Back to Work.....

So, after three lovely, fun-filled weeks off, I went back to school today.  It wasn't too bad, although I do have a meeting tomorrow that I am a wee bit apprehensive about.  If I blog tomorrow, you'll know it went ok.  I'll let you know.  You mean that much to me. 

:)

I came home and mowed the lawn.  I can do that now because I have a lawnmower.

Quick update:  I got HALF of my security deposit back.  The former landlord decided that she would communicate with my former roommate (and not me) and give her half the money back.  My former roommate split that half with me so that she and I each got half of our total back.  I am supposed to be getting the rest of it tomorrow.  I'll keep you updated.  Because I know how much you care.  Right?

Anywho.  It was stinking hot outside, but the lawn needed mowing or else miss raven would have gotten lost in the dense forest that was becoming my lawn.  I also weedwhacked.  I felt empowered.  Kind of.  I should get out the power tools, too.

Not.

Speaking of miss raven and yes, we were, her she is:

Isn't she just the sweetest thing?  In case you were wondering, the correct answer to that question is YES.

She is doing very well in her new home and loves having a yard to play in.  Today she was very brave, barking and chasing a big, scary, noisy helicopter out of our yard.  Apparently they were not aware that there is a "No Fly Zone" over our house and she was reminding them.  What would I do without her??

The Cowboys won last night.  Even though it was only a pre-season came and doesn't count for anything, it was still nice to see them win.  I hope to see ALOT more of that in the weeks to come.  Especially the season opener.  Against the deadskins.  Ugh.

Time to make some coffee.  Good night.

:)

Much ado about pretty much nothing....

This was my last weekend of freedom.  My vacation is over; I go back to work tomorrow and my next day off isn't until Labor Day.  Even though I have been a principal for three years now, I still haven't gotten over the loss of my summers.  I miss having the whole, long, blessed summer off.  Sigh.  I know, spoiled, right?

I did have a good weekend, though.  I used my new grill yesterday to grill some turkey tenderloins.  I had a good friend come over for dinner and we had the turkey, fresh pasta salad, homemade biscuits, and fresh, hot, homemade peach crisp.  Yes, I am bragging because yes, I am a good cook.

Today I went to Ikea and got some new dinner plates, exchanged some sleep pants at Old Navy, got a few things (including a meat thermometer) at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and went to Rita's.  What can I say?  I wanted to go out with a bang.  Lol.

Tonight is the Hall of Fame game.  The COWBOYS are playing the bungles (bengals) and, even though it is ONLY a pre-season game, I would still like to see the COWBOYS win, especially since ME-O (terrell owens) plays for the bungles now.

I am going to do my best to eat better from now on.  I have gained some serious weight since last Thanksgiving and I need to get rid of it because I REFUSE to buy a new wardrobe in a bigger size.  REFUSE.

This is a pretty random post.  To add to the randomness I will say two  three more things:

1.  Hardly any one of the blogs I follow have blogged lately.  I fear I have nothing to read.

2.  Comments have drastically declined on my blog.  Um.  HELLO out there?!?!

3.  I think I will go make some coffee.  With peppermint coffee creamer.

Good night and GO COWBOYS!!!!!!!!

It finally came to me....

I have literally spent all day trying to think about what to blog about today.  Literally.  I had a million things going through my head and kept discarding them one by one for various reasons.  Too dark, too depressing, too many people would read it and think I was talking about them, too whiny, too....well, you get the picture.

Then, it finally came to me.  Well, it came to me with the help of Facebook (my name is melicity and I am a Facebook-a-holic).  Instead of blogging about how much I am currently hating life and all that comes with it because I think it is UNBELIEVABLY unfair, I will blog about this happy and true story:

Tonight I was perusing through my friends on FB.  I came across a young man who had been in my very first fourth grade class.  I saw, much to my horror (and I only say horror because of how OLD it made me feel) that he is married.  Wait?  How on earth can he be old enough to be married.  He was just in fourth grade like last year, right?  Ok.  Maybe more like 16 years ago, but still......

Anyway, I commented to him how old his being married made me feel and then I had a hunch.  He had a friend who was also in my first fourth grade class.  His friend was a good kid and I really liked his parents.  I wondered if his friend was also on FB.  Much to my delight, there he was.  Also married.  And with a SON.  I fear I need to go cane shopping tomorrow.

