Minuses:
- It's foggy and the forecast for today predicted sun. We've had sun most of the week while work kept me indoors, so it's a downer to have a dreary weekend when I'd have time to enjoy pleasant sunshine.
- My afternoon will be spent with someone who takes great joy in belittling others and making people feel guilty and miserable.
Plusses:
- I still have half a box of authentic Belgian chocolates left. Hoarding is a Very Good Thing!
- My urging to reinstate a Writing Lab at school seems to have paid off. One more approval is needed and then we'll be able to set up a space where English teachers can give support, advice and assistance to students who want or need help completing writing assignments. With so many students shunning hard copy resources and using the library as a place to access computers for research, very few if any machines remain available for word processing. Judging from the low writing scores on recent broad-based tests, students need more individualized instruction and guidance in using their own language, and this Lab will provide that opportunity. Hooray!
- Next school year I'll be relieved from the assignment of teaching the yahoos (Hallelujah!!!!), and I'll be allowed to return to teaching one section of the middle level sophomores instead, as I did four years ago, along with Brit. Lit., Creative Writing, and World Lit. I'm still the only staff member in this department who teaches four different courses, and next year there won't even be one duplication (two sections of a course) as I have with World Lit. this year, but that's fine. It's easier to keep them straight, I've taught them all before, and I won't feel like I'm repeating myself to the second section of a course that meets later in the day. The way it looks now, the total number of students in my class load will be a few higher than this year, but we're still blessed with totals smaller than those at some other area schools.
- Three weeks from now I'll be in France!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
March Madness
Not only are the college basketball playoffs in full swing (and you know they're on the Big Screen many hours a day here), but the weather is playing its weird March games again. Mild temperatures have been blown away by the icy wind, making the air feel at least 15 degrees colder than the thermometer shows. While the front zoomed through, we had snow in the air, and at one point I had a hard time seeing the trees in the front yard when I looked out the window. Now, an hour or so later, the sun is shining brightly again. This happens often just after the calendar declares that Spring has arrived. What a sense of humor ol' Mother Nature has!
Two poinsettia plants in my dining room are refusing to die. It's not that I want them to, but I expect them to. Most years, the plants get spindly, drop their leaves, and wither back by early February. This pair, one brought by Sis2 and the other purchased by me locally, is defying the odds by continuing to produce green leaves that turn that odd red/green combination, and then they turn that lovely deep red. I suppose I could be taking better and more consistent care of them this year than I usually do, but it feels like I'm giving them the same kind of benign neglect that's typical of my indoor horticultural habits: water the plants once a week if I remember to do it. Maybe this pair has within their genes the stamina needed to endure my style of care, and their lengthy life is my reward. What a nice thought.
While I was shopping yesterday, I ran into my department chair. Even though we both acknowledged that we were "off-duty," she gave me some good news about next year. There's been the request for teachers of a particular grade level to look at the class rosters for next year's classes to ensure that no large collection of unmanageable or troubled kids are lumped into one class again. 'Bout time! Another pleasant possibility is the return to a Writing Lab (or Writing Center, the name doesn't really matter) that's staffed by English teachers to assist students in working on their writing and completing their writing assignments, regardless of which discipline assigned the work. We had one when we first moved into the current building, but to allow for more sections in each grade level, English teachers were pulled out of that program and the Writing Center was closed. Now, we're seeing the drastic need for remediation and support in improving the writing skills that our students demonstrated in the last round of state-wide testing, and a Writing Lab would certainly help. We've had good success with a Math Lab for similar purposes over the past couple of years, so the time seems to be ripe for a Writing Lab. I don't know yet what that'll do to our teaching/study hall schedule, partly because there's a proposal to move all study halls into the cafeteria, and supervision would change, but I think it's a step in the right direction for the kids who need direct help during school time to get their writing tasks finished with increasing quality.
My sisters in law showed up unexpectedly at my door yesterday afternoon to deliver some goodies to my husband, their brother, for his birthday which is today. They tied some helium balloons to our mailbox, as they have for the past couple of years, and they had a small collection of reprints of old family photos to give to him. Of course, he was out on a run, so I chatted with them for a while before they were off on their travels again. (I think all the siblings have some form of wanderlust) He's been given a number of family pictures, so that inspired me to purchase a digital picture frame for him as his big birthday gift. I'll scan in the pictures and save them to an SD card, and then he'll have them in one place, viewable in the frame. It'll take a little time to gather the pictures and scan them, but I think the result will be quite worthwhile.
