The Graduate

Well, my boy has graduated from high school. I can't believe he'll be going off to college in just a few months. The graduation ceremony wasn't as emotional as the band concert. We were able to grab Josh afterward for a few pictures and then he had to go say his good-byes to friends. He came home briefly and then headed to the all-night graduation party at the school.
My aunt, uncle, brother, cousin and a friend of theirs came to the ceremony. We all went out to dinner beforehand. The ceremony lasted a little over an hour. No major speakers other than the top two graduates and the superintendent.
Josh slept most of the day yesterday and then headed out for a group speech party and then hung out with friends. He's getting ready to leave for Austin this morning for the state UIL solo & ensemble meet. He'll be back on Tuesday. Then he'll work for a few days before we head out to Birmingham for Nationals. It's going to be a busy summer!
The appraiser came on Friday but I'm not sure if the house will be approved due to the peeling paint on the exterior. If not, I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to fix the issues. I do plan to paint the exterior, but it was going to be later in the summer once I get through school stuff and nationals. I still have school this week. We have three days of semester testing and then a work day on Thursday. We're supposed to be at graduation on Friday, but I'll be driving to Dallas for one of my classes.
Today after church I'm going to the school to get work done. There just isn't enough time to get through everything. I have to grade a million papers still, look through completed yearbook pages, create semester tests for interp and debate.
Well, I've got to get some laundry done and get ready for church. The house is clean, though. I did get finished with it for the most part. Of course it is never 100% but maybe one of these days I'll get there.

Still cleaning

Will it ever end? I planned to get some work done yesterday after getting home but was miserable with allergies. My trip to Austin was fine but it seemed like I was gone too long. I did get to see a couple of my friends from high school which was great. I did a lot of walking while there but I did a lot of eating too. Maybe it will balance out in the end. I'm still perpetually behind with everything but one of these days I suppose I'll catch up. I have company coming tomorrow. My aunt and uncle are coming in for Josh's graduation which is on Friday. My sister will also be coming but she's staying with my brother.
I spent this evening cleaning the guest bedroom and I finally mopped the kitchen. I have a few more things to do, but the house is generally clean - well as clean as it's going to get right now. I think the appraisal will happen sometime next week so I might get a little more done this weekend. I have some new curtains to hang but they need to be shortened. I have material to make more curtains so we'll see if that gets done. I still need to do some cleaning outside.
Well it's now midnight so I should probably get to bed.

Cleaning Machine

I started in depth cleaning last night but got a late start due to car issues. It was making a very funny noise so I called my brother about it. I took it out the the shop and he determined it was the air conditioner clutch. He removed a part and told me what to order so now I don't have air conditioning, but at least the engine isn't squealing. So I continued cleaning - vacuuming all the cobwebs, cleaning the shelves and brick by the fireplace sweeping etc. I did that until about 1:00 a.m. Then I was up again at 6:30 a.m. going at it again. I really shouldn't leave things until the last minute - but I typically do better work under pressure. I went to the grocery store at 7:30 this morning to get laundry detergent (and donuts) and then went to Sonic for a large coke. I got the living room done and almost the kitchen and entry way. I really just need to clear stuff and then mop the kitchen and entry way and I'll be done with those rooms. In about 45 minutes I need to take a shower and then go back to the store to get stuff for Josh's after prom party. Then I have to go to the school and leave my sub plans for Tuesday. After that, I'll have to go to Mass tonight since I'm leaving for Austin early tomorrow morning. Then I have to continue cleaning. I have to tackle Josh's bathroom (disgusting) and the spare bedroom. My room is still pretty clean other than needing to vacuum and put a few things away.
Why am I doing all this you ask? (O.k. maybe you didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway.) The appraisal on the house will probably happen sometime next week. Since I'll be gone until Tuesday evening, I have no other time to do all this. Also, I have family coming in next week for Josh's graduation. My aunt & uncle and my sister are coming in from Albuquerque. My brother will attend as well. My dad can't come since he had to go to Mississippi for a job.
Well, I've taken long enough of a break. I better get back to work.

