Tents

I'd just like to let you know I made blanket tents last night with my sister's kids. Pretty awesome fun that I haven't participated in in years!!!!

No Title

Look!!! I'm up at 6:39 AM on a Saturday morning!!! 

This happens sometimes. Sigh. Oh well, I'll get a lot accomplished. Or a lot of Internet surfing done!!

Yesterday I went out to eat 3 times in 1 day. Yes, crazy!!!

Molasses

Does anyone know what molasses is made of, before I go and check? I know it has a good amount of magnesium and iron in it. Go figure. But what does it come from? A tree, like syrup (excuse me, like REAL syrup)? Sugar and corn syrup blended together? WHAT?

Drum roll....

Oh, it's a byproduct of turning sugar cane into sugar. Oh.

Sorry for not knowing that.

Three Things

My kids notice my shoes, how bizarre! Here are what they've said to me this year so far:

• Where do you get all those flat shoes? ~ cause I wear mostly flats?
• MRS. JARVIS, YOUR SHOES ARE PURPLE!!! ~ apparently purple shoes are very rare?
• Are you going to take those boots off today? ~ adults can't wear cute boots to work?
• YOU ARE WEARING HIGH HEELED SHOES! ~ THIS is what they pay attention to...
  

And since you sat through the boring stuff, here's cute/cool movies!!!

The World's Vices

I went to dinner with my friend Janet and after talking about books, we strayed to the topic of What Is Wrong With the World. Here are my top 10:

1. Lobbyists
   
2. Republicans
3. Democrats
4. Religion
5. Credit card companies
   
6. Parents whose children do no wrong
7. People who love their guns a lot
   
8. Children who do no wrong
9. Haters
10. Husbands who tell wives what to do while wielding large red pots that they pretend to be drying, fresh from the sink
    

Number 10 is courtesy my my sweet hubby who asked me what I was doing and if he had allowed me Internet access for this post. He suggests Dick Chaney for number 10 but I'll leave it as is until he can come up with a good vice. HAHA.

Me

09 August 2005 @ 03:48 pm

Bugs

How long does it take a bug trapped under a cup to die? Just wondering cuase I've had one on my kitchen counter for a few days now. This bug is the size of I'm-not-going-to-be-able-to-kill-anything-that-large.

02 July 2005 @ 12:14 pm

Fruity Scents

I fled my apartment yesterday because it smelled of Chaquita bananas and Raycalla Mccintosh apples. Boxes everywhere and now Meijer people recognize me and ask when I go for more boxes "You're still packing?" My head seemed like it would explode.....


THIS IS WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I found my old Live Journal account and cannot stop laughing. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

01 June 2005 @ 06:51 pm

I don't like children anymore.

So I took 4 students out to dinner tonight (they bought me at a class auction). While eating I was regaled with a story of a TV show where a girl kissed her boyfriend. "He French kissed her (at which all the girls giggled, blushed and turned away) you know, that close smoochy kind (more giggling and quick glances at me to ensure I wasn't shocked. No, I wasn't, hard to believe, I know)." CHILDREN ARE SO FUNNY!!! Especially when you get a bunch of little girls together. Often I like to catch up on the 4th grade gossip and discover who likes who in the 4th grade. It's quite entertaining. So Aaron likes Arianna and because Aaron likes her, so does Mark and to follow the crowd, Will decided to fall for her as well. Hideous thought, Mark and Arianna marrying one day. I shudder in a convulsing ball on the floor ~their children~ PLEASE, NO!!!!! Jared likes Kiera and when he told Marissa (who ate with me tonight), she looked at him in surprise, which wounded his fragile heart. "I like her and there's nothing you can do about it! She's wonderful and I love her! I love her!” he yells, to Marissa's shock. I was laughing very hard upon hearing this because Jared is a timid, quiet little guy.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I am so entirely amused I cannot stop! Nothing better than reading yourself droning on and on and on and on.....

31 May 2004 @ 04:58 pm
To add to my list of things my husband must be able to do:
1. Dance. 2. Fix cars. 3. Cook. 4. Smile at me like he wants to fly away in the clouds with me. 5. Sing to me at night.
Of course, there is a lot more but I am hungry and to me, food always comes first. DINNER, yum!!

03 June 2004 @ 04:32 pm

ps. I had a job interview yesterday! Yay!! Lets all go help me by killing off the compitition!