Anyway, this second young man...I shall call him "D" (mostly because his real name starts with a D and I am to darn lazy right now to think of a good pseudonym for him.  But apparently not too lazy to spell "pseudonym" correctly, go figure.)...and I had a nice little conversation.  He is doing well, his parents are doing well, his little sister (who I also taught in 4th, 6th, and 8th grades--long story) is doing well.  I was happy to hear all that.  Very happy.

About the same time I was also having a conversation with a current students who is about to be in 11th grade.  She was telling me about one of the little girls that was in her summer camp class.  This particular little girl (who is going into 2nd grade) happens to be a favorite of mine.  Frankly speaking, if I ever am blessed to have a little girl, I want one just like her.  This little one was telling the 11th grader how much she loves me and will miss me when she moves away after this coming school year. (Yes, I am devastated that she is moving and try not to think about it.  Her mother is in the military and I pray almost every day that her orders get changed so they can stay here.  I am selfish like that.)  I said to the 11th grader that is would be nice if all the kids liked me like that.  We talked for a bit about that and then I told her this true statement:

I do what I do because, on rare occasions, I am rewarded by having a former student come back and tell me about what they are doing with their life.  I get to hear about how they are a college graduate, successful in their field of choice, married (or not) and with a child(ren) (or not).  I get to see the fruit of my labors.  The reward for my tears and frustrations and sleepless nights.  That is when my job is worthwhile.  That is when all of the angry parents, rebellious students, and other issues that I deal with don't matter.  That is when I realize that no amount of money I could make could replace the feeling of pride I feel when I look at this productive member of society and know that I had a small part in creating what they have become.

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it makes everything else...the fact that my BFF is moving, the fact that I am watching yet another friend get married and it still isn't me, the fact that, everywhere I look I see a pregnant women or a newborn and I ache because it isn't me, the fact that, because of everything I just stated all I want is to be able to talk to my mom about it and be comforted by her but I can't...all of that pain and hurt and frustration disappears for a little while and I bask in the glow of one of my "babies" and their accomplishments.

Right now, I live for those moments.

If you are looking for a sunshiny post....

please pass this blog by.  For today, anyway.

That isn't to say I didn't have a happy, sunshiny post planned for you.  I did.  Complete with pictures, in fact.  And then yesterday afternoon happened and that post went right out the door.

I found out yesterday afternoon that my BFF is moving.  FARTHER away from me.  Like, too far away to drive.  And to a city that Southwest, with their uber-cheap fairs, doesn't service.  It figures.  Have you looked at airline prices lately?  And, lest anyone forget, miss raven, as sweet and adorable as she is, doesn't fly free.
 
As previously stated on this blog of mine, I don't handle change well at all.  And, as luck would have it, this seems to be the summer of change.  It kind of makes me a little scared to go back to work on Monday.

And its August.  I hate August.

Excuse me while I wallow in self-pity.

I'll do my best to be all sunshiny and dragonflies and butterflies tomorrow.

But not today.

So there.

: oP

A Whale of a vacation wrap up....

So.

Are you still with me through all this vacation re-cap?  Awwwwww.  Thanks!  You rock! :)

This is the last day, I promise.

Day 4:

Day 4 started bright and early.  Well, bright anyway.  Early, not so much.

I had made reservations a few days before to do something that I have wanted to do for a long time.  Want a hint?  Ok.  Here you go:

I decided to leave from Cape Ann instead of Cape Cod or Boston because I figured it wouldn't be as crowded and besides, they all go to basically the same place anyway.  Now, I need to preface the rest of this by telling you that I was more than a little scared freaking petrified to go out on a boat in the middle of the ocean where sharks live and have been sighted in the past few weeks.  Big sharks.  Big sharks with big teeth.  Big hungry sharks with big, pointy, sharp teeth.  Have I made my point?  I was, however, willing to give it a go seeing as how the boat itself was fairly large and the chances of it, I don't know, sinking to the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, were pretty slim.  Besides, I really wanted to see one of these:

I will tell you at the outset that this is one of the best pictures.  He never came completely out of the water.