Bailey's Irish Cream.....mmmmmm! It's one thing that makes Sunday late afternoon easy to take.
Two poinsettia plants in my dining room are refusing to die. It's not that I want them to, but I expect them to. Most years, the plants get spindly, drop their leaves, and wither back by early February. This pair, one brought by Sis2 and the other purchased by me locally, is defying the odds by continuing to produce green leaves that turn that odd red/green combination, and then they turn that lovely deep red. I suppose I could be taking better and more consistent care of them this year than I usually do, but it feels like I'm giving them the same kind of benign neglect that's typical of my indoor horticultural habits: water the plants once a week if I remember to do it. Maybe this pair has within their genes the stamina needed to endure my style of care, and their lengthy life is my reward. What a nice thought.
While I was shopping yesterday, I ran into my department chair. Even though we both acknowledged that we were "off-duty," she gave me some good news about next year. There's been the request for teachers of a particular grade level to look at the class rosters for next year's classes to ensure that no large collection of unmanageable or troubled kids are lumped into one class again. 'Bout time! Another pleasant possibility is the return to a Writing Lab (or Writing Center, the name doesn't really matter) that's staffed by English teachers to assist students in working on their writing and completing their writing assignments, regardless of which discipline assigned the work. We had one when we first moved into the current building, but to allow for more sections in each grade level, English teachers were pulled out of that program and the Writing Center was closed. Now, we're seeing the drastic need for remediation and support in improving the writing skills that our students demonstrated in the last round of state-wide testing, and a Writing Lab would certainly help. We've had good success with a Math Lab for similar purposes over the past couple of years, so the time seems to be ripe for a Writing Lab. I don't know yet what that'll do to our teaching/study hall schedule, partly because there's a proposal to move all study halls into the cafeteria, and supervision would change, but I think it's a step in the right direction for the kids who need direct help during school time to get their writing tasks finished with increasing quality.
My sisters in law showed up unexpectedly at my door yesterday afternoon to deliver some goodies to my husband, their brother, for his birthday which is today. They tied some helium balloons to our mailbox, as they have for the past couple of years, and they had a small collection of reprints of old family photos to give to him. Of course, he was out on a run, so I chatted with them for a while before they were off on their travels again. (I think all the siblings have some form of wanderlust) He's been given a number of family pictures, so that inspired me to purchase a digital picture frame for him as his big birthday gift. I'll scan in the pictures and save them to an SD card, and then he'll have them in one place, viewable in the frame. It'll take a little time to gather the pictures and scan them, but I think the result will be quite worthwhile.
Bailey's Irish Cream.....mmmmmm! It's one thing that makes Sunday late afternoon easy to take.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Pet peeve
The apostrophe is not a large mark of punctuation, but it is a significant one, and so many people, some of them highly intelligent, can not, will not, or do not use it correctly.
I have one friend who just does not use apostrophes so he never has to worry about misusing them. I'd rather (or I would rather) that happen than the opposite: people salting and peppering their writing with unnecessary, unwanted, and confusing apostrophes.
it's always means "it is." its always means "belonging to it."
who's means "who is." whose means "belonging to who."
etc.
The only situation in which an apostrophe is used to make something plural (indicate more than one) is when the thing being made plural is not a word. Example: He received two B's on his report card.
boys = more than one boy
boy's = belonging to one boy
boys' = belonging to more than one boy
Scott Jones - Scott Jones' book or Scott Jones's book
the house belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Jones = the Joneses' house
Yeah, okay, call me a nitpicker and an elitist because I think the incorrect use of this part of the language says something about the user. Just remember that when the wrong form of a word is used, the meaning can change to something NOT meant or intended.
*sigh*
I have one friend who just does not use apostrophes so he never has to worry about misusing them. I'd rather (or I would rather) that happen than the opposite: people salting and peppering their writing with unnecessary, unwanted, and confusing apostrophes.
it's always means "it is." its always means "belonging to it."
who's means "who is." whose means "belonging to who."
etc.
The only situation in which an apostrophe is used to make something plural (indicate more than one) is when the thing being made plural is not a word. Example: He received two B's on his report card.
boys = more than one boy
boy's = belonging to one boy
boys' = belonging to more than one boy
Scott Jones - Scott Jones' book or Scott Jones's book
the house belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Jones = the Joneses' house
Yeah, okay, call me a nitpicker and an elitist because I think the incorrect use of this part of the language says something about the user. Just remember that when the wrong form of a word is used, the meaning can change to something NOT meant or intended.
