One word only

Borrowed from Cheryl and read on Abbagirl's blog.

1. Where is your mobile phone? car

2. Your significant other? none

3. Your hair? wavy

4. Your mother? deceased

5. Your father? driving

6. Your favorite thing? rollercoasters

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your favorite drink? bloodymary

9. Your dream/goal? librarian

10. The room you're in? living

11. Your ex? gone

12. Your fear? failure

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? library

14. Where were you last night? home

15. What you're not? patient

16. Muffins? blueberry

17. One of your wish list items? floor

18. Where you grew up? texas

19. The last thing you did? dishes

20. What are you wearing? shorts

21. Your TV? on

22. Your pets? five

23. Your computer? life

24. Your life? busy

25. Your mood? content

26. Missing someone? no

27. Your car? Maxima

28. Something you're not wearing? shoes

29. Favorite Store? Catholic

30. Your summer? hardly

31. Like someone? kidding?

32. Your favorite color? purple

33. When is the last time you laughed? Friday

34. Last time you cried? Saturday

35. Who will/would re-post this? anyone

Comment if you play along.

My five minutes of fame

About a month ago, I was asked to do a radio interview for American Catholic radio. A lady contacted me because she had read my Catholic blog and was interested in conversion stories during the season of Lent. I was very flattered by this and I agreed to the interview. She called me at school one day during my lunch and we visited for about 30 minutes. The interviewed aired on March 24. I hadn't realized that it had aired until I got an email today from someone who heard it. So I listened to it. I thought it was a very nice interview and that it was put together well. So if you're interested you can hear the interview here. The interview starts about 5 minutes in and lasts for about 5 minutes.

All dressed up

And I actually went somewhere. Josh played with the Amarillo symphony tonight in a side-by-side concert. So I dressed up and went to the symphony. He said that he was disappointed because they wouldn't let the winds play much - only during the loud parts, he said. But the concert was still pleasant although it was pretty long. I do enjoy going to symphony. I wish I could do it more often. It is nice to go to something a little bit "sophisticated."

Josh's name was in a news article in the paper today. There was a write up for the upcoming youth symphony concert and it mentioned that Josh did the wind arrangements for two of the pieces that they are playing.

I should have gone up to school today to do some work, but I couldn't get myself to go. I did do a lot of reunion work, however. I started the layouts for the book and found 80's stuff to include. I also updated our website and made photo categories.

Before the symphony, I went to Best Buy and got an external hard drive to back up my data on my computer. I feel better knowing that it's backed up. I'll have Josh back up his stuff and then I'll back up my stuff from school. We're getting new teacher computers next year and we have to back up all our information on teacher drives.

Tomorrow is church, of course, and then in the afternoon I'm going to the WT speech team showcase. Josh's one act play will be performed on Tuesday evening and then on Friday we'll go to the WT showcase of music. We didn't get to go last year which was very disappointing to Josh. I think we'll go to dinner before the show.

Time to call it a night. My dog is bugging me to get out of "his" chair.

Another success for my students

It was a very good day for my kids. I didn't have high hopes at first, but they seemed to pull it through. Today was our UIL district competition. This is the first of two competitions to get to state. We can enter only three students in each event. Here's how my students did:

Poetry - 5th, 3rd, 2nd
Prose - 3rd, 2nd, 1st
Informative - 3rd, 2nd, 1st
Persuasive - 5th, 4th, 1st
LD debate - 3rd, 1st
Current events - 10th, 5th (4th place team)

1st place speech team sweepstakes

I would have to say that it was a very successful day, albeit a very long one. I got home about 10 minutes ago. I changed into my pj's and thought I'd give a quick update before heading to bed. I'm very proud of my kids.

A Good News Kind of Day

Where shall we start? No, I didn't catch up on grading, but there were lots of good things that happened today. First of all, I was chosen to go to a technology conference in San Antonio this summer. It is a paid trip down there and I'll get to go to several different sessions regarding technology. The only down side to it is that it is right before my reunion so it might make things tight. Thankfully I will get to fly down this time. (I'm tired of driving!)