Well, I still like getting flowers

I received these today from one of my eharmony matches. It is the guy in Seattle that I'm not very sure about. But the card was nice - he just said he thought they would brighten my day and that he thought is was great that I was a teacher and in school and work so hard. So it was a nice gesture, but I kind of feel bad because the attraction isn't really there for me, but I do like chatting with him.

Tonight we went out to dinner with a friend of mine. It was nice to visit with her. Then I had to go to Amarillo to pick up a check for the Nationals t-shirts that I'm ordering. I then came home and watched American Idol which was a fantastic show tonight. They had a lot of big name performers. I was a little surprised that Adam didn't win but I thought they were both very good though I still think Adam has the edge in terms of talent. I'm sure Adam will get signed with a record label though.

I think I upset Marty tonight. I probably should have kept my mouth shut like I usually do, but sometimes you can't help it I guess. He's having a bad week and I made him feel bad about some things though I didn't mean to. I know he still feels bad about hurting me but I'm honestly over it. I don't want him back in that respect. I want to be his friend and I will stay his friend but it hurts me that he cannot be happy. I know I can't make him happy, nor do I want to go there, but when you see someone hurting you want to help. But I'm tired of coddling him when he's being stupid. He's still in love with his ex though he would say he just still has feeling for her. I think she is not good for him, uses him, and can never love him but they remain close as friends. And he can't let go of her. And he's miserable. If I thought that he could go back to her and they could be happy, I would wish him he best. And it's not that I don't like her. I thought she was personable when I met her, but she knows that she's got Marty wrapped around her little finger and if she needs something, he comes running. Well, no use for me to dwell on it. I apologized to him, but I still feel bad about some of the things I said though I think I was being truthful. I didn't tell him these things but I said enough.

Well, I need to go to bed. It's been a busy day.

Updates

This is a picture of Josh and I at the band banquet last Friday. Josh received the John Phillip Sousa Award which is the highest honor one can receive. Band has been amazing for him. He also received two scholarships. He received a $500 scholarship and a $300 scholarship. The latter was from the family of the former drum major that was tragically killed in the fall. One of the pieces that the band is playing at their final concert is one he wrote in her memory. The community band that I'm in is also playing another one of his pieces that he wrote. I couldn't be more proud of him.

We thought that he wasn't going to get any music scholarships from SFA because of being a composition major. We got a nice surprise last week with an offer of $4000 ($500 a semester) as a scholarship for auditioning for one of the major ensembles. Now we're getting close to having his first year fully covered. We're taking out one loan right now but hopefully that's all we'll have to do. Tonight is a scholarship ceremony so we'll see if he gets any additional scholarships.

Leann asked about my eharmony experience. Well, there's not a whole lot more to tell. I've communicated regularly with a guy in Seattle who is sending me something in the mail. Unfortunately, I don't think he's a potential candidate. He's probably a bit too conservative for me. He's an actual 40 year old virgin which concerns me. I know it's noble to have waited until marriage, but it makes me wonder why he's still single. Is that bad? There's more to it, but it's difficult to put into words. There's a couple of other guys I've gotten to the level of open communication, but nobody close by. I chatted with with one guy from Houston last night. He's originally from Peru but now lives in Houston and is a bilingual Kindergarten teacher. A plus is that he's Catholic. The one I'm most interested in doesn't respond very often, and I thought he'd written me off, but he did write this past weekend. He lives near Dallas, is Catholic and loves rollercoasters. He's a graphic artist and very tall. Two guys locally have started the process of communication but they haven't gone to the next level in several days. Mostly eharmony seems to be a lot of mismatching, waiting around, and no dates have come out of yet. I'll give it a little more time since I have a three month subscription, but so far there's not a whole lot of action.

Well, I'm going to have another slice of pizza and then perhaps and ice cream.

Good News

My home loan was approved! Now I have to get through an appraisal and closing and then I can start working on the house! Woo Hoo!

I also got a nice surprise today. One of the counselors sent me a very nice (and large) plant today. She sent it as a thank you for the work I did on the "H" awards. I printed all the certificates and organized all the lists for it.

