but he wanted to get back in time for the Oscars. One year when Josh was about 7 we taped the Oscars and he watched it over and over and could tell you who won every award that year. One of these days he'll be going to the Oscars after being nominated for best music score and hopefully I'll be with him. He's promised to take me when he goes.

Well, I'm going to sit back and watch the Oscars now and just take it easy. Tomorrow is an in-service day at school. I'm supposed to be helping with one of the classes, but I've never even used the software that is being taught. In the afternoon we have more training on giving the state tests. There are so many rules that it is scary to even be a part of the testing procedure.

Well, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I guess it's time for another post

I often debate with myself as to why I continually try to post about nothing every day and whether this blog would be better suited to me only posting when I have something more interesting to say in which case would mean I might post a few times a year. I guess it's not such a big deal if I don't post since I haven't in about 4 days or so and the world isn't going to end. But I figure there are my handful of friendly readers that do read my dull and random thoughts and might like to know what is going on in my world. Just to let you know... nothing is going on. I didn't post Wednesday because it was late after I got home from choir rehearsal. On Thursday, I didn't have anything to say that warranted me taking the time to post. I spent most of the evening crocheting a scarf for one of the speech teachers that is going to the Iditarod and will get to participate in the first 11 miles. Yesterday I was in Lubbock all day for the student congress competition. My students didn't do very well. I don't think they really tried. Some of them only gave one speech. We didn't get back to Hereford until midnight and I didn't get home until around 12:30. I enjoyed being able to sleep in this morning. And that's it in a nutshell. I don't have any plans for today other than a little cleaning that needs to be done. I'm going to just take it easy today.

Brief update tonight

I'm tired and going to bed soon. But my big news of the day is that I have a brand new niece! The first one for our family. She is absolutely gorgeous. I went to the hospital tonight to go visit and just now got home. I really need to learn to say "no" one of these days. Now I've volunteered myself for two more websites. A new baby website for the my niece and I'm going to put together a website for the community band that I am playing in. Maybe I can get some of this done this weekend. I'll be gone all day Friday to Congress in Lubbock, but I do get this Saturday off which will be nice!

Well, I told you it would be brief. I'm going to bed.

Book Meme Again I think

Tagged by Cheryl.

Here are the instructions:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

I was actually holding the book “Tuesdays with Morrie.” Here are the sentences after number five.

“It’s all part of the same problem, Mitch,” Morrie said. “We put our values in the wrongs things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives.”

Quite interesting, I think.

It was a long day today. I hate going back to school after TMEA. I had to dole out some punishments to my students for ditching my class last week when the sub was here on Friday. I was probably too kind, but I offered them either 4 morning detentions with me or an office referral. The decided on the morning detentions because an office referral could land them in Saturday school or In-School suspension.

Tonight I'm going to a band rehearsal. There is a new community band that is meeting on Monday nights at 7:00. I missed a few rehearsals, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up. I don't know when concerts will be, but I will enjoy playing in a group ensemble again!

Glad to be Home

There's nothing so sweet as the first glimpse of your home town after you have been away for a while. It was a long drive the past two days. Josh's concert went very well. They played some exciting music and the conductor is one of my favorite band composers. We left San Antonio around 6:15 after hiking back to his hotel and getting his stuff. Once we were about and hour and a half away, we stopped for food and I realized I didn't have my credit card. I realized at that moment that I had left it at the restaurant where I ate lunch. I still had my debit card so I could pay for our dinner, but I had intended to use the card for the hotel that night. So after picking up dinner I tried calling the restaurant to make sure they had my card, but I only got an answering machine. So then I called my brother to give me the 800 number for Bank of America so I could cancel the card just in case. I did that and then when I stopped for gas, I took money out of savings for the hotel. We arrived in Sweetwater around 11:00 last night, checked in and immediately went to bed. I slept fitfully. I kept hearing a lot of different sounds including something that sounding like some kind of drumming. Maybe it was my imagination. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep right away. I eventually drifted off probably around 5:00 and slept for another hour and half. I got up at 6:45 and we were on the road by 7:00.

We stopped briefly for a coke but made it back home by 10:30. I had about 15 messages from the same local number that was a strange recording of their last name spelled out and a number. I had no idea who they were. I got in the shower as soon as I got home and got ready in record time for church. I went to Mass at 11:15 and afterwards I went to the store and got enough for supper tonight and a few lunches until pay day on Tuesday. I came home, made some lunch and then took a nap after finishing my book. I finally got Mitch Album's first book "Tuesdays with Morrie." It has a lot of profound wisdom that inspires me to look at my life a little more closely.