Next, all my students have their pieces and books for tomorrow's competition. I even wrote two amazing introductions today and cut a piece for one of my students. I felt very productive. Tomorrow I get to sleep in! I don't have to drive to Hereford for one class and then ride the bus back over here. So I just get to meet them on campus at 11:00. Woo hoo!

Josh performed in his One Act play today in Borger. I didn't get to go, obviously, but he just found out that they are going on to the area competition and he was named to the All-Star cast. I will probably take off from work next Friday in order to see the play.

He also had a band concert tonight and he had several solos that he played and did a great job on them. I am very impressed with him. I ate at the spaghetti supper afterwards so I also got to eat my favorite meal. What more could you ask for?

Thanks for all the responses to my assignment. I really didn't think it was too hard. I know that it would be a little difficult for some of the ELL students. The ELL teacher came to me today and told me it was too hard for them because they couldn't understand the topics. She said that they didn't know how our democracy worked and they couldn't explain it to them. While I understand that, I also think that if they are going to stay in this country, they are going to have to learn how our democracy works. I don't expect perfection from these kids, but I do expect an effort. I guess we'll see how things go on Monday when they have to present their topics to the class.

I have my observation next week. I will probably have to go up to the school this weekend and get some work done. I am working on a powerpoint for my lesson. We're going to start the unit on Listening. This is where the students have to do the 24 hours of silence. What a blessed day that is! Well, I'm going to enjoy my evening free from the pressure of an early morning tomorrow. I did sleep well last night. I think the bloody mary helped!

Perhaps my expectations are too high

This is not a surprising statement from me. I tend to have high expectations. Just ask my ex-husband and my family. I gave my comm. app. students the following assignment:

1. Pick a current topic. (Something along the lines of "Will the transition of power in Cuba lead to improved relations between that nation and the United States?") - They drew these topics and then I allowed them to trade.
2. Research the topic and give background information necessary to understand the topic. (about a paragraph)
3. Find and print one news article that helps in answer the question. Article must be dated Sept 2007-Present.
4. Write a summary of the article and tell how it helps answer the topic.
5. Present the information to the class in a brief, informal presentation.

They did not have to write a complete speech or completely answer the question. Yet today, I had to help half of them find their article. I had to explain the topics to the majority of them.

Is this a difficult assignment? Am I expecting too much?

I'm still not in the school "mood". I still haven't graded papers. I'm trying to get ready for our upcoming UIL district competition and it turns out that my students have dropped the ball. We have to show proof of their materials being published and meeting the category requirements and several of them don't have what they need. We've lost one of the major books we needed and it's not one that I can get from just any book store. Thankfully another school has a copy of it and they will bring to the competition. Then tonight I had to go to the bookstore to get another book for a student. One of my other students had to order a book from amazon and have it shipped overnight. Another one of the poems by this student can't be used at all since it's not published. I just don't know what to do about these students. If they get their butts kicked on Friday (as they should) maybe it will open their eyes.

So I came home from Amarillo this evening and I stopped at Walmart and got some bloody mary mix. I just finished it and I hope to sleep better tonight. Last night I went to bed around 9:15. I fell asleep quickly, but was awake at midnight and tossed until I got up at 2:15. I might have gone back to sleep around 3-something.

Well, I'm going to head to bed and try to get a decent night's sleep. Wish me luck.

Totally Unmotivated

I can't seem to get motivated in regards to school. I haven't lifted a finger to grade papers. I need to clean my office, but I just don't care at this point. I think we need two weeks for spring break. Maybe that would make it worse. Maybe I'll get back into the groove one of these days.
I went to band rehearsal last night. I had to play Josh's old clarinet since he had orchestra rehearsal last night. It is weird to play on a different clarinet. I wasn't sure of my tuning and the fingers just don't flow the same way. Oh well, it was just for one rehearsal. I can't even play at the next concert so I guess it doesn't matter.

