Told ya...

I'd be back.

;)

Not much to report...I'm so lame!  Let's see....I went to dinner with a friend last night.  We had a good time...she is one of those friends that I can totally be myself with.  She knows me and doesn't care about my imperfections.  I love that in her!

We went to an Italian restaurant and I think I did ok, food wise.  I had a salad, with the dressing on the side; penne caprese, which was AMAZING...I shouldn't have eaten it all but I did; and one slice of garlic bread, even though they brought me two.  I also had a cup of coffee and a LARGE glass of water (without ice).  I have to tell you, I was pretty proud of myself for drinking the water.  I drank the coffee because the night before I ended up with a really, really bad headache from lack of caffeine.  I didn't want it to happen again last night so I drank the small cup of coffee at dinner.  Um.  And then another one when I got home.

We had a half day at work today.  We were supposed to have professional development this afternoon, but our wonderful principal, sensing how badly we needed a break, held a brief meeting and then let us go.  WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!  That was so wonderful!  I was able to go to the bank and then to the post office.  I needed to mail a package to my niece and nephew (because I am an awesome aunt!), a package to my BFF (because I am an awesome BFF), and a package to my most recent swap partner.

I know, I know.  I kvetched about the last swap and, truth be told, I am VERY unhappy with the moderator of the swap and how impolite she was to not respond to my message to her.  She pretty much called me out in the swap, accusing me of lying about the package that I got (the one that was full of dollar-store items and reeked of smoke).  Anyway, someone recommend the group I am in now so I figured I would give it a try.  Ironically the woman I was assigned to had mailed my package earlier this week and it was waiting for me when I got home.  I was pretty much pleased with what I received.  The only downside with the package was that, once again, it came from a household with a smoker.  Fortunately the smell wasn't quite as awful as before, and I am hoping that spending some time with some fabric softener sheets will do the trick.

Let's see....oh yes, my sock class...the one I was freakishly excited about...was cancelled.  :(  I am so bummed out about it!  The shop had offered to let me take another sock class in March, but before I could respond to the e-mail, they contacted me again to tell me THAT class was cancelled as well.  The kknitting gods seem to be against allowing me to learn how to knit socks which is the whole reason I learned to knit in the first place!

Sigh.

Other than that, not much else to report.  miss raven has a new growth on one of her back legs, further pushing me towards pushing the vet towards having her tested for Cushing's disease.  All I hear are little cash registers ringing.  It's a good thing I love her so much.  :)

Verizon is currently rewarding me for being a "loyal customer" by granting me free HBO until the end of May.  I wish they would show their gratitude in a more monetary way...like cutting my bill down some.  I am taking advantage of it, though, and watching some pretty cheesy movies.  Back to the Future II, anyone?  McFly?  McFly?

Goodnight!

:)

Welcome back, me!

I've been away for a bit but I promise, it was for a good reason.

I was visiting her

and her

Yea for a visit with my BFF!!!!

We did a whole bunch of stuff including visiting the Memphis Zoo, walking on Beale Street (which, I am sad to say, was rather a disappointment), trolley riding through downtown Memphis, and watching the Olympics Opening Ceremony.  I am happy to report that a wonderful time was had by all.

Well...not by her

My girl is such a homebody.  I can't say that I blame her.

Anywho.

We've been home for a few days and I thought I should probably let you all know I am still alive.  Even better, today, for the first time in probably a year, I can contribute to Ginny's Yarn Along!



Look, look, look at what I have done!

My first knitted scarf:

My first knitted lace scarf:

A scarf version of The Camping Shawl (on Ravelry)

and, on the needles, the Helix Scarf:

I did read two books while I was gone.  Sadly, I am too lazy to get up from the couch, get my Kindle, and take a picture of them.  One was a knitting mystery (along the same line as the crochet mysteries I read last summer) and the other was the same type only it was set in a cupcake shop.  They were cheesy, but they were good.

I will do my best to be back tomorrow.  I only have a few short weeks of vacation left and I want to enjoy every second of them!

Happy Tuesday...

part deux.

Told you I'd be back.

:)

Before I show you pictures I shall give you a brief re-cap of my day.  Because I know you are just dying to hear all about my 8 hours with 9 and 10 year olds.