For one thing, I'm realizing even more that teaching is probably not my ultimate calling. I think I'm a good teacher, but I'm not a great one and I don't really want to be great. I hope I'm going in the right direction with library science. I still ultimately would love to work as a music librarian. But one step at a time. The book has a lot of great insights about life and how to live. Here's a passage that I am reflecting on right now.

"Mitch, I embrace aging."
Embrace it?
"It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."
Yes, I said, but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, "Oh, if I were young again." You never hear people say, "I wish I were sixty-five."
He smiled. "You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven't found meaning. Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can't wait until sixty-five."

Last day in San Antonio

Josh and I have to head back this evening after his concert which will be around 4:30. We're only going to drive part way tonight given how late we're starting and the fact that the weather seems to be bad in Amarillo. I hope it clears up by tomorrow. We shall see.

Last night Josh and I went to the college night thing where we could visit with potential schools. We stopped at SFA's booth and WT's. Everything else was either not something he was interested in or it was too crowded. Then we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant and I had fettucine alfredo with shrimp. But Kirsten's three meat pizza looked really good. Josh ate with us. Afterwards we went over to the Menger where I finally got my top shelf margarita. It was quite yummy. Then we went to the WTAMU reunion and I got to visit with lots of people there. By 11:00 I was crashing. I am so not used to staying up so late. We came back to the hotel and I read about 5 pages in my book before I zonked out. I tried to sleep in this morning but the was a screaming child next door that was up before 7:00. I finally got up at 7:45 and took a shower. At 9:00 I moved my car a few blocks down closer to Josh's hotel since I wasn't sure I could leave mine in the Hampton parking lot after I checked out. Kirsten just left and I thought I'd blog before I headed out myself. My bags are already in my car but I'm going to keep my computer with me.

It's been a nice trip, but I still have a lot to do when I get home. I just hope the bad weather is out before we get there. Hope everyone's weekend is going well. I'll be back some time on Sunday.

A lot of walking

I'm a bit tired and sore today. Once again I was awake earlier than I wanted to get up. I took my shower at 7:00 and was almost ready by 7:45. I then waited for my roommate to get ready. We went downstairs for the free breakfast. I had cereal and blueberry muffin since it's Friday and I couldn't have any of the sausage. I walked over to the mall this morning and did a little shopping. I bought a book and a sweater that was on sale. I then went over to the convention center and met Josh as we walked around the exhibit hall. He tried out some clarinets, marimbas and pianos. I met my friend, Kirsten, for lunch at 1:30 and I was starving by then. Of course, my ex couldn't make it today. (No surprise there.) We had a hard time finding something since I couldn't eat meat and Kirsten didn't like Mexican food. We finally decided on the Saltgrass and I had potato soup and a salad. Tonight we're having Italian. I did briefly glimpse the Alamo on the walk back to the hotel. I took the tour once but I was in the 6th grade I think. Maybe I'll do it again one of these days. I came back and I tried to get some papers graded, but I couldn't really focus. I think I'm going to take a nap shortly and wait for Kirsten to get back. Josh and I might go to the college night this evening, but I don't know for certain. He hadn't decided but is supposed to call during his break. His concert is tomorrow around 4:30. I hope to hit the road around 6:00. We're going to drive to Sweetwater and stay the night there. We have some potential nasty weather coming in tonight and I don't want to be on the road late when it could be dangerous. Well, that's all for now. The bed is calling my name.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Obviously I made it to San Antonio. I left shortly after school was out yesterday and was on the road by 4:10. According Rand McNally I would be on the road 6 hours and 5 minutes. Despite some awkward directions (and coming upon a closed road in Floydada and getting a scenic tour of one of their neighborhoods) the time was pretty accurate when you added my 15 minute sojourn at McDonald's in Plainview. I pulled into the Best Western in Brady, Texas at 10:30 p.m. I checked in and put my pajamas on. I did connect my computer last night, but it was agonizingly slow so I couldn't post. Josh called me at 11:40 and told me that the audition results had been posted, but someone had taken them down so he didn't know what band or what chair he made. I had gotten in bed but wasn't quite asleep. He then called me again at midnight because he finally found out by going to the rehearsal area and seeing his name on the chair. So... I know you're all waited with baited breath to know the results... this year, he made the symphonic band and is 13th chair. Last year he was 2nd chair in the concert band so it is quite an improvement.