Yep.  I went whale watching (and did you notice that my post title was a little witty today?  Oh come on, you know it was.).  I had the time of my life, contrary to how I look in this picture:

I hesitated putting this picture up.  Not only do I look ROUGH because of the sea-wind, but dang it!, it's like this picture is screaming, "Look, look at the 'girls'!!"  Please, don't.

Please disregard the death grip that I appear to have on the railing.  Well, I did have a death grip and I do look a bit, shall we say, apprehensive, but just ignore all that. I also ended up SOAKING wet, which they failed to mention might happen.  It totally surprised me and the rest of the day I was sticky from the salt water.  But let us not dwell on the unpleasentness, ok?  Instead, feast your peepers on these pictures:

Meet Grackle

A 13 year old humback whale.

Who was apparently VERY hungry the day we visited him.  Thankfully.

The naturalist on the boat said she estimated he weighed a lot of tons.

His tail is 15 feet wide.

He came out of the water 3 times to say hello.  I thought that was very polite of him.

I have a video, but for some reason I can't upload it.  I'll try again tomorrow, I promise.

I have to tell you, if you ever get the chance to go on a whale watch, do it.  It was incredible and amazing and thrilling and one of the best things I have ever been able to do.

Here are a few more random pictures:

I hope you have enjoyed my vacation re-cap.  Thanks for reading.  Tomorrow we will return to my regularly scheduled, normally boring life. ;)

Day 3

WARNING:  this is another makeyoureyeballsbleed post.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sorry.  I'm not too clever in the comingupwithtitles area.  You're stuck with the borinness that is Day 3.  I'll do my best to not make the post too boring.  I promise. :)

Day 3.  I won't lie.  I was pretty darned excited about Day 3.  You see, Day 3 found me ready to head into to the actual city of Boston.  I decided to wait and do Boston on Sunday because I figured that I wouldn't have to fight as much traffic on a Sunday.  I was right.  I'm smart like that.  And humble.  ;)

I got into the city pretty early and decided to make my way to Christ Church, better known as the Old North Church, from which hung the lanterns that signaled Paul Revere to take his famous ride.  (Wow!  Long sentence there.)  I made my way through Little Italy, which was SO cool, and got to the church at just the right time.  The first pictures are of the Paul Revere statue, the next are of the steeple, and the last ones in this sequence are of the inside of the church:

I left there and went to Paul Revere's house.  Again, being money conscious, I opted to skip the tour of the house and just took these pictures from the outside:

Here are some random pictures from my walk around the city:

I walked back to Fanuiel Hall and Quincy Market.

I was super-excited about being there, but I have to tell you, I was a wee bit let down.  I guess I expected it to be more ecclectic, kind of like Eastern Market, but it wasn't.  Quincy Market was just regular chain stores, with a few unusual shops.  Fanuiel Hall was interesting because, although it was entirely filled with food, it was different kinds of stands.  Just about anything you could want to eat you could find there.  Being the adventurist that I am, I chose a......hot dog and fries.  I know, I know...what a risk taker, right?  :)

The do have a replica of the Original Cheers and that was kind of cool to see:

I went to Boston Common (A big park.  Think Central Park only not quite so large.) and the Boston Public Gardens.  I LOVED it there!  Honestly, I could have stayed there all day long and not been bored at all.  I wanted to go there so I could get a picture of this:

Isn't he just the sweetest little guy??!!

I love, love, love the picture of the little ducking standing up.  It is just too cute!

Here are some more pictures from the garden and yes, I was really that close to the swan:

My final stop in the city was here:

For those of you unsportsman-like people *cough, BFF, cough* that is Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.  Now, as I have mentioned before, I am not a baseball fan.  If I was going to be a baseball fan I would root for the Yankees, not the Red Sox, but I couldn't pass up a historical landmark like Fenway.  Being in a major league baseball park is kind of a neat experience, even if you aren't a fan.  Here are some more pictures:

Tomorrow is my last installment of VACATION DAYS, 2010.  I promise you that, if you like nature and animals and water, you will LOVE tomorrow's post.