I am pleased to report that this was yet another good day.

BFF:  Isn't this such a change from last year?  Last year you could count the number of good days on one hand!  This year I don't think I have had a bad day yet.  What a difference a year makes!


Today we learned about the following:

Bible:  The woman at the well.  Lessons learned:  (1) God doesn't look at the outside of us and judge us like people do.  God looks on our hearts.  (2) No matter what others may do we still need to be nice.  Even though the women in the village made her life miserable because of her lifestyle, she still made it a point to race back to the village and drag them back to the well to meet Jesus.  Because of the fact that she didn't hold a grudge her village was able to meet Christ.

Math:  More work with equations!  Gotta love them.  The kiddos feel like little Einsteins because I told them they are doing algebra and are possibly further along than some of the kids in 8th grade pre-algebra.

English:  Gasp!  We skipped English today because we are further along than the other 4th grade.  We spent the extra time working in Math.  I love having a principal who gives us the leeway to manage our schedules like that.

History:  We have started WWI much to my utter and complete happiness.  WWI and II are my hands-down FAVORITE things to teach in history.  I split them into different "countries" and every time I say the name of their country they have to respond with their "catch phrase":
                      Germany--nein!
                      Russia--nyet!
                      Italy--that's a spicy meat(a)ball!
                      France--ooh-la-la!
                      England--cheerio!
                      United States--U.S.A., huh!
OMG!  They LOVED it and when it was time to end history they were SO upset!  "Please can we do more!"  "Don't stop noooowwww!!!"  Love, love, LOVE it!

Science:  Hands down the best class of the day for them.  I have been saving all manner of cardboard boxes and tubes since about September knowing that this day would come.  We just started our unit on Astronomy and are spending this first week outside of the book doing various space related activities.  Yesterday they wrote reports on the planets.  Today they used the cardboard to make space ships.  Each team of six got a trash bag full of various cardboard boxes and tubes along with some super-sticky tape.  They had to create a "mother" ship for their team and then individual spaceships for themselves.  Hold moley!  It was the funniest thing to watch them!  They had a great time and I got some very, um, creative looking spaceships!  We are going to use them next week to play a game where they have to answer questions by flying their spaceships to the correct planet.  We'll see how that goes.

The best thing was hearing about how much fun they were having and how much they were learning.  That makes all the mess and the "chaos" worthwhile.

Tomorrow we will be continuing the same thing in history, which they will love, AND they will be painting solar systems.  I think I might need a drink tomorrow night.  Something stronger than just coffee.

Dunkin Donuts Blueberry Iced coffee?

I think so.

And now on to the promised crochet project pictures:

A friend of mine is having a baby girl in early May.  I am doing my normal dress, hat, booties, and blanket ensemble.  I have finished the dress (except for the ribbon through the yolk) and half of the blanket.  My goal is to get the blanket (and hopefully the hat and booties) before Spring Break so that I can start Babette during the break.  We shall see.

Finally...

A big, huge, awesome SHOUT-OUT to my friend, Freddie!  She went back to school to get a degree in dental hygiene and to become an x-ray tech.  She just finished up a series of finals with all "A's"!!!!!!  Way to go, my best MD friend!!! :)

Good night from her:

and me!

Today...

I received a wonderful, albeit expected, package in the mail:

My yarn for Babette has arrived!

Remember Babette?

I want to start on her in the worst way but she will have to wait a bit longer.  I am currently in the middle of a project for a baby gift and need to finish that (dress, hat, booties, blanket) before I can start on Babette.

Wanna see the yarnny yumminess again?

OK!!!

This isn't all of the yarn but I didn't take a picture of the Berroco yarn.  This is the Tahki Cotton Classic that I am using and I am SO excited to finally have some to work with!

Now I have an incentive to get through what I am working on because I DESPERATELY want to start on Babette!!

Today I also snapped these pictures:

My Lemon Balm coming back!

miss raven and her new man.

Outdoor frolicking in the beautiful weather.

He is kind of cute and he adores my girlie.  Alas, the feeling is not mutual.

"Anything in here for me, mommy?"

My sweet girl and her current favorite toy.