My trip was uneventful. I drove through lots of little towns that are nothing more than just a speck like Cone, Texas. Then there are a few other towns where you can tell the livelihood is cotton because it almost looks like winter there with all the extra bits of cotton on the side of the road. I did get some entertainment along the way as I discovered some interestingly named roads like "Stink Creek Road" and "Noodle Dome Road." I didn't have any traffic issues yesterday or this morning.

This morning I was up by 7:00 but I didn't want to get up after only 5 hours of sleep. I checked out of the hotel by 8:00, then got gas, a coke and tots at Sonic and then hit the road. I made it to the hotel here in downtown San Antonio in about 2 1/2 hours. I checked in and then checked email and then we headed over to the mall for lunch. After that, we went to hear the WTAMU band concert (my alma mater). Once again, they were amazing. Afterwards we went downstairs for the meet and greet and I got to see a lot of my old professors and friends that I was in college with. Then we stayed for the SFA concert which is the school that Josh may want to attend. After that, I went to the exhibit hall for a bit. Anything and everything associated with music (and then some) you can find there. I'm going to try to find a new clarinet case. My old buffet case has seen it's better days. Josh currently is keeping the clarinet in his old case, but I think it needs something new. I only briefly checked out the exhibits and then I went to listen to the bassoon ensemble that my friend Kirsten was conducting and playing in. After that we headed back to the hotel so Kirsten could drop off her bassoon. For dinner we went to Tony Roma's. I decided to stock up on meat tonight since tomorrow is Friday during Lent and I have to forgo meat.

My ex-husband, Richard, might come to town tomorrow and go to lunch with me.... but I'm not going to hold my breath. Numerous times he has promised and has yet to come through. No biggie if he doesn't. Tomorrow night I may be going with Josh to the college night and then to a late dinner. I'm going to the WT reunion tomorrow evening so it will be nice to meet up with old friends. Well, I'm already exhausted so I'm going to get ready for bed. I did get a lot of exercise today walking. No laziness today.

I know it's valentine's day, but it's just another day for me. No flowers, no romance, no sweetheart and I think for once I'm o.k. with that. Actually I have something waiting for me at home from my aunt so that will be a nice surprise. So I hope you had a nice Valentine's day if you have a sweetheart, and if not, I hope it was just as enjoyable for you and you're happy in your singleness. I'm learning that it's o.k. to be alone and sometimes it can be great. Well, good night all. I'll try to post again tomorrow.

Laid to Rest

Well, anonymous commented with an explanation of his/her previous comment with apologies. I humbly accept although it wasn't necessary. I do appreciate the explanation, however. The problem with this medium is that you can't really tell how someone means to say something. You just read the words and often times we jump to conclusions and take offense when they seem to be critical - which I did. I shouldn't have done so. We (bloggers) tend to assume that people post anonymously because they are hiding from something or want to avoid a retort. I do realize that some people just haven't jumped on the blogging wagon. (But what are you waiting for? It's fun for all!) So no harm meant and hopefully no harm done. And for the record (again), I am happy. I know I tend to write more of the negative things in here but that is the reason why I write them, just to get them out and done with... then I can move on. That has always been one my main reasons for journaling. Writing down those things that hurt, irritate, annoy or confound me. I did a lot of private journaling when I was going through my failing marriage and subsequent divorce. If all you glimpsed of my life was that one journal, you'd probably think I needed to be committed, but that was only one part of my feelings at the time - the ones that I needed to deal with and get past. I do realize that I am extremely blessed. I thank God daily for my blessings despite my sinful nature to often long for more or something different. And I hate cleaning. I hate it. I will find any and every excuse to avoid it. It just gets to the point that it is so daunting that I don't even know where to start and it seems hopeless. But when I do get the bug, I'll clean for days on end and won't stop until everything is shiny. So we'll let bygones be bygones and move on from here.

Tomorrow is the big day! It's my Friday in terms of school. I still have a million things to do to get ready for my sub, but somehow it will all get done. Or it won't and I'll just worry about it while I'm gone. I'm leaving immediately after school and heading south. I'm in the process of packing (or I was until I started this... but I'm waiting for laundry to be done) and getting everything ready. Don't you hate leaving? Sure, we like to get away, but it always seems to be so much trouble and then you worry about forgetting things. Or is that just me? One of Josh's friends will be checking on the animals. They have enough food to last through the weekend. I'm going to try to get to bed early tonight so I'll be well rested for my 6 hour drive tomorrow. I'm taking my computer with me and the hotel should have free wireless so I hope to post while I'm down there. (Except - I may give in and have one of those amazing Margaritas at the Menger bar so I might not on Thursday evening.)