*sigh*
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Trippin'
About a month from now I'll be leaving for a trip to parts of France. Rather than make the arrangements myself and go alone, I've decided to travel with a small group, the leader being a friend and traveler to France on several previous occasions. I'd decided to take this trip before the financial situation became so unstable, so I'd put away some funds toward it, but I still feel a little like a spendthrift by going through with my plans. Ah well, no turning back. In fact, I'm looking forward to experiencing part of the world that I've only seen in pictures.
The specific details in the itinerary will change, as they usually do, but the general destinations are as follows:
Friday, April 17 = Fly from Boston, overnight, to Paris and on to Nice.
Saturday, 18 = Enjoy Cote d'Azur and the beach
Sunday, 19 = Enjoy Cannes, Nice, Cimiez, St. Paul de Vence, the old town and/or beach
Monday, 20 = Visit Eze and the residence of the Grimaldi family in Monaco; more time on the Riviera beach
Tuesday, 21 = Drive to Aix-en-Provence, through Camargue to Augues-Mortes and Provence
Wednesday, 22 = Nimes and the Roman history of the area including the Arena and Avignon; travel to Paris via the TGV (Europe's fastest train)
Thursday, 23 = Guided sightseeing tour of Paris' most famous sites: Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors. Ride the Seine by boat to see Paris lights in the evening.
Friday, 24 = Optional tour of Chartres Cathedral or exploration time. Afternoon is a Walking Tour with our group through the Louvre. Optional fancy dinner.
Saturday, 25 = Fly home, Paris to Boston.
I won't be rested after this vacation, but that's the point: I want to see and do and absorb as much as I can of this part of France because it's unlikely I'll return. My friend Jim will give us some options to see places he's found interesting on his past visits, and that's the charm of going with someone who knows an area fairly well. We'll have Sunday to recover, somewhat, and that's enough for me. I'm gathering cameras, cellphone (and checking out Verizon's Global program for the month of April), and clothing that will do double and triple duty so I can be under the luggage weight requirements on the way over. Then I'll have room for a few souvenirs :)
The sun is out and the front porch is calling me....
The specific details in the itinerary will change, as they usually do, but the general destinations are as follows:
Friday, April 17 = Fly from Boston, overnight, to Paris and on to Nice.
Saturday, 18 = Enjoy Cote d'Azur and the beach
Sunday, 19 = Enjoy Cannes, Nice, Cimiez, St. Paul de Vence, the old town and/or beach
Monday, 20 = Visit Eze and the residence of the Grimaldi family in Monaco; more time on the Riviera beach
Tuesday, 21 = Drive to Aix-en-Provence, through Camargue to Augues-Mortes and Provence
Wednesday, 22 = Nimes and the Roman history of the area including the Arena and Avignon; travel to Paris via the TGV (Europe's fastest train)
Thursday, 23 = Guided sightseeing tour of Paris' most famous sites: Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors. Ride the Seine by boat to see Paris lights in the evening.
Friday, 24 = Optional tour of Chartres Cathedral or exploration time. Afternoon is a Walking Tour with our group through the Louvre. Optional fancy dinner.
Saturday, 25 = Fly home, Paris to Boston.
I won't be rested after this vacation, but that's the point: I want to see and do and absorb as much as I can of this part of France because it's unlikely I'll return. My friend Jim will give us some options to see places he's found interesting on his past visits, and that's the charm of going with someone who knows an area fairly well. We'll have Sunday to recover, somewhat, and that's enough for me. I'm gathering cameras, cellphone (and checking out Verizon's Global program for the month of April), and clothing that will do double and triple duty so I can be under the luggage weight requirements on the way over. Then I'll have room for a few souvenirs :)
The sun is out and the front porch is calling me....
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Found!
Sis2 and I are coping with our mother's increasing dementia that's exhibiting itself in the forms of hallucinations at night that people are getting into her apartment, sleeping there, using the toilet, and moving her possessions around, and she's so sure that one of the people is someone who works there that she's accused him, in public, of being in her apartment, much to his utter chagrin. There is no evidence that any of this is true, and mother has excuses as to why no evidence can be gathered. Even someone staying in her apartment with her wouldn't help because the people would know and would wait until the invited visitor was gone. A camera wouldn't work because the people are too quick and her camera is too slow, and besides, he'd probably take it and break it anyway. Etc, etc. That issue is the most troublesome because of her accusations, so we're on the case to keep her from being immediately shipped off in a white straitjacket.