On Sunday evening a friend and I went out to dinner. It was really nice to get out and hang out with a girlfriend. I certainly could use more girlfriends. We went to Applebee's and I had the fiesta lime chicken and a perfect margarita. It was very yummy. I hardly drink anything these days, but I do love those margaritas! I'm still watching my diet (despite the fiesta lime chicken) and I still have the 3 pounds off so that is good news. I'm not drinking cokes any more (or at least rarely) and I'm trying to not overeat. It's hard for a person that doesn't like vegetables to diet easily.

I fixed a computer problem today and just had to pat myself on the back. When my students would print extemp files (articles from news sites) the web information that usually prints at the bottom of the page would not print correctly. I went to our technical person on campus and had her try to fix the problem yesterday. She came over yesterday afternoon and tried some things and couldn't get it to work. I thought it was a driver issue so this morning, I downloaded the correct driver and installed it and wa-la! It worked. So I installed it on all my computers so the printing issue should now be fixed.

I'm tired today. I'm not used to getting up so early. I tried going to bed early last night, but I still had problems falling asleep. I kept hitting the snooze button on my alarm this morning. Well, I guess I better at least make plans for my afternoon classes. I'm still not going to grade papers right now.

A cold Easter

At least it's not snowing.... yet. Last year it snowed on Easter. It is a bit chilly out there, however. Of course my new easter dress does not have sleeves. At least I had a sweater to wear with it. Last night's Easter Vigil service was wonderful as always. You know, I have people that comment on my other Catholic blog with negative remarks telling me how my faith is a cult, etc. I guess that is their right since I don't block comments, but I think it is a shame that they feel the need to do that. I don't seek out LDS, Muslim, or Jehova Witness blogs in order to tell them that I disagree with their choice of faith. I may not agree with other's choices in matters of religion, but it is not for me to put my judgmental thoughts on them. I applaud those that have a passion for whatever faith in which they participate.

I chose to become Catholic. I know many have issues with the Catholic faith, but regardless, it was still my choice. I didn't jump into it lightly saying a little prayer and then suddenly becoming Catholic. I discerned the teachings of the Church for six months before I contacted anyone in the church. I attended church for another six months before I started RCIA. I went through another 9 months in RCIA before I officially came into full communion with the Church.

And just so you know, I love my faith and my Church. It has become a substantial part of my life, just as one's religion should. I have had my dry spells where I'm not sure if I'm doing or following God's will, but regardless I still fully participate at Mass every Sunday. I have to say overall I am much happier with my life since becoming Catholic.

So Easter is a big deal. It makes for some late nights when you participate in all the days of Holy Week, but it has been worth it. Despite the Vigil Mass lasting 2 1/2 hours, time seemed to fly by. When you have all the music, the confirmation ceremony, the renewal of the Baptismal vows, it just seems to go by quickly. I am so thankful that we have an amazing choir director that puts together wonderful music programs for us. I'm glad that I am able to participate by both playing and singing.

This morning, Josh played the clarinet and I sang with the choir. After church we went to lunch at Feldman's and now I'm home. I'm seriously thinking about a nap. I'm meeting my friend Pam later for dinner and a drink before we have to go back to work. I've been watching what I eat for a little over a week now in hopes of losing some weight. Unofficially, I may have lost about 3 pounds. I'm not totally keeping track right now, I'm just going to see how it goes. I need to add exercise soon. Maybe I'll try to add that on the days I don't have something going on in the evenings.

Well, I'm going to rest and relax for a bit and not feel too guilty about not grading papers. Maybe I'll get myself to school early tomorrow. Or maybe not.

It doesn't feel like a break to me

I'm not ready to go back to school on Monday. I've had two days at home and I haven't accomplished much other than catching up on sleep. I did do dishes today. I felt guilty that I didn't do more (and yes, I admit I'm completely lazy) but it doesn't change the fact that I hardly did anything other than watch t.v. and play on the computer. I did observe the day of fasting and abstinence. I had my big meal at lunch today. I ordered food from Feldman's. I had the catfish dinner. I went to church tonight for the Good Friday service and sang in the choir. Tomorrow I'll be playing my clarinet for the Easter Vigil service.