On a completely unrelated (although it does have to do with vacation) note:  Today my dad and I drove up to Delaware to have lunch with my usedtobefromVegasnowfromPhilly aunt (heretofore known as AJ).  We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and I have the poundage to prove it.  (Warning to the fat that is now occupying my body:  you have been comfy and squishy look enough.  Start packing, flab.  You will be leaving soon.)  The food was deliciously yummy, of course, and I brought a new kind of cheesecake home to try (lemon/raspberry decadence).  I'll let you know how good it was tomorrow, assuming of course that I don't die from the richness.  Anyway, the food was awesome, but the best part was being able to spend time with my aunt.  I am so happy that she has moved back here and am hoping to see her alot more often.  My dad had a really good time too, having not seen her for several years.  He commented many times on the drive home how nice is was to be able to see her and share memories, not only of my mom, but of my grandfather and others in the family. :)

Currently, my dad is sleeping on the couch.  Sitting up.  He was reading the side of a box of drink mix and, oddly enough, is still holding it in his hand.  Hmmmm....he must have sensed me typing about that because he just woke up and put it down.  Well, woke up momentarily.  He is asleep again.  I'm not going to complain because he made me THE most fabulous dinner tonight.  BBQ beef ribs.  Oh lawdy!  God bless the cow that died so that I could consume it's ribs.  Amen.

Off to eat some cheesecake!! :)

ps.  I told you this was going to be a long one! :)  If you stuck with me through the whole thing...THANKS!  You're awesome!! :)

Take me out to the ballgame....

I try to keep you in mind, my wonderful readers, when trying to decide what to blog about.  Today I am taking a vacation from the vacation stories in order to keep this post from making your retinas fall off your eyeballs.  Besides, I have two other things to tell you about. ;)

(Side note.  I am SO tired of hearing about Chelsea Clinton's wedding.  SO TIRED.)

Anywho.

My dad is here visiting me.  Yea!!!!  Yesterday we went to Annapolis so that he could visit the "Amish" market there.  We get there, get a primo parking space (A pull-thru, gotta love that!), and headed inside.  The, what to my wondering eyes did appear, but my former landlord and former "friend."  (Insert shocking music here).  They both looked right at me and then completely ignored me.  Now, to be honest, I wouldn't have expected anything less from the former landlord.  After everything I have gone through with her, I never expect to speak with her again.  My former "friend" though, kind of surprised me.  Not even a hello.  Nothing.  Makes me wonder what kind of friendship we had to begin with. 

The funniest thing was, though, it was like they were intentionally trying to avoid me inside the market.  Like I was going to go out of my way to go up and talk to them.  I had to laugh.  And laugh.  And laugh.  It is amazing how immature some "adults" can be.  I told me dad that, here I had thought that I had gained weight over the summer, but apparently, I lost so much I became invisible.  LOL!  If only.  I see a serious diet coming to my home shortly.  But not until after dad has left.  I have a few more days to enjoy myself.  ;)

Last night we went to a Nationals game.  For those of you that don't know, the Nationals are the major league baseball team in Washington, DC.  My dad likes baseball.  Alot.  Me, not so much.  I don't mind going though, because my dad likes it and because I can people watch.  It was a sell-out crowd last night and the Nats were playing the Phillies (from Philadelphia, PA).  The game was really good, actually.  It was a close game and it came down to the bottom of the 9th inning.  The Nats had two guys on base and one out.  The third baseman, Ryan Zimmerman, came to the plate and ended up crushing a ball into center field giving the Nats a 7-5 victory.  The best part was that there were a billion Phillies fans in the park and they were POSITIVE that their team was going to win (since they had lost the night before).  It was sweet to have the home team win in that kind of environment.

People with personal space issues (like me) do not enjoy some of what happens at a ballgame.  The seating can be a little tight, the lines for food are long (don't ever expect to get ice cream AND see the game.  It WON'T happen, I promise), and OMG!, getting to the Metro after the game.......I was starting to freak out a little with all the people closing in on me.  We got to the train just in time because if I had to smell one more drunk I think I would have puked all over him/her.

No pictures for this post.  I am SO sorry, BFF.  I totally forgot my camera and didn't realize it until we were halfway to the Metro.  I would have gone back but we were running late and I didn't have time.  You'll just have to pretend and use your imagination. :)

Back to the vacation tomorrow!