05 June 2004 @ 10:21 pm
I took a nap today, my second for year 2004!! Go me! And I dreamed I was trying to drive to my grandma's house in Italy but the highway signs were going by way too fast for me to read. Then I realized: hey, I'm in a video game, thats why I can't read the signs. SO, I turned into Mario and leaned back and drove with my bare toes.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I must say, I haven't been this entertained by my trivial ramblings for a while. Oh the thinks I think!

SNOWSNOWSNOWSNOW

Apparently it snowed last night and that makes me happy:) I love snow! I love driving in snow! I love looking at snow! I love walking in snow! I don't love playing in snow because I hate being cold.

When I left for work at 7:25, my 7 minute commute was ruined. Not by snow, but by ice. Well, not ruined but really SLOWED. Took me over 30 minutes so I got to listen to to NPR longer!

Kids are supposed to be at school at 9:00 but the last of them didn't get in until 11:00!! HAH, they shoulda called a 2 hour delay!!!! It was an odd day but it worked...

Did You Know: Eugene Hutz's (of Gogol Borello) dad was arrested for listening to the BBC in Russia? NEITHER DID I. Jo alerted me that Hutz was interviewed on Fresh Air Friday night. When I grow up, I want to be in Gogol Bordello.

START WEARING PURPLE!!

White Christmas

Last night we watched White Christmas, just like we do every year. And every year I am fascinated by the same things:

1. Judy's horrifically thin legs. And shocking waistline. Did you know she was anorexic? I do now. Can you say Valley of the Dolls?
2. Sisters, sisters. When I was a kid, I loved this song:)
   
3. Snow, snow, snow, snow. J and I will sing this occasionally because what else can you sing when you want snow? Only 4 easy notes!!!
   
4. I now realize that Betty (Rosemary Clooney) was there to sing and Judy (Vera-Ellen) was there to dance.
5. Bing Crosby says "sexy" to Rosemary Clooney to describe the women sandwiches make him dream about. I didn't know they were allowed to say that word in movies in the fifties.
6. Rosemary Clooney was George Clooney's aunt! This morning I told my mom to go to George Clooney's mansion when she goes to Lake Garda in Italy! I don't think she'll take my advice though. Dang moms.....they never listen.

So, I think that's it. Colts are ahead by 10, 1:05 left in the 4th. I'm not terribly nervous.

We've had a lovely, lazy, relaxing day!

SMRT, I Am So Smrt

One of my friends is in grad school for Library and Information Science, and Archive Management. Now I don't know about you but I'm pretty jealous of her career. Not that I could ever do it because I couldn't sit still that long all day, but WOW. Books all day. WOW.

ANYWAY. Here's an article she found about choosing how to preserve books simply by smelling them. Smell the VOCs in a book and know how to save it. It is very thrilling to me to read terms like "material degradomics". WOWOW. On a side note, as a freakish environmentalist, I tend to avoid VOCs. NOT ANYMORE. Not anymore. As Neko Case sings, never turn your back on Mother Earth.

Sigh. I love the smell of old books.

On another side note, I love smart speak. When J talks programing/computer speak, I like it (hehe). When he gets together with my bros, it's hard to understand anything they say. When my sis and bros talk photography, I am in awe. Yesterday I had coffee with my other sis and her guy/boy/friend/datee and they talked physics and astronomy. SO COOL. I think my education lingo is a bit sad and pathetic. Perhaps that's because I know it all. DIBELs, IEPS, 504s, and NWEA are everyday to me. I WISH I COULD SMART SPEAK. My goal in life. Say things no one else can understand.

And: TODAY I BOUGHT EGGNOG. From Trader's Point Creamery. From my meat shop. Moody's Meats.

Hehe....

This is how big our house is.

This is how big our new TV is.

I keep having to look at the Christmas tree to make the TV seem smaller. Sure, it'll look nice in our next house. BUT NOW IT IS SO BIG!!

Hehe, just a good excuse to look at cute animals and giant photoshopped rabbits.

Yes, It's Important

You ever notice how men have the ability/need to close things really tightly? Like jelly jars? And sunflower oil? And the hose on the vacuum? Any lid/slot/thing AT ALL. I don't know why.

When I was a kid, we always knew my dad had closed the coke bottles when we couldn't get them opened. Maybe he did it for a reason? Little chillens getting hyped up on coke? Nah!