Awww Shucks

Thanks for all the support regarding my anonymous commenter. I really don't care that they felt the need to be negative. We are all entitled to our opinions and like others have said, you only get a small glimpse of me via this blog. You might form a completely different opinion about me if you met me in person. I think that generally I am a positive person, but I know that I tend to write about some of the negative stuff in here. It's not as entertaining when you just say "It was a nice day today. Nothing happened." Not that I write for entertainment value anyway. I write just to write and put the events of my day in here and for whatever reason, I have some wonderful blogging friends that have chosen to journey with me. The nice thing about today is that I have some new blogs to read because of those commenting for the first time here.

As for the rest of my day... It was a decent day. Even 6th period was o.k. Thankfully I had an aid that came in which helps with the language issues. I did get to school pretty early this morning. I left here by 6:45 and got to school at 7:15. I spent the morning grading papers and I'm caught up with my comm. app. grades. I didn't stay very late after school because Josh and I needed to pick up some soil to fill in the hole in the back yard. We did that so hopefully now the leaky pipe is history. I cooked supper and did some reading. I even unloaded the dishwasher and loaded it again. I also made cookies! I admit they weren't from scratch, but I did have to do the mixing. Now the smell of oatmeal cookies is wafting through the house.

I did sleep well last night. Maybe it's the clean sheets! Maybe it was the wine. Who knows, but I'm not going to complain! I found out that there's a bit of a kink in the plans for my trip to San Antonio. Normally Josh's concert is around 11:00-12:00 and I can hit the road again around 1:00 to head back home. This year, however, the concert is at 3:30. That means that I won't be able to leave until probably 5:00-6:00. It's a 9 hour drive home. Josh said that if he rode back with the directors, he wouldn't get home until Sunday and he'll miss part of orchestra rehearsal. I said that he could ride with me until I realized how late it would be. But if he does ride with me, he can do some of the driving and we might be able to make it. I guess we'll play it by ear on Saturday.

Well, that's all that's going on here. I'm going to put the last batch of cookies in the oven, do some reading, continue doing laundry and then call it an early night again. Maybe I'll have the last glass of wine (not whine) too.

For the Record

This is my blog and I can write about whatever I want. If I want to whine and complain and be negative, then that is my perogative. If you have something negative to say to me, that is fine, but unless you quit hiding by commenting anonymously, I will take your comments with a grain of salt - if that. I am appreciative of what I have but like everyone else, I have bad days and use my blog to write about it. If you don't like reading about my life - positive or negative, then you have complete freedom to not read it at all. I'm not bothered by the fact that you chose to be ugly in your comments. There are just some people who will say whatever they want regardless of how it might hurt another person's feelings. I am bothered by the fact that you don't have the courage to post your name. But that is simply cowardice, I suppose, and something you'll have to deal with on your own.

So much for not being lazy

But it was a restful day. I got up around 8-something and read for a while. I took a shower and got ready for church. I played my clarinet at the 11:15 mass. I came home and put in a frozen dinner for lunch. I read some more and took a nap. I was supposed to fill in the hole where my brother capped the water pipe that had sprung a leak. We had to dig a hole around it and he decided to cut it off and cap it instead of trying to unscrew it from the base where it was very rusty. Josh was supposed to help me, but by the time he got home, the hardware store was closed where I was supposed get some top soil. I filled it in with what leftover soil I could and I'll get more tomorrow. Luckily it's been very warm here so I don't think the pipes will freeze before tomorrow. It's only supposed to get down to 38 tonight and I did get the pipe covered... just need the next foot and a half or so. So the problem is fixed and I'll stop whining now. Summer is right, I do bounce back quickly. It was just a crisis for the moment and it's passed.

I brought tons of papers home to grade and I didn't even look at them. I'm going to make an effort to get up early and get to school early. I really need to get caught up before I leave on Wednesday. I have a room reserved for Wednesday night which is about 2/3 of the way to San Antonio. On Thursday and Friday, I'm staying with my friend Kirsten and I'll pay for one night at that hotel.