I'm still not sure about the whole eharmony thing. There's finally a local match that has contacted me so we'll see how that turns out... we're still only in stage "3" right and I'm waiting for him to answer the last set of questions I sent. The one I was originally interested in hasn't written me back in several days.

I have to meet a yearbook deadline tomorrow and I don't think I'll make it. Well, I get some pages submitted, but not 136 of them.

Now I think it's time for bed. I didn't get anything accomplished that I wanted to tonight.

FYI

If you are on eharmony, don't brag about your intelligence on your profile if cannot spell the word "intelligence." Case in point:

The one thing so-in-so (name changed to protect the not so innocent) wishes MORE people would notice about him is:

• How giving I am and my intillence
  

I was going to let this slide thinking it was just a typo. But then there was this:

One thing that only so-in-so's best friends know is:

• How giving and how passionate I am. My intillect

Also - don't try to tell me you're retired construction engineer and have a Master's degree if you cannot write in what is remotely close to proper English. Case in point:

I am a Retired Construction Engineer but still involved in consultancy works for firms,also am a prospective Entrepreneur about starting my own fabric/Textile business,i already had my first degree in Civil Engineering..I worked with few Construction companies and have held various positions and in the course of my work i have travel led to so many countries and i must say it very good to have being exposed to the world and become more aware of happening and places around the world.i had Masters from the Alabama State university in Business Administration to fortify me for my new business line and since 2006 i started putting things together for my business.

Why, why, why am I a freak magnet?

I'm Disgusting

I mean that - literally. I've spent the last four hours cleaning the garage. (I know, Summer, you're in shock.) Now I didn't totally clean out the garage, but it's clean in general. I still need to go through stuff on the shelves but I'll get to that eventually. I also still have tons of laundry to get through, but at least I'm getting there.
O.k. I have a confession to make to all of you. I joined eharmony. I don't know why exactly because I really hate the process of weeding through the freaks and I still typically attract a lot of weirdos. I'm in conversation with a few people that in general seem o.k. but still not quite what I'm looking for. Perhaps my standards are still too high, but they're either too religious or not enough. They are into sports, hunting, fishing and stuff. Or they cannot write. At all. Most that have contacted me live far away. There's Seattle, Orlando, Houston, Casper, and Tulsa. There's one that I'm actually interested in, but he seems a bit aloof. I'm waiting to see if he responds to my first open communication or not. Well, I got a discount for a 3 month subscription so we'll see what happens - but I still don't expect much. At least it might make so good blog fodder. I know I've been a very bad blogger lately. I'll try to do better.
Yesterday I had dinner with my ex-husband. He's in town recovering from a motorcycle accident. He broke his arm and had surgery on it and cannot work for several weeks. He's staying at his mom's house. I rescued him yesterday as he had had enough of his mom's husband, John. We had a nice visit.
I'm really tired after all the cleaning. I may decide to take a quick nap. My nose is running from all the dust and stuff. But if I take a nap, I might not get much done when I get up. Well maybe I'll go eat something first.

The light?

I hope there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just finished my final in one of my grad school classes. Now all I have to do is finish one journal entry in the other course and I'll be done with grad school this semester. I do have to decide whether or not I want to take a class this summer or not.

I finished the paperwork I needed to get the loan on the house. Now it will be submitted and I should have a decision about it sometime next week. The plan is to close around June 5. I still have to get a lot of cleaning done but at least I have this weekend free now. Originally I was supposed to be heading to state but it was postponed due to swine flu.

I still have a million things to deal with at school. The yearbook has to be finished in a month and its not even close. I have to plan a UIL reception, end of year speech banquet, and continue to teach four different classes each day. Let's not forget the fact that I'll be gone for three days at the end of the month for state. Oh, I also need to meet with my principal about the budget and place some orders on items needed for next year (pending his approval).

On a positive note, we played Josh's piece in band on Monday night. It looks like we will get to play it on our final concert which is very exciting. Another piece is being played by his high school band and will be played and their final concert. He was also featured in an article in the yearbook this year which was pretty awesome as well.