Now whenever I have trouble opening things, I know it's due to J. He loves closing things nice and securely. The jelly jar and the sunflower oil lids cause me to say bad words sometimes:) I'm so glad nothing will be escaping those jars though. It sure helps me sleep at night. Whew.

So Childish

So today.

I'm teaching the kiddos about verbs the past few weeks. As with MANY subjects, this is incredibly complex in the 4th grade world so I try to simplify. I tell them if you can do it, it's a verb. If it's a thing or has a/an/the in front of it, it's noun.

This is how our conversation went today:

Me: Okay, let's all write the spelling word 'comb' in a sentence. I want you to use a helping and a main verb. Oh, and comb needs to be a verb.
Them: A VERB? HOW??????
Me: 'I will comb my hair.' See? A boring but correct sentence, right?
Them: Yeah, uh huh, right, makes PERFECT sense crazy lady.

They proceed to write sentences on their dry erase boards. I help them. Together we go over some sentences.
Shelven: Here's mine!
Me, reading aloud: 'She will walk over there and pick up the comb.' Great, you have a helping and main verb. But is comb a verb here? Can you do it? Can you do a comb? (in head: that doesn't sound right, I hope they don't notice)

That was when a couple of giggles erupted because I'd asked 4th graders, who DON'T KNOW WHAT A VERB IS, if they could do a comb. And they knew what it meant.

COME ON KIDS. Learn your verbs, not your dirty innuendos!!!!!

Behold, We Are Expecting a TV

We are getting this. So we need to get new bookcases for the living room. Funny how changing one thing means you need to change EVERYTHING. On the HUGE plus side, I'll be able to
BUY MORE BOOKS NOW!!!!!!

So now J and I are sitting on the couch thinking how to rearrange the living room. Should we build something like this (placed horizontally, in the middle of the TV wall):

With this delight on the sides?

Oh the bliss!!

Do you know how diverse bookcase designs are? Really, I didn't until J started looking through 12,000 bookcases.

I FINALLY GET TO BUY MORE BOOKS!!! My tiny house will have room for more fine literature.

J is studying at Apartment Therapy, IKEA, and Room&Board furniture websites, something I never thought my husband would do. He's really into this!! He hearts his new TV!!

My Book

Last night I finished Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasan. Oddly enough I've never read a book by this author before though he's pretty well known.

J and I started this book on CD in May, while driving to New York. Then I found out I get carsick and headachy even LISTENING to a book in the car. I'm really not sure why. I think I'll try it again and double-check this hypothesis because I'm still a bit dubious about the conclusion. I don't often listen to books on CD but I have before and it was fine. The New York CDs made me feel icky days in a row though. Finally I gave up!

ANYWAY, I recently checked out Skinny Dip from my library because Carl Hiaasan is next month's book club author. Monday night, I almost finished the book but was too sleepy to give it proper attention. Tuesday night I cooked but thought about the book (and Joey, Karl, and Chaz) often. Wednesday night I was with family and cooking. Thursday I FINISHED IT.

Good book. I liked it. Not for the prude-of-heart though;)

Pride and Prejudice

We're watching Bride and Prejudice today for Thanksgiving. Of course, right? Just thought I'd let you know how many Pride and Prejudice movies I've watched. I'm sure more have been made so I'll find them and watch them too. I PROMISE.

Oh SIGH....

TONIGHT:
J and I just chopped veggies for stir fry, chopped and baked 3 pumpkins, made stir fry, dug out pumpkin flesh from 3 pumpkins, made pi crust, made 2 pumpkin pies, made pumpkin bread, chopped stuff for and made brocolli casserole, ect. Ect. stands for all the TRILLIONS OF DISHES WE HAD TO CLEAN AFTERWARDS. I'd post pics cause J made me take some but I'm far too tired. I do declare, I could just swoon!

Yes I'm tired. You should have seen the dishes. Yes. The pumpkin bread is still rising, waiting to be baked. Have to wait till tomorrow. I'm tired. And I really wanted to finish reading my book tonight. I'M AT THE END!!

Tomorrow I'll pick up the lovely, free range, happy turkey after work. Then I'll haul its 25 pound carcass to my house, load up my bags, the foods, the animals, and whatever else wants to tag along to mamma mia's. Oh, and the bread dough too. Gotta bake that sometime...

My Top Five

You ever used Slickdeals? Oh my gosh