I'm making slow progress at the house. The kitchen is clean for the most part except for the floor. I didn't get to mop as planned on Saturday and I didn't get to it today. I did do some laundry though. I washed sheets and towels. I love it when I get into bed with newly laundered sheets. Hopefully that means I'll sleep well tonight. The living room is generally picked up but I can't keep the grass and stuff cleaned up that the dogs drag in.

Well, I'm going to finish laundry and call it an early night.

Best Laid Plans

You know how it is. You make grandiose plans to do something good and worthwhile and then ZAP! It's like "ha ha ha... yeah right... you just THOUGHT you would be able to clean the house." I read my book for a little bit and then decided to get up and get started on the house. For whatever reason, I decided to look out into the back yard and I noticed white stuff in the back. I decided that it couldn't be snow because we haven't had any in weeks. I go out there and it is a mound of ice. A water faucet pipe had sprung a leak and was spraying a thin stream of water out probably for some time given the amount of ice. (Gee I can't wait for this month's water bill... I may have to get a second mortgage to pay for it.) My brother tried to tell me how to shut it off in the ally, but I guess I did it wrong because I didn't know what he was talking about. I finally called the city and they shut it off. Now I'm without water for the next few hours. I did think to fill the sink up with hot water before they got here. Maybe I can get a little bit done. Why does this always happen? I hate this stupid old house. So this afternoon I have to help dig the damn pipe out so my brother can plug it. Aaarrrrghhhhh!

Is this true?

Do I really wait for school to be out? Maybe this year with the classes I have. But technically school doesn't get out until 3:45 and rarely have I ever left shortly after the bell ring. I actually stay on a regular basis until at least 5:00 catching up on work.

I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I went to bed at 7:30 last night. All of a sudden I felt completely exhausted. I climbed into bed and read about 3 pages of my book before turning out the light. I thought it might be just a quick nap, but I didn't wake up again until 1:00 in the morning. I missed my t.v. show Psych, but I did discover that it will come on again today at 5:00. I must have been needing the sleep. I got about 12 hours of sleep last night. I woke around 8:00 and read for an hour before having some cereal for breakfast. I've made a promise to myself to start cleaning today no later than noon. My goal today is to get the kitchen and living room done. Tomorrow will be the bedroom and craft room.

Well, I think I'll read a little more and then get myself motivated to get busy on the house.

Sometimes you just have to stop

Thus I am blogging at the end of my lunch hour. My office still looks like a paper explosion, but I'm making progress. I finally got the paperwork for the upcoming four trips completed and turned in. I faxed our entry for the CX state tournament and tried faxing our Congress entry, but it didn't want to work. Last night I put together poems for a student to use for the upcoming tournament next weekend. (I'll be out of town but another teacher is taking the students again.) I didn't clean the kitchen as I'd planned. I started researching printing costs for the book for my upcoming 20 year reunion. Can you believe that I am that old? I've volunteered to do the book for it. I know, I know... I take on too much, but I felt I had to step up because the previous book was not that great and I know I can do a better job.

I still haven't graded any papers and I really need to catch up. I'm going to try and get started during 5th & 6th period today. I'm giving my students a worksheet to complete. Yeah... fat chance in 6th. I'll have to go to each of them in turn and explain the instructions. How long until the semester is over? I usually hate having to miss so many days this semester because of the pain of being gone, but it is now a welcome relief.

I haven't decided about grad school this summer, but I need to decide soon. I just don't know if I'll have enough time with everything going on. I may just start in the fall instead and see what kind of financial aid I get. I did get my whopping $662 tax refund. I put $500 into savings and the rest will cover groceries and some of my trip to San Antonio next week. I still hate being so broke. I need to hold on to the $500 to pay for Josh's band camp this summer. Well, the bell rang so I better get back to work. So much for taking a break.

Still not enough time

I feel so very far behind and there seems to be no end. I did get quite a bit done after school today. I have six or seven upcoming trips that I have to prepare for and it takes forever. I have to fill out paperwork on each trip (student travel form and transportation request), secure hotel lodging if necessary, and figure trip expenses. At the same time I have to figure out which accounts that I should pay for some of these expenses from and balance those budgets. If anyone ever complains about me having two conference periods, I'd like them to trade roles with me for a day. On top of all this, I have a million things to grade, assignments to plan, tests to put on the computer, selections to cut for students, and an office that looks like a paper bomb exploded in there. I need about a week to catch up but I have to get everything done before next Wednesday. I'm leaving for San Antonio after school on Wednesday.