A shortcoming that's bothered me for several years is her unawareness of chronology or length of time. Even when my dad was alive and I'd go with them to a doctor's appointment, they'd be asked how long something had been happening or when it began, and many times she'd provide an answer that was very inaccurate or just plain wrong. At first I'd speak up as tactfully as I knew how to provide what I knew to be the correct information, but that made for some nasty times. Eventually I learned to determine if the inaccurate information was crucial or just a point of interest and to very quietly provide the correction when she wasn't focused on me. This still happens, and her physician knows to check with me out of the corner of his eye when he asks her a crucial question that needs an accurate response. Socially, I'm not there to do it for her, so some of the folks at the community where she lives realize that she gets confused about time order. She chalks it up to "the stroke" which she may or may not have had, or at least to "something not working right in my brain." At least she acknowledges that her brain isn't working the way it used to.
One of the ways in which mother admits, however, that her faculties are diminishing is her inability to remember things. People's names, adjectives, numbers, some generic nouns, kinds of cars that her kids drive... they're either gone or they surface hours or even days later. She gets frustrated when the word isn't accessible, and mostly she's thankful when someone can fill in a word that seems to be what she intended to say. Here's the thing: I, too, have times when I can't come up with the right word, one I know but can't find. The other day my second period seniors had to help me find the word "quarantine" when all I could come up with was "medical isolation." I get that way when I'm on medication (Percocet is NOT my friend) or when I'm tired, and this week my brain is tired.
Between the "Mom issues," some nights when I keep waking up because the bedroom is too warm (the mister sometimes gets over-enthusiastic with the wood stove), and the time change to Daylight Savings Time, I haven't slept well at all this past week. I felt better on Thursday after a really solid 6 1/2 hours of restful sleep....until that afternoon when I made a discovery: I couldn't find my ATM card. The last time I remembered using it was to buy $10 of gas on the way home from visiting my mother. I recalled swiping the card and putting it in my coat pocket as I pumped the fuel into my car. I checked my long down coat which I was sure I'd worn, my wool peacoat, my pants pockets, my purse, my wallet, the car seat and console... nothing. I checked again. And again on Friday, everywhere that I could have put it if I'd pulled it out of my pocket before coming home. Nothing. I checked my bank balance online to be sure that it hadn't been used, and I was relieved to see it hadn't. This morning I called the station where I'd pumped gas to ask if an ATM card had been turned in, but the one they had found bore a man's name. Either I'd have to call the bank, tell them I'd lost it, ask for a new one, and transfer my money to another account in the same bank to be able to use it via ATM card, or I'd have to find the card somehow. I began to feel the frustration that my mother must feel on a daily basis.
A friend and I drove to the state university today for a pole vault clinic, and we commiserated about our aging parents, our new awareness of annuities, mutual funds, and retirment funds, and our love of traveling to new places where a friend or connection could help steer us to the cool, funky, fascinating parts of the area that guide books often overlook. Arriving back at home, in early afternoon, I realized that being surrounded by daylight gave me a much clearer perspective, so I breathed in some fresh outdoor air, opened the front door to let the sunlight in, and I cleared my mind. Where hadn't I looked for the ATM card? I emptied my book bag...not there. I went into the livingroom and sat down, straightening the black cowboy boots sitting by the sofa (yes, a touch of OCD), when suddenly I remembered: I'd worn them on Wednesday because it was rainy, and....I'D WORN MY RAINCOAT! Bingo! There in my olive green London Fog coat pocket was... my ATM card. :))
FOUND!
(Now, if only we could help my mother find the solution to her situation as easily!)
A shortcoming that's bothered me for several years is her unawareness of chronology or length of time. Even when my dad was alive and I'd go with them to a doctor's appointment, they'd be asked how long something had been happening or when it began, and many times she'd provide an answer that was very inaccurate or just plain wrong. At first I'd speak up as tactfully as I knew how to provide what I knew to be the correct information, but that made for some nasty times. Eventually I learned to determine if the inaccurate information was crucial or just a point of interest and to very quietly provide the correction when she wasn't focused on me. This still happens, and her physician knows to check with me out of the corner of his eye when he asks her a crucial question that needs an accurate response. Socially, I'm not there to do it for her, so some of the folks at the community where she lives realize that she gets confused about time order. She chalks it up to "the stroke" which she may or may not have had, or at least to "something not working right in my brain." At least she acknowledges that her brain isn't working the way it used to.