I must have lost a few pounds because I discovered this morning that I could get into (although with some difficulty) my favorite linen pants!  This is good for a few reasons:  (a) I'm tired of being fat and (b) I pretty much live in my linen pants when the weather is this wonderfully warm (EIGHTY PLUS DEGREES TODAY!).

Finally--Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BFF IN THE WHOLE WORLD!  I LOVE YOU! :)

Happy Birthday!!!!!

(Not to me.  I am still pretending that I didn't have one.)

It was in the 80's here today.


Let us pause whilst I perform the annual ritual of welcoming the summer......


OH THANK GOD YOU ARE FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!  HOW I HAVE MISSED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I WELCOME YOU BACK WITH OPEN ARMS AND OPEN-TOED SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thank you.

Tomorrow is my BFF's birthday.  She will also be forty.  Because she is a mature, grown-up, big girl she is dealing with it much better than I.  I am still kicking and screaming about it.  You know...generally throwing a temper-tantrum.

Yes.  I am STILL not over it.

Anywho.

It is rather surreal for me to think that my BFF and I have been BFFs for almost 20 years.  That is like, half my life.  I've said it before and I will say it again.  I have no idea why on earth she ever picked me to be her BFF.  I was (am) the quintessential geeky nerd.  I was (am) never popular and not at all out-going.  I mean, I will act like a goof in front of my students if it will cause them to learn but in front of grown-up people?!?  Well, let's just say that if you look up "life of the party" in the dictionary, you will NOT find a picture of me.

And I'm ok with that.

She, however, is like the coolest person ever.  Not only is she gorgeous but she is the most generous person that I know which makes her both gorgeous on the outside as well as on the inside.  She will do just about anything for the people she loves even if it means she goes without.  She is kind, caring, and pretty much the most wonderful person I know.

And, wouldn't you know it...she picked ME to be her BFF!  Go figure!

It is awful for me that I haven't seen her in almost two years.  We used to see each other all the time.  And by all the time I mean any long weekend I had from school where I could drive the six hours (five if there were not troopers) to her house.  Thanksgiving is now a sad and lonely holiday as I am not with her family and have no pumpkin cheesecake to eat.  I had no birthday apple pie this year and totally missed her daughter's amazing birthday cake last year.

Pay no attention to the fact that food seems to be the major source of entertainment when we are together and pretend you know nothing of the pints of Ben and Jerrys and Godiva chocolate ice cream we consume whenever we are in the same house.  No need to guess why I can't fit into my linen summer pants.  :o/

Happy Birthday, BFF!  I miss you so, so much and I can't wait to see you again!!!!!

This was supposed to be a productive day for me.

Alas.

It.Was.Not.

Unless, of course, you consider sitting on the couch, playing games on Facebook, and generally cursing all MANkind productive.

Which I am guessing you do not.

I have a confession to make and please don't judge me....

My Christmas tree is still up.


See...I was planning on taking it down today and then I didn't because I was cursing all MANkind.  You know what I mean.


I have had no real energy today and that pretty much sucks.  I did do several loads of laundry though, so that should count for something.  Oh!  And I changed the sheets on my bed.  Just in case you were wondering...by change I mean I took the sheets off, washed them, and put them right back on.

Does anyone else HATE trying to fold a fitted sheet?!?

So the tree-taking-down has been postponed until tomorrow.  In between football games.

Speaking of football, which we were, I am currently watching the Saints get kicked to the curb by the 49ers.  This doesn't make me happy because I don't like the 9ers.  Not that I truly love the Saints but I do consider them to be the lesser of two evils.

I am hoping to watch the Broncos beat the Patriots this evening but I am not holding my breath.  I am on the Tim Tebow bandwagon and all but I don't think they have a snowball's chance in H-E-double hockey sticks to beat the Patriots IN New England.  Sadly.  Because I REALLY don't like the Patriots.

Now on to the good stuff...

I came home yesterday and found a box waiting for me.  My Christmas present from my BFF had arrived!  With much anticipation I unlocked the door, dressed miss raven in her sweater and let her out, and dived in to opening the box.

I was NOT disappointed!  Look at my AWESOME present from my even more AWESOME BFF!!!!

 New ornament for my (still standing) tree.  Even though she hates football.

 She made me this awesome cowl!  It is a gorgeous pink and so warm and snuggly!

 Smelling these candles made me think of the beach.