It's been an uneventful day. Tomorrow I have goals to get the kitchen and living at least somewhat clean. I also need to get to the store. We're out of almost everything. I hate it when that happens.

I really need to find another job besides teaching. It's probably not a good sign when you dread going back to work. It usually isn't that bad once I get back into the swing of things, but I just don't love my job and I think a person should at least enjoy what they do. Some days I do, but it's not every day. I hope I am making the right decision to pursue my master's in library science. I hate the fact that I'm almost 40 and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Well, I'm going to have a snack and some water and call it a night.

Made back in one piece

It was a very long drive yesterday. I should have had Josh help, but I did all the driving myself. We took a different route in order to avoid the DFW metroplex since we would be driving through at lunch hour. It's nice to have a little variety when you're driving that much. Thankfully I'll get to be home for at least a couple of weeks. After we got home we had to go to music rehearsal for our Holy Week services. We were there until 9:45 and then I picked up some dinner.

I slept in this morning at least until the phone rang. Now I'm not sure what to do with myself. Of course the house needs to be cleaned. I'll try to start that at some point today - or this week.

We enjoyed the visit with my friend Kirsten and being on campus. I think Josh likes the university and will probably consider it as his school. I think the composition program is exactly what he needs and it will provide with a potential future in composition. I thought the composition teacher was very personable and helpful with the information we needed. I also liked the band director. They all seemed to love the university but they understood that we had not made a firm decision and encouraged us to look at other schools so that if/when we chose SFA that it would be the best choice. The campus was very nice with several new facilities that were very impressive. So we'll see what happens. The composition teacher indicated that he doesn't take every student that applies for composition, but hopefully with Josh's experience and the recommendations that he'll receive should be accepted. I think that would be the only thing that would prevent him from going to SFA. His passion is writing music and it would be pointless to go to a school where he couldn't pursue that career.

Well, I'm going to go read some blogs, make some lunch and then see if I talk myself into doing a little cleaning.

Surprise Wireless

I didn't think I would get to post anything until Wednesday, but surprisingly, last night I found out that my computer was able to access a wireless signal. But this was at 10:00 after a very long day so I went to bed instead. This morning I have caught up on the blogs I've missed and checked my email.

I thought I'd give you some information about Nacogdoches for those of you unfamiliar with this particular Texas town. It is reported to be the oldest town in Texas. Here's the legend regarding the original settlement:

• There is a legend that tells of an old Caddo chief who lived near the Sabine River and had twin sons. When the sons grew to manhood and were ready to become leaders of their own tribes, the father sent one brother three days eastward toward the rising sun. The other brother was sent three days toward the setting sun.
• The twin who settled three days toward the setting sun was Nacogdoches. The other brother, Natchitoches, settled three days to the east in Louisiana. The two brothers remained friendly and the road between the two communities was well traveled. This road became a trade route and the eastern end of the El Camino Real.

If you remember the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster a few years ago, most of it broke up over this town. Also, this is where the Marx Brothers got their start in comedy.

So yesterday, Josh and I visited the university. We took a tour from 10-12:00. We then met with the composition teacher for about 45 minutes, the clarinet teacher for about 5 minutes, and then sat in on a band rehearsal. Afterwards, we visited with the band director for another 45 minutes. Today we are going to hear the composition teacher give a lecture on music in film and then Josh will play in the band rehearsal.

We'll be heading home tomorrow morning and will hopefully be back in time for choir rehearsal. I did get to sleep in today which was very nice. It's about time for lunch so I think I'll get my leftovers from last night's dinner at Auntie Pasta's.

Home once again

It feels so good to drive into town after a very long trip. Today's trip was very long although I made good time. It only took 8 1/2 hours including the stop for lunch. Tomorrow's trip is supposed to take 9 1/2 hours. I am going to make Josh do some of the driving. I also have to play at church at 8:30 in the morning.

The drive was uneventful. I don't care much for driving the big SUV's but I guess overall they are pretty safe. It just feels like I'm driving a tank. Parking is almost impossible. I was relieved to finally get into my car on the way home.