One of the ways in which mother admits, however, that her faculties are diminishing is her inability to remember things. People's names, adjectives, numbers, some generic nouns, kinds of cars that her kids drive... they're either gone or they surface hours or even days later. She gets frustrated when the word isn't accessible, and mostly she's thankful when someone can fill in a word that seems to be what she intended to say. Here's the thing: I, too, have times when I can't come up with the right word, one I know but can't find. The other day my second period seniors had to help me find the word "quarantine" when all I could come up with was "medical isolation." I get that way when I'm on medication (Percocet is NOT my friend) or when I'm tired, and this week my brain is tired.
Between the "Mom issues," some nights when I keep waking up because the bedroom is too warm (the mister sometimes gets over-enthusiastic with the wood stove), and the time change to Daylight Savings Time, I haven't slept well at all this past week. I felt better on Thursday after a really solid 6 1/2 hours of restful sleep....until that afternoon when I made a discovery: I couldn't find my ATM card. The last time I remembered using it was to buy $10 of gas on the way home from visiting my mother. I recalled swiping the card and putting it in my coat pocket as I pumped the fuel into my car. I checked my long down coat which I was sure I'd worn, my wool peacoat, my pants pockets, my purse, my wallet, the car seat and console... nothing. I checked again. And again on Friday, everywhere that I could have put it if I'd pulled it out of my pocket before coming home. Nothing. I checked my bank balance online to be sure that it hadn't been used, and I was relieved to see it hadn't. This morning I called the station where I'd pumped gas to ask if an ATM card had been turned in, but the one they had found bore a man's name. Either I'd have to call the bank, tell them I'd lost it, ask for a new one, and transfer my money to another account in the same bank to be able to use it via ATM card, or I'd have to find the card somehow. I began to feel the frustration that my mother must feel on a daily basis.
A friend and I drove to the state university today for a pole vault clinic, and we commiserated about our aging parents, our new awareness of annuities, mutual funds, and retirment funds, and our love of traveling to new places where a friend or connection could help steer us to the cool, funky, fascinating parts of the area that guide books often overlook. Arriving back at home, in early afternoon, I realized that being surrounded by daylight gave me a much clearer perspective, so I breathed in some fresh outdoor air, opened the front door to let the sunlight in, and I cleared my mind. Where hadn't I looked for the ATM card? I emptied my book bag...not there. I went into the livingroom and sat down, straightening the black cowboy boots sitting by the sofa (yes, a touch of OCD), when suddenly I remembered: I'd worn them on Wednesday because it was rainy, and....I'D WORN MY RAINCOAT! Bingo! There in my olive green London Fog coat pocket was... my ATM card. :))
FOUND!
(Now, if only we could help my mother find the solution to her situation as easily!)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Are we there yet?
On the journey toward spring we seem to be near our destination, judging from the wonderfully mild weather today. However, winter is a fickle season, and I don't think it's quite ready to give up its hold on us here in New England. We did get out the hose to wash the muck off the vehicles, some crazy person went running in shorts this afternoon, and I'm in the process of making potato salad for a cookout (Can you have a cookout without potato salad? My husband says an emphatic "NO!"), but I know this is just a tease. I will not put away the sweaters or the boots, and I will not enjoy rising in the dark to get ready for work, but I will enjoy the later sunsets. More hours of potential sunlight after work hours are over can't be bad.
The honeymoon with the "Blueberry" (aka BlackBerry Storm) is over for my spouse. He thinks he won't be using his much. Fine. I'll wait a few days and then call Verizon to see how to proceed with mine alone if he truly doesn't want to keep his. I'm still learning about its features and probably will be for months to come, but I see it as a very handy device. I have to get used to charging it every night and checking to be sure it's off when I think it is, and then it'll be ready when I want to use it. There's still a struggle in my mind whether to keep this randomly assigned number or to transfer the number from my TracFone when its year is up in July.
I'm off to enjoy this pseudo spring evening. I know it's only a pause in the journey, but I'll take it.
The honeymoon with the "Blueberry" (aka BlackBerry Storm) is over for my spouse. He thinks he won't be using his much. Fine. I'll wait a few days and then call Verizon to see how to proceed with mine alone if he truly doesn't want to keep his. I'm still learning about its features and probably will be for months to come, but I see it as a very handy device. I have to get used to charging it every night and checking to be sure it's off when I think it is, and then it'll be ready when I want to use it. There's still a struggle in my mind whether to keep this randomly assigned number or to transfer the number from my TracFone when its year is up in July.