 Only a true BFF would crochet me a football.  :)

 CA-ute little bag that also makes me think of the beach.

 This picture doesn't do this jewelry justice.  The colors are amazing and I am in LOVE with the necklace.

 My BFF is so uber-talented!  She also made me this necklace and earrings, and....

 ...this bag (made out of duct tape.  Who knew?)

 Metallic pink make-up bag...

...full of all kinds of goodies!

I love, love, love it all!  She completely outdid herself and has slightly changed my mind about duct tape.  ;)  Isn't she awesome!  I have the best BFF in the whole world!  She also sent me a bag of dark chocolate covered espresso beans...of which I have had a few many.

Update:  the Saints scored a touchdown and a two point conversion.  The 9ers trail by three but have the ball on the Saints 13 yard line with 14 seconds left.  Not that you care.  Well, crap.  They just scored a touchdown.  Only nine seconds left.  The Saints are on their way home.


Anywho.

I think it might time for some more coffee.

Goodnight!

:)

Dear Vacation,

We had so much fun together this year.  We did this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

We didn't do this:

this year and that made me really sad.

It is so hard to believe that you are leaving already.  It seems like you just got here and now you are gone.  I won't see you again until Christmas and that seems like so far away.  Work is waiting for me and, between you and me, is kind of giving me an evil grin.  Work is like that, you know.

Come back soon, vacation.  Bring the beach with you.

Love,
me

It's...

1.  FRIDAY!!!  I love me some Friday!

2.  PAYDAY!!!!  I really love me some payday!!!

3.  THE FIRST DAY OF MY VACATION!!!!!  Oh, how I love me some vacation!!!

4.  Her birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!!!!!  I'm so sad that I'm not going to be there for her birthday.  It is the first one that I have missed in a very long time. :(

5.  And last, but not least, her birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS RAVEN!!!!!  Mommy loves you so much and you bring so much joy into my life!!!

Swap update:
Someone else signed up for the swap!  (And you know who you are.  ;) )  Thanks for the encouraging words--I really appreciated them. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.....

...NO, not to me.  That was last week.

Happy Fabulous, Amazing, Wonderful, Beautiful Birthday to her:

I LOVE YOU BESTEST BFF IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!!!!!  THANK YOU FOR BE THE AMAZING, WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC, FABULOUS, BEAUTIFUL PERSON THAT YOU ARE!

Today is my BF's birthday and I wish so much that it was last year and I could be celebrating with her.  We cave gone through much in the last year, have we not, BFF?  I haven't seen her since LAST JUNE and I miss her horribly.

I promised myself that this would be a (mostly) happy post today.  Seeing as how I was Miss Grumpy-Pants in my last few.  So.  Here is a re-cap of last weekend:

Friday:
Who am I kidding?  We are NOT going to discuss a work day.  (Except for towards the end of the post but I promise, it will be worth it.)

Saturday:
miss raven and I got up early.  I pretty much already knew what I was going to do that day.  (Disclaimer:  I had planned on doing something else but chickened out at the last minute because I was afraid of getting lost in an unfamiliar place.) I went to have a bagel and coffee at Panera and then visited Barnes and Noble.  I got a couple of magazines, a lovely cupcake cookbook, and a medeival fiction book.  Then I went to Old Navy.  Surprise!  They weren't open yet.  Really?  On a Saturday?  You don't open until 10:00?!?  Sheesh.  My BFF called and I forced gently encouraged her to open the present that I sent.  She liked it.  I rock.

Old Navy opened and I scored four new dresses (they were SEVEN dollars each!) and a new pair of pants.  Then it was time to get my birthday present!  My dad sent me a gift card to Best Buy.  I got a KINDLE!!!  I wasn't going to...I really, really like books and holding books, and smelling books, and buying books, and reading books, but the idea of having something as convenient as a Kindle was intriguing to me.  I caved  like a wet noodle.  And. I. Love. It.  LOVE IT.  I have already downloaded several books--some were even FREE.  Free = good!

Went to Borders to use a gift card, went to Petsmart to get treats for the girlie, went to Target to get a little of this and a little of that, then finished up the morning at Safeway for groceries. 