I've got to get some laundry started and then figure out what I'm going to do for dinner. Josh is at a friend's house right now. I'm trying to eat a little better these days in hopes of losing a little weight. I haven't been able to motivate myself much, but I've made at least some efforts in the past week now. I need to do more walking, it's just a matter of finding the time. I guess now that we have more daylight in the evenings, I don't have much of an excuse any more. Well, I'm going to get laundry started, find dinner, and then call it an early night. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to post while I'm gone so don't panic if I don't say anything for a few days. We will be getting back on Wednesday. Then Holy Week starts and I'll be playing or singing the rest of the week and weekend. So much for spring break!

Heading Home Again

Sorry I didn't post the past few days. We've had some long nights. We arrived in Cedar Park close to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. We quickly checked into the hotel then headed into Austin to register. I was told to take the toll road into Austin by the desk clerk, but I was very confused by it and ended up not paying the toll like I was supposed to. On the way back, I think I paid it correctly, but I'm still confused by it. We registered at the UT campus then went to dinner at Papasitos Mexican Cantina. It was very good food, but way too much of it. We got back around 10:00, but I only briefly checked email and read a few blogs before turning in since we were leaving at 6:45 the next morning.

We left close to 6:45 and made it back to UT on Friday. My students had to debate all day. I had to judge one round and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I get nervous about judging it sometimes because I can be so indecisive if it is a really good round. Thankfully, it was an easy decision on my part and I think I wrote a good ballot. I had cheese pizza and a salad for lunch since it was Friday and then I had only ice cream for dinner. My students went to eat after their last round before the results were announced. I stayed and read my book. After the results (they didn't break to octofinals, nor did I expect them to) we met a former student for ice cream. We walked a bit and then left for the hotel around 10:15 getting in shortly before 11:00. Again, I was too tire to post and only briefly got online.

Now it's about time to leave and drive the 8 1/2 hours back. I'm still tired. Hopefully next week I will be able to catch up on sleep for a few days. Well, I wanted to give you a quick update. I gotta go get dressed and ready to go!

One day to go

I'm supposed to have choir rehearsal in five minutes, but I think I'm going to skip. I feel totally guilty, but I just have too much to do. Rehearsal would normally take two hours. Tonight I have to go to the store to get food for Josh while I'm gone. Then I have to do laundry and pack for both my trip to Austin tomorrow and the trip to Nacogdoches on Sunday.

As soon as I got home today I had to lay down for a nap. I was still exhausted. I had strange dreams while napping. I got up thinking I would go to choir, but I just can't motivate myself to get dressed to go. I will shortly so that I can go to the store, but I've got to get some decent rest tonight since I have a 9 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow. Luckily, I don't have to get to school too early. I thought I had planned for a 1/2 day sub, but I actually will have one all day. So I'll sleep in a little tomorrow.

Well, I better get to the store so I can get everything done by tomorrow. Sorry I'm so whiny about being tired. I just need some rest and it will be another week before that happens.

Daylight Savings

SUCKS. Maybe it is because it is so early or simply the fact that I'm constantly going 100 mph, but I cannot get used to the time change yet. I could barely stay awake on the drive home today. I made supper as soon as I got home so that I wouldn't have to worry about it later. I do need to go to the store, but I think it can wait until tomorrow. I'm going to stay up for a while, but I'm definitely going to call it an early night.

School is just school right now. There's still not enough time, but hopefully I can get a lot done during the minimal break I'll have. I really don't have much to say today. I'm just tired.

Home briefly

I did get home around 5:45 this evening. I had about 30 minutes of down time until I had to go to church. I went to church then came home (briefly) and then picked up something for dinner since Josh was eating out with one of his friends. I am not ready to go back to work tomorrow. I think I need at least another day to recuperate. I will have three days this week and then head to Austin on Thursday. We'll come back on Saturday and then on Sunday Josh and I are driving to Nacogdoches. It's going to be a crazy few weeks ahead. As soon as we get back from Nacogdoches I have to play/sing at all the Holy Week church services. The following week will be our UIL district tournament on Friday. Then I'll get about two weeks off until regionals. Immediately after regionals, I'm going back to Austin for another contest on April 13.