This morning I overslept by about 30 minutes. I forgot to set the second alarm so when I turned off the first one, it obviously didn't go off again. I meant to get up by 10 after 6:00, but didn't wake up again until 6:41. I took a quick shower and got ready. I still made it to school on time, but it was after 8:00 before I got there. I'm still waking up in the mornings around 4:00 and I'm getting tired of it. I don't know if I should quit fighting it and just get up at 4:00 or continue to toss and turn for an hour and a half. I rarely ever feel fully rested. I can sleep if I take a benadryl or 1/2 a tylenol p.m. but then I'm usually still tired in the morning unless I take the medicine around 7:00 and get in bed by 9:00. Maybe one of these days I'll be in a job without so much work and stress. I can tell you that right now I'm earning every single dollar I make.

Well, I've been pretty good today in my Lenten quest to eat better and forgo laziness. I have decided to give up one t.v. show. It seems silly, but I'm not going to watch "House Hunters" until Lent is over. It is the one show that I watch that makes me covet what other people have and makes me long for something more. I really should be happy with what I've got. At lunch I opted for my pita and the small 100 calorie cookie pack and talked myself out of chips. Dinner tonight was pasta with meatballs (a smallish bowl) and half a dessert. I did have a glass of wine followed by some water. I also did the dishes tonight. I'm going to try to clean the kitchen fully before going to bed, however. I'm also going to make yet another attempt at exercise despite my inordinately busy schedule. We'll see how that goes.

Well, I only have about an hour and a half before I go to bed so I better get busy with my work that I brought home.

Back in one piece

I left the show around 11:30 and we got to the airport shortly before noon. We had to go through miles of lines in order to check our bags. Luckily, I was able to print our boarding passes early so we were in the "A" group. Once we got through all the lines and security we had lunch (overpriced Burger King). We had to wait another 45 minutes or before boarding. The flight to Denver was pretty crowded. I was completely scrunched up against the window. I'm not a small person, but fairly average sized and can sit in my own space in the seat. I had maybe 1/2 of it as I was pushed up against the window. I was flying back with someone else from the show that came from Canyon and he is not necessarily obese, but a rather large framed man. He moved over to the middle when someone else wanted to sit in our row. Thankfully after Denver, the flight was not very full and we could space out again. I finished another skein of yarn on Josh's afghan. I have one more to go.. I think. I'll see how it looks when I add it.

Today at school was a nightmare. O.k. maybe I'm exaggerating slightly. I don't know how to get it all done. I have to plan several upcoming trips and balance my budgets and there's just not enough time. I also got a not so great report from my sub which makes it all the better. And I heard that sixth period have been talking inappropriately in Spanish in my class so I tried to enforce a "No Spanish" rule which makes it difficult when one of the students can't even speak English (and I'm certain that he's one of the major instigators of the inappropriate conversations.) I just want this semester to be over. I had to leave right after school today so I could get to the church in preparation for Ash Wednesday services. Since today was a day of fasting and abstinence, I only had a small snack this morning (leftover snack from the airplane). I played during the service until my chops decided to give out. Afterwards I came home and called take-out for dinner. I had the fried catfish which was quite delicious. Lent has officially started and I don't know what to give up during this time. I want it to be meaningful, but I just don't know. My biggest vice right now is my laziness. Is that something you can really give up? I guess I should try. I think I'll try to lose 15 pounds during this time which means that I'll have to give up several things, like desserts and try to eat better. I'll also have to quit being such a couch potato and become more active. Of course, I'll try to do more soul searching and prayer.

Thankfully this is a short week this week and it will be another short one next week. I am needing a break. Also, no tournament this weekend. I think I'll take the time to really clean my house. I think that will be another Lent achievement... to get it clean and keep it clean for next 40 days or so... at least. Wish me luck.

Oh... I did get the check thing cleared up... I think. The band director got in touch with someone from their business office and they sent a letter to the check agency telling them to disregard all charges and indicated that they did try to deposit the check past the 90 day period. I'll call the check agency tomorrow and confirm that they received the letter and that they are not pursuing anything further. Just one more thing on my list of things to get done. I really need more time during the day. Or more sleep or something. I'm worn out. How am I possibly going do grad school and teach at the same time? Am I crazy?