Sunday:
CHEESECAKE FACTORY.  (aaaaannnnnddddd...there goes the diet.  sigh.)  I had the best meal, though!  Warm pita bread and white bean hummus, thai chicken wraps which were so amazingly good that I came home and have recreated them the last two nights for dinner, and white chocolate, macadamia nut, blondie crust cheesecake.  Calorie overload.  Did anyone lose five pounds this week?  Just wondering because I think I found them.  Please contact me should you want them back as I am more than happy to send them to you.  I'll even pay for the postage.

Monday (technically not the weekend, but still...):
Ok.  Today was the day from H-E-double hockey sticks, so I am not going to depress/bore you nor am I going to whine.  I am going to tell you the two best things that happened to me:
     1.  One of my teachers brought me a homemade cheesecake for my birthday.  She makes incredible cheesecakes so I feel very, very blessed to have gotten one.  It's peach with a gingersnap crust.  (Did I say I found five pounds?  I think I meant fifteen.....)
     2.  I went back to Safeway (I forgot some stuff on Saturday and also needed to get a couple of things to re-create the chicken wraps).  I had a coupon for $2.00 off 1/2 lb or more of Millstone coffee.  It just so happens (thank you, Lord, because you knew I needed this after my day from, well, you  know.) that they still had the Holiday Peppermint coffee and I wanted to snap up another bag.  I finished my list and went to check out.  Not only did I not have to wait in line but the cashier scanned my coffee coupon TWICE!!!!  Cashier WIN!!!!!  I got FOUR dollars off my coffee.  So happy and so needed after yesterday.

And that concludes our weekend re-cap.

Have you noticed that I now have 15 (13) followers?!?  Whoo-hoo!!!!  Lol!  How sad is it that I am that excited by that?

The Biggest Loser is on, I have laundry to fold, a hat/scarf order to crochet, and a diva to adore.  Good night!

:)

Ways to know that you are old....

1.  You have muscles you didn't know existed revolting against you.

2.  You have to take Advil PM in order to go to sleep because of said muscles conspiring against you.

3.  You think that 9PM on a Saturday night is FAR too late to be out.

4.  You sound like your mother when you talk to students.

5.  You realize that the student you are talking to (in which you sound JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER) was born AFTER you graduated...from COLLEGE.

6.  While you are sitting on the couch, cursing your darned muscles that are conspiring against you, you decide that it is far too much work to get up and go to the bathroom.  You will wait until there are a few other things that you can do in order to prevent getting up more than once.

7.  One cup of coffee in the morning is laughable.  You need at least two.  At least.

8.  Reaching for the bottle of water on the coffee table in front of you presents you with a choice.  Get it and be in pain or thirst.  You opt for thirst.

9.  You keep hoping that 10PM will get here soon so that you can go to bed and tell yourself you aren't THAT old.

10.  You can't remember number ten because, well, you are OLD.


Oh. My. Word.

I am sore.  Sore beyond words.  It is like all of my muscles decide to revolt against me and it isn't fair.  All I am doing is trying to help them and they are TICKED OFF.  Seriously...I wasn't even kidding on number six.  I am really going to wait until I have a few more things to do because I can't even tell you how painful it is to stand up and sit down right now.

I did exercise with my new game yesterday.  I enjoyed it.  Really.  I promise.  I enjoyed it so much that, although my thighs HATE me at the moment, I used the game again today.  Apparently, the game was SO impressed with the fact that I came back for a second day that it bumped me up to level FOUR in the cardio boxing. 

Go ahead, laugh with me.  You know you want to.  I don't mind.

Cardio boxing kicked my butt.  And perhaps that is why it, too, is SORE BEYOND WORDS.  Sigh.  I wish I loved exercise as much as I love food.  And coffee.

I went to my box at work today and look what I found:

Awwwwww!!!!!  Thank you, BFF!!  I love Hoops and YoYo and the card even talks to me!  miss raven doesn't like it so much, but that's ok.  It isn't for her. ;)  BTW--BFF did you send it to school on purpose or because you don't have my addy?  Let me know.  :)

What's that?  The yarn in the corner?  Pay no attention to the yarn in the corner of the picture....(it really helps if you say that out loud in the Wizard of Oz-ish voice, trust me.)  Anyway....this:

was the yarn I told you about yesterday.  Sorry the color didn't come through so well.  Trust me...it is a GORGEOUS pink.  I can't wait to work with it.  I have to finish my current project first, though.