I don't have anything to report today. The drive was uneventful except when I got back to the bus barn, I noticed that one of the tires was badly worn and probably dangerous. I'll report that to the transportation office tomorrow. I'm glad to be in a place where I can control the heat. It was freezing in the library at the school where we were. I had to go buy some tights, a sweater and a small blanket to keep me warm.
Well, I need to call it a night so that I will be able to get up for school tomorrow.

State Finalist!

I actually had a student in finals in prose at the state tournament! He placed 5th overall. It was very exciting. Of course that meant we had to come to the awards ceremony instead of going to the Magic Time Machine but it was worth it. We also won the award for the most qualifications from our region so we got a big trophy for that as well. So it was a pretty exciting day overall for us. We skipped out on the rest of the awards after we waited for the Dramatic results. We waited to find out the ranking of another student that was in finals. I felt kind of bad, but it was already 10:15 and we all had not eaten dinner yet. We went to Applebee's and had dinner and now I'm exhausted. I really hate that I lose an hour tomorrow when I'm already so tired. Oh well, we're not leaving until 10:00 tomorrow. (9:00 old time) I'll try to write more later, but I'm too tired right now.

No Breaks

The term "break" is used when a student makes it to an "out" round in competition. If they qualify for the quarter or semi-finals round then they say "I broke to quarters!" and such. Unfortunately, none of my students broke to quarters although it wasn't really expected. The competition is difficult here and they have a different style than we do in West Texas. So my kids are competing in consolation events this morning. I still have to work in the Tab room and stay through finals so they might as well stay busy.

The weather cleared up yesterday so there was no further panic. The tournament ran smoothly but today will be a little more stressful. For me, I just do my job and spend most of the time reading my book. Well, I gotta get hopping and get ready to go. It's an early morning for us. I really need to run to walmart and get me something warm. Despite the fact that it is no longer snowing, it is still cold here and where I am in the library, it is freezing. I should have brought my long johns. Should, woulda, coulda.

A surprise early night

It SNOWED (I mean really snowed) in Dallas today and everyone FREAKED OUT about it. I mean, it 's just snow people. We did start the tournament despite 4 area school dropping because my gosh it there is white stuff falling from the sky and how dare you go on with a tournament despite the other 185 schools that traveled to get there! We only had one round of debate and individual events and we were supposed to have two rounds of debate this evening. They're adjusting the schedule for tomorrow so it will be a surprise! We were able to leave by 8:30 this evening when normally we would be here until 10:30 so that was nice. We took the kids to McDonald's to eat and then got back to the hotel a little while ago. Driving today (direction-wise) was no problem. The only issue was driving in rain this morning and then slush tonight. Luckily we didn't have to be on any of the highways.

We went to the mall this morning and there wasn't a single bookstore in the mall! How dull! I did buy a shirt at Dillards and some soap at Bath and Body works. Tomorrow we are going to Borders though. Then we'll go to lunch and then back to the school at 1:30. I'm glad I have plenty of books to read. The nice thing about staying at Country Inn hotels is that they have books you can borrow and read and then turn in at another Country Inn.

Well, I'm exhausted so I'm going to head to bed and enjoy sleeping in tomorrow!

Back in the Big D

Made it safely to Lewisville and got checked into our hotel. We made good time despite stopping for dinner and a bathroom break. We left school a minute before the bell rang (oh well) and hit the road. We met Josh's group at his school and they followed us down here. We had one of those typical Dallas moments though when I was trying to get to the hotel... we could "see" where we needed to go, but just couldn't get there. We finally found the right road and checked at 11:00 this evening. I'm already in my pajamas and will be getting to bed soon. Tomorrow we have to go register around 8:30 and then I'm taking the kids to the mall for a while. We then head over to the school around 1:30 and will be there the rest of the day. Posting may be sporadic this week with the schedules, but thankfully the hotel has free wireless and it's fast.
Well, that's all for now, the bed is calling my name!

