Good news all around

My dad called yesterday and said that he'd be able to loan me the money to pay off my credit card and sell me his car. I won't get the money for my card until January but that's not a big deal since I wasn't planning to start paying him until then. He just financed a truck that he bought and I guess it's good timing because he can use the money I'll be paying him to make those payments. So woooo hoooo!

I have been needing to update my anti-virus software for some time. It keeps popping up with those annoying reminders that it's out of date. Josh's computer has needed updating as well; I just didn't want to shell out the cash to pay for two copies of software. Josh and I went to Best Buy tonight so I could get an ink cartridge for my printer. Of course you can't go to Best Buy and just get one thing and leave. You have to browse a little. I was checking out the prices of anti-virus software and found that the 39.99 McAfee program was on sale for 9.99. And it wasn't even one of those sales where you only get the discount after sending in a rebate. It was truly $30 off. So I bought two copies and so we should be set. I'm going to install it shortly.

I'm trying to get plans done for the rest of the semester. It seems that time is just flying by. I am sooooo ready for Thanksgiving break. I really, really, really need to get my house clean. I am so embarrassed by it right now. It's to the point that even when I have time to clean I don't want to because I don't have enough time to get it all done.

I am happy to report that my students exceeded their fundraising goal by $705 raising a total of $3905. I am also thrilled that all my receipts matched up as well. I wanted to respond to WC_Motley's comment a while back regarding fundraising. Yes, it is indeed sad that the kids are burdened with fundraising. We do get some money budgeted for the year, but it's not nearly enough to cover the expenses of going to as many tournaments as we do. Sure, we could go to fewer tournaments, but then they wouldn't have the success that they do. Of course, if we were the football team, we wouldn't have to worry about such things. I'm not going to say that football and other sports are bad. They are very worthwhile in most respects, but honestly, I think that speech competition is something that will help students more than anything else. The skills involved in tournament competition hold no comparision to those on the field. While learning to work as a team is important, the ability to communicate ideas clearly, research, organize thoughts, manage time, and build a great deal of confidence are crucial to success in the real world. I have seen students that are barely able to speak a clear thought when they begin and they begin to come out of the shell, work hard and improve each week. And yet there's simply not enough money to fund that. Luckily, the community is very supportive and they've come through for the students. They may have raised more money through this fundraiser than that will in their speech tournament in January. By the way... any locals reading that want to judge on January 27... let me know!!!

Well, I guess that's enough for tonight. I finally decided to watch Dancing with the Stars to see what all the hoopla is about. It's actually quite entertaining and I'm sorry I missed the rest of the season.