And now, number six is coming after me with a vengeance, so.....

laters!! :)

:(

I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a few days.  I got some news yesterday that really sucks and didn't feel like blogging.

A friend of mine, actually the person who had my job before me, was rushed to the ER on Tuesday morning because his wife discovered him unconscious when she woke up.  Long story short, he had a brain aneurysm that ruptured and, as far as I know, passed away this afternoon.

Mr. K. was diagnosed with prostate cancer I guess about a year and a half ago.  Through it all he remained upbeat.  He always had a smile for everyone and he was always so positive about the outcome of what he was going though.  Even through what was obvious pain, and radiation, and chemo, he remained positive.  He was always so thankful and so overwhelmingly touched by all the people that remembered him and contacted him to help.  He touched so, so many lives.

When I took over the position that I have now at school, he made sure that I knew I could always talk to him and he would be there to give me advice.  I so appreciated that and I took him up on that offer many times.  He never acted impatient or put-off that I asked a bazillion questions.  He was always willing to talk and give me advice.

He is going to be so missed.  Not just by his family, but also by the many people who he touched and made an impact on.  There are so many students who are mourning him right now.  I can only hope that I have made half the impact with my students that he made with his.

Always when I need it...

The weekend always seems to get here right when I need it.  I know that sounds rather silly because the weekend gets here at the same time every week, but somehow it seems that, just when I really need it...there it is.

It is a little chilly today...for me at least.  I think just about everyone else I know is beyond thrilled with the weather today.  Whoop-de-doo for them.  I have to fight being sad about weather like today because it makes me remember that winter is almost here.  Doesn't it seem like it was just here?  Does it have to come back so soon?  Sigh.

Remember my fall?  Yeah, well, my foot still hurts.  Kind of badly.  I am hoping I didn't break anything.  It doesn't seem swollen but it really hurts.

There is football on today.  Currently I am watching Ohio State kick the crap out of Miami.  I don't really care for either team, quite frankly.  OSU already beat Florida State.  Tonight the Longhorns are playing Wyoming.  HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!! :)

Tomorrow is even better, for tomorrow, my dear bloggy friends, is...

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA!!!!!!!!!

Words can not even begin to describe my utter joy and happiness at knowing that, all day long, I can watch NFL football.  Please, let us all pause while I wipe a happy tear from my eye.....

Thank you.

miss raven had a bad morning.  She woke me up at four-thirty this morning with a gurgly tummy.  We had to go outside twice in fifteen minutes and then she spent an hour under my t-shirt, skin to skin.  That seemed to help some and I was able to go back to sleep around six-ish for another hour and a half.  She woke me up at seven-thirty with more gurgly tummy.  I feel so bad for her because, no matter what she does, she can't seem to get comfortable.  I finally had to just put her down and get on with my day because I was going out with a friend.  Freddie to the rescue!!!!  She brought my girlie some Pepcid.  Half a pill and some peanut butter later, and my girlie is as good as new.  She wolfed her dinner and both treats right down, along with some crunchies.  I am so glad she is felling better.  I hate it when she is uncomfortable.  Freddie, you are miss raven's she-ro! ;)

Happy FOOTBALL Sunday!!!!!!!!  (BFF, please keep your rude remarks to yourself and out of my comments.  Thank you. ;) )

It's baaaacccccckkkkk.....

the Twilight Zone music, that is.

Something notsogood happened to me at school today.  I can't, however, blog about it because a friend of mine reminded me that everything that is on the internet is subject to viewing by people you may not want to see it.  This includes, but is not limited to, your employer.

Sigh.

Just take it from me that, after 16 years of faithful service, what happened today felt like a giant slap in the face.  Again I say, I wish that the parents/students/teachers that really do like me would speak up (ie:  write letters of commendation to the powersthatbe) so that it isn't the small percentage of complainers that the powersthatbe are hearing.  I know I do a good job....I know I do.

Sigh.

On a completely unrelated, but much happier note, MNF is on tonight.  For those of you who aren't sure what I am talking about *cough* BFF *cough* that would be Monday Night Football.  You are not allowed to say anything about that, either.  You forfieted that right this whole season by moving SIXTEEN hours away from me.  Yes, I am still upset about that.  So there.  : op

My power went out again today.  No, there was no storm.  It just randomly went out.  It's back on now.  In case you wanted to know.