I'm off to enjoy this pseudo spring evening. I know it's only a pause in the journey, but I'll take it.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Snow business
Here we go again. Snow is on its way, and the forecasts vary from 6 to 14" of the stuff. March is making itself known right away as the month when schools are announcing closures the night before the event. Ours isn't one of them, yet, but I'm pretty sure we'll start late at the least. I'll appreciate a slow re-entry to school after the vacation week.
I didn't accomplish everything on my "to do" list (Does anyone, ever?) but I did manage to read a book (The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, highly recommended), complete a 41 page research paper, make a slew of necklaces, bracelets and earrings, finished my box of Valentine's day chocolates, catch up on Days, post a few times on Facebook, do six crossword puzzles, have a couple of good conversations with friends, use the spa three times, see "Slumdog Millionnaire," grade a set of tests and update grades for one class. The chocolate chip cookies remain unmade and Wall-E is still in its wrapper, but I might have time for both if the weather cooperates tomorrow. That would be fun.
My pretty red car has been hidden under a layer of road crud, but my husband took advantage of a warmish day this past week to wash it for me. It's beautiful! The extra money I paid for the Simonize finish was quite worthwhile because it made the car easier to clean and shinier even after it dried. I like my spiffy looking ride, and I'm still thrilled at getting 41.7 miles per gallon.
Little by little I'm getting used to my BlackBerry Storm, my belated birthday present. My husband has wanted to get me "one of those iPod or iPhone things" for a couple years, so this time I did a little research and agreed to jump in. We do have coverage, although it's a little spotty even in our yard, but there's enough for the email, texting, and voice connections to work. We each have a Storm because Verizon was running a 2fer sale, so we're each poking around to figure out different features and sharing what we find with the other. I have to figure out how to make it silent if I'm going to carry it with me in my purse. Imagine me having to hand the phone over to the vice principal because my students find I'm using it during school hours. Nice example setting, eh?
I agreed to submit a grant request for a couple thousand dollars' worth of training to set up and maintain a professional-looking website for my small business. I hope I haven't gotten in over my head. It seems like there's lots of support out there for people who want to make their tiny businesses into booming ones, but I'm not ready to go full-time yet. Once I stop teaching, I won't be going back, so I have a few more years until that chapter in my life will be closed and this other one will likely open. I could also be getting the cart before the horse since the grant request being made by this statewide group supporting entrepreneurs and craftspeople in the state is going to a national organization that may not seriously consider this hick state to have worthy applicants. Time will tell.
I didn't accomplish everything on my "to do" list (Does anyone, ever?) but I did manage to read a book (The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, highly recommended), complete a 41 page research paper, make a slew of necklaces, bracelets and earrings, finished my box of Valentine's day chocolates, catch up on Days, post a few times on Facebook, do six crossword puzzles, have a couple of good conversations with friends, use the spa three times, see "Slumdog Millionnaire," grade a set of tests and update grades for one class. The chocolate chip cookies remain unmade and Wall-E is still in its wrapper, but I might have time for both if the weather cooperates tomorrow. That would be fun.
My pretty red car has been hidden under a layer of road crud, but my husband took advantage of a warmish day this past week to wash it for me. It's beautiful! The extra money I paid for the Simonize finish was quite worthwhile because it made the car easier to clean and shinier even after it dried. I like my spiffy looking ride, and I'm still thrilled at getting 41.7 miles per gallon.
Little by little I'm getting used to my BlackBerry Storm, my belated birthday present. My husband has wanted to get me "one of those iPod or iPhone things" for a couple years, so this time I did a little research and agreed to jump in. We do have coverage, although it's a little spotty even in our yard, but there's enough for the email, texting, and voice connections to work. We each have a Storm because Verizon was running a 2fer sale, so we're each poking around to figure out different features and sharing what we find with the other. I have to figure out how to make it silent if I'm going to carry it with me in my purse. Imagine me having to hand the phone over to the vice principal because my students find I'm using it during school hours. Nice example setting, eh?
I agreed to submit a grant request for a couple thousand dollars' worth of training to set up and maintain a professional-looking website for my small business. I hope I haven't gotten in over my head. It seems like there's lots of support out there for people who want to make their tiny businesses into booming ones, but I'm not ready to go full-time yet. Once I stop teaching, I won't be going back, so I have a few more years until that chapter in my life will be closed and this other one will likely open. I could also be getting the cart before the horse since the grant request being made by this statewide group supporting entrepreneurs and craftspeople in the state is going to a national organization that may not seriously consider this hick state to have worthy applicants. Time will tell.
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