Heading Home Soon

I'm still in Vegas, but I'll be leaving in about 2 1/2 hours to go to the airport. I won't get back home until around 9:30 tonight. I didn't connect yesterday so no blog. I paid $5 to connect for an hour so I could take care of some school email this morning. I haven't gambled and I probably won't. I have had some pretty good meals though. Saturday was Hard Rock Cafe, Sunday was P.F. Changs, and last night was The Rain Forest Cafe. I wasn't that impressed by my meal at the Rain Forest - especially for the price, but overall it's been good. I'm sure that I've gained a million pounds because I've been eating three full meals a day which I usually don't at home. Maybe I'm just getting ready for Lent. Speaking of which... I still haven't figured out what I'm giving up. I better figure it out by tomorrow since it's Ash Wednesday. I was thinking of giving up one or more of the following: red meat, soft drinks, desserts, or t.v. I am definitely not giving up the internet again (despite it probably being my biggest vice).

Well, I only have about 25 minutes left on here so I'm going to go catch up on reading some of the 46 posts I've missed in the last couple of days. I'll probably won't post again until tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be exhausted when I get home.

And another meme just because

Borrowed from Terroni.

Fill in the Blank

Where is your cell phone? In the holder thing around my neck right now. It needs to be charged.

Vehicle? At home in the garage.

Hair? Wind blown.

Father? Yes, I have one. He is in Albuquerque right now.

Your favorite thing? Rollercoasters.

Dream last night? Don't remember.

Favorite drink? Coke (non-alcoholic), Bloody Mary, Margarita, or Pina Colada (alcoholic)

Room you are in? In the back of my uncle’s booth at the shot show.

Your ex? In San Antonio. Still talk to him once in a while – but absolutely would not marry him again.

You are? Ready to go back to the hotel. Catching a cold I think.

What do you want to be in ten years? A music librarian

Who did you hang out with today? My uncle (Steve), Laurie, Melissa, my brother (Tim), Russ, Mike, Jason. (We’re all working the show.)

What you're not? Rich

Muffins? Yes, blueberry please.

One of your wish list items? New flooring for my living room and kitchen.

Where are the ____? Fee sheets that I lost after my tournament

The last thing you did? Checked my school email.

What are you wearing? Purple sweater, khaki pants.

Your pet(s)? Are at home and they are probably missing me. My cats are probably lost since they are used to sleeping with me every night.

Your computer? Is almost three years old, but still runs well.

Your life? Busy most of the time.

Your mood? Good – glad I don’t have to go to school tomorrow.

Missing? My fee sheets. Josh and my pets.

What are you thinking about right now? Where we are going to eat dinner tonight and how soon I can go to bed.

Your shoes? Are comfortable loafers that I got at Target for $22 at the beginning of school.

Your work? Don’t ask. I still dread 6^th period most days. But on a happier note, one of my students finally got the last two points she needed to qualify for state.

Your summer? Will be here and gone before I know it. Hopefully coming back to Vegas for Nationals.

Your favorite color? Purple right now. It could change any time.

Shot Show (Year 3)

Well, I'm here at the shot show again. You'd be amazed at the kind of stuff you see here. It is really kind of odd to be in this place as I have never even shot a gun. I'm not sure why my uncle asks me to come every year. The only thing I really do is handle the money and run credit cards. I know very little about his products other than they are accessories for military type guns. Now, I'm not going to get into debates about guns and shooting and such things being bad or good. I think that people do have the right to own guns and if shooting and hunting is their hobby, so be it. From what it seems, it can be a very expensive hobby. I would never go hunting. Ever. I couldn't kill another animal. Well... enough of that.

We (my brother and another person from Canyon) arrived around noon yesterday which was actually around 2:00 Texas time. I was starving by then. I helped organize the back room of sorts. I ate lunch about an hour and a half later. It was a taco salad that cost $8.25. Everything is so expensive at these shows. Luckily, my uncle pays for everything like that. Finally the show ended at 5:30 Vegas time and we headed over to the hotel. We only had a truck with a back seat so three of the people in our party of eight had to ride in the back of the truck. Although the hotel was only about a mile and a half away, it took at least 15 minutes to get there. I checked in and dropped my bags off. The driver went ahead and dropped the rest of the group at the restaurant and then came back to pick us up.