My, hasn't this blog been rather random lately?  I think it has.  Tomorrow is supposed to be Ten Things Tuesday.  Any requests?

I think it is time for some coffee.  With peppermint mocha coffee creamer.  I love you, Coffeemate.

I need a date to a wedding in October.  Anyone have an idea?  A friend?  A brother?

Sigh.

Goodnight.

In case you are wondering, the New York (football) Giants are about to score a touchdown.

Goodnight.  Again.

My blogging mojo....

seems to have deserted me.  I fear you are going to have to put up with more useless ramblings from yours truly.  Well, you don't have to put up with it, really.  You could leave.  But I hope you don't.  I mean that.

I went out with a good friend today.  It was a nice way to end my "summer".  I fear that summer is officially over when the teachers come back to school.

I bought Fantasy Football for Dummies.  My favorite aunt sent me an invitation to join her league and I want to desperately but really, honestly, and truly know absolutely nothing about how to play.  I am hoping that, by reading this book, I will learn a little.

I also purchased The Art of Racing in the Rain.  It is apparently a book that is told by a dog's perspective.  It sounds good and I am looking forward to getting it.  I ordered it from Amazon.  Along with that I also ordered a book about the Dallas Cowboys.  It is their 50th year of existence and, apparently, that deserves a book.  I got it on Amazon because it was a whole heck of alot cheaper than in Border's.  Thanks, Freddie. :)

I think peppermint mocha coffee creamer makes everything better.  Almost.

I still can't figure out how to upload that video of the whale.  I fear I have failed you.  I'm sorry. :(

Pre-season football has started.  If you are really, really quiet, you can hear the angels singing.  Shhhhhhhh.

Tomorrow is a day chock-full of meetings.  That does not thrill me at all.  Hmmmmm.....I do have Fantasy Football for Dummies...I wonder if anyone would notice if I read it during the meetings......

I made back-to-school goodies bags for my teachers.  I'm nice like that, but, because I am not rich like that, there isn't alot in there.  It's the thought that counts, though, right?

How delusional is it of me to tell myself that, the only reason I had to buy a spectacular new dress at Target to wear to Parent Orientation on Friday in a bigger size than I should, is because their sizes are ALL wrong at Target?  Yeah, that's what I thought.  Sigh.

In case you were missing her.

I will continue to search for my blogging mojo.  I don't want to lose any of you along with it.

Goodnight.

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

Would you like to hear a little....

about my trip?

What?  You do?  Awwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thanks!!!!

Well, as you may or may not know, I spent some time with them:

Because it was the young one's birthday. 

She is 11.  ELEVEN.  I am not dealing well with that.  Although she likes me alot better now that she is 11 years old than she did when she was 11 days old.  *ahem*

We had a ton of fun.  And, by a ton, I mean that I gained a ton.  But more on that later.

We partied--the theme was Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and, as is the norm, my BFF made yet another way cool cake.  The cake was delicious and, because I would hate to ever hurt my BFF's feelings, I did more than my fair share to get rid of the cake.  Down my throat.  It was good.  No, it was freaking awesome.  As usual.

:)

We had a girl's day at the mall in somwhereville, Ohio.  That was great!  Lunch at Panera, quality time at Barnes and Noble, the movie Despicable Me (which was great, mostly because the BFF stayed AWAKE the whole movie!  Please everyone, clap for the BFF).

We went to the Amish country, where I again ate way more than I should, not wanting to offend the Amish.  I'm nice like that. 

I  also fed a goat and held a chicken.  Proof:

Yes, I know I look a little, um, odd.  I was afraid it would either peck me or pee on me.  I didn't want either to happen.  I'm girlie like that.

I came home, did some laundry, packed the suitcase, and took off to Boston.  O.M.G.  I had soooo much fun!  I love history, so I did a lot of the "touristy, historical" stuff.  I will do my best to re-cap for you and try not to bore you too much.

Day one:

Arrive at hotel outside of Boston.  Get settled in go to Cambridge to visit Harvard.  Proof:

Day two tomorrow. ;)