Not ready at all

I haven't even started packing. I left school right at 4:00 and went to the bank to cash the meal money check for our trip. Then I had to come home to get my voter registration card and find out where I was supposed to vote. I did that and then took my car to my dad's shop. He said it was fine but a few things need to be done at some point. Then I went to the mall and got my hair cut. I stopped at Penny's briefly and got Josh a new tie and dress shirt. Then I stopped at Walmart to pick up some things. I had to run by Josh's speech teacher's house to drop of stuff for goody bags for the team. I also made goody baskets for my team. I didn't get home until after 8:00 and then at 9:00 I took Josh back to walmart because they had a suit jacket and pants that I thought would fit him. We picked those up so he would have another suit for the tournament. I just put some clothes in the dryer and have to wait for those so I can get my packing done. But now I need to go get the packing started so I can get to bed at a decent hour. With testing tomorrow and not being able to leave until 3:45, we're going to get into Dallas late. It's going to be a whirlwind weekend followed by another one next weekend. It's just crazy this time of year.
I started this two hours ago... then got busy with other things... now I'm going to bed.

If you don't like the weather...

...just hang around for a few minutes and it will change. At least that is our motto here in the Texas panhandle. Last night the winds came in with great velocity and it started snowing around 8:30 p.m. This morning it was pretty much the same thing. It took me an HOUR to get to school. The roads were snow/ice packed and the blowing snow made visibility almost impossible at times. I drove at most about 35 mph. I got to school about 5 minutes before the first bell rang. I did wear long johns and extra shirts today. By the time I left school, however, the day was clear and the snow was pretty much gone. Tomorrow it is supposed to get in the 60's.

So I came home and made dinner. And I really made it. I cooked fried chicken strips from scratch. (Just don't count the mac and cheese that we ate with it.) Tonight I have band rehearsal. Tomorrow I've got to pack for our trip and get a million things done. I'm trying to stay caught up on grading, but I keep giving assignments so I think I should just quit that.

My brother had surgery today. They repaired his collarbone (at least made it so it will heal properly) and put a tube in his lung to help it re-inflate properly. The doctor said everything went well and he was in recovery the last I talked to my dad. I'll try to go visit him again tomorrow before I leave for state on Wednesday. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

I can't believe the weekend is over

Time sure flies even when you're not necessarily having fun. I had the intention to sleep in this morning, but it didn't work. I was up earlier than I expected, so I got up and worked on my websites. I played at church at 11:15 and then headed to the hospital. I got on the highway before I realized that Josh needed the clarinet so I had to turn around and bring it back home. I got to the hospital around 1:30 and then visited with my brother for an hour. My sister was there as well as my dad. He seems to be doing well given the circumstances. He did get up and stand for a bit today. Last I heard he was going to have surgery to repair the collar bone and help it heal better and faster. His collapsed lung is healing itself.

After visiting my brother and family for an hour I went to a community band meeting. That lasted about two hours and then I came home and made supper. I was starving since I didn't have time to eat lunch. At least it's a short week at school. I have two regular class days and then testing on Wednesday. We're leaving immediately after school on Wednesday to go to Dallas for our state tournament.

Well, I've got more work to do so I better get busy so I can get to bed at a decent hour.

Prayers requested

My brother injured himself today. He's a typical guy that loves his toys and while out riding his four-wheeler today he had a wreck. He has a broken collar-bone, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He's in the hospital right now and will be there for a few days for observation. Prayers and good thoughts for his recovery would be greatly appreciated.

I went to my reunion meeting tonight and we talked for three hours. I'm in charge of the book (obviously) as well as a website and the name tags. I also have to get some of the ads for the book, but there are some others that will hopefully help with that. Today I went to Amarillo to get some additional book pricing, then went to Hobby Lobby and got some beads for another rosary, and then treated myself to lunch at Taco Villa. I came home and did some work on the computer and then went to the meeting.

Tomorrow I'm playing at church and our new Bishop will be there. I was going to go to the sausage dinner, but I'm going to go up to the hospital to see my brother instead. Then I have to go to a band meeting at 3:00. Well, I better get busy on our class reunion website. No, I haven't learned to say the word "no" yet.