We ate at the Hard Rock cafe last night. I was telling someone how I had only eaten at a Hard Rock cafe once before which was in New Orleans in 1989. I was flabbergasted back then by the price of a hamburger which was around $7.00. Now the burgers are $11.50. (I did have the burger and could only finish half of it.) After dinner I checked out the gift shop and decided to get Josh a souvenir. I called him first because he can be very particular and I wanted to make sure that if I got him a Hard Rock shirt that he would wear it. So I bought him a shirt and we headed back to the hotel. The others were going to go to the casino, but I was so exhausted I decided to decline. This year, I'm staying with two other girls and since I was the last one to arrive, I was relegated to the pull out sofa. I could have shared a bed, but I like to be able to spread out and move as I sleep. I asked the front desk for extra pillows and bedding when I came in after dinner. I went downstairs to give my brother some things that had been packed in my bag and when I went back up, they had brought my pillows, but no bedding. Finally I called down to the front desk to ask about the bedding again and they said they would send someone up again. I finally got the sheets and blanket about 10 minutes later. I made the bed, changed into my pj's and was in bed a little after 10:00 Vegas time. (Midnight Texas time)

I had plans to go to church this morning at 8:00 but it didn't quite work out that way. We had breakfast at the hotel (French toast, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns) and then headed to the show, but was running really behind. Traffic was crawling and it took actually 30 minutes to get to the show because of that and parking. I was going to go to the 9:30 service instead, but still didn't make it then. I finally connected to the internet and decided I'd just go to the 12:30 service. The church was about 1/2 a mile away from the convention center so I decided to walk. It took me about 15 minutes. The Mass was o.k. but I'm such a homebody that I just couldn't really get into it since it wasn't my church at home. It was very interestingly designed in triangular shapes. You can tell from the large mural on the front wall that it was designed in the 60's.

When I left the church, the wind was really picking up and it was sprinkling. I went to Walgreens to get some items we needed for the show and then walked back. Now I'm just taking it easy until it's time to go. I figured it would be clearing out by now with it being Superbowl Sunday and all. I guess these guys are more die hard about their guns instead of football. I'm not sure what the plans are for tonight, but I might try my luck with some slots just to say that I did gamble a little while here in Vegas. Don't worry... I never spend too much. I think $20 is my maximum that I can afford to lose. (Or as my brother puts it... a donation to the casino.) Well, I think I've written enough. I had to catch up since I didn't post yesterday. I'll connect again tomorrow and post at least once more while I'm here. I don't know about Tuesday, though. I'll be traveling most of the day.

Mad as a March Hare

I'm not sure where that expression comes from and I'm probably not really that mad, but I am mightily miffed you might say. I came home today to a letter from a Check recovery service trying to get payment (plus service fees) for a check that my bank sent for Josh's lessons back in September. The check was for $18 and they want another $32.48 in service fees. The original check was sent by my bank as I use their online bill paying service out of convenience. The check wasn't cashed by the school in 90 days, therefore, my bank wouldn't cash it. I never heard a single thing from the school or the district regarding this check until I get this letter from an outside agency. On top of all of that, the letter was sent to a wrong address before it ever got to me and is addressed to me in my former married name that I haven't used in four years. It states that I have 10 days from the date of the letter to pay it or they will pursue an arrest warrant. So I get the letter 5 days late and have until the 5th to take care of it at which time I'll be out of town. I've sent an email to the band director about it asking why it wasn't cashed for over three months and what can be done about it as it was not my fault that the check could not be cashed. I also emailed my bank to have them call me about it and what recourse I have in this situation. Since it was after 6:00 when I got all this information, there's nothing I could do about it. Now I'm about to leave for Vegas and by the time I get back, there might be an arrest warrant issued for me. Well, if it comes down to it, I'll fight it in court if I need to.

So I spent a good portion of the evening ranting about that issue and then I had to go to the store to get groceries for Josh while I'm gone. I picked up supper and had laundry to do. I just now started packing at 10:30 this evening. My uncle called me earlier to fax him a copy of my driver's license and wouldn't you know that my scanner wouldn't work. Josh brought me an old one from the garage so I hooked it up and scanned it. If it's not one thing, it's another I guess. I have to be ready to go at 6:40 in the morning. I am fighting a cold that is coming on so I feel a bit miserable right now.

I need to figure out what the weather is going to be there so I can pack appropriately. I also have to get directions to the closest church so I can go to Mass tomorrow evening or Sunday morning. I did do the radio interview today. I hope it went well. I felt like I didn't sound very interesting or enlightening, but the lady that interviewed me had done her homework by actually reading my Catholic blog and asked me questions relating to it. I guess it went o.k. I'm always my own worst critic so I guess we'll just wait and see - or hear as the case may be.

Well, I better get back to packing so I'll be ready to go in the morning. I don't know when I'll post again. I don't know if I'll have internet access while I'm there. I am taking my computer so I may at least write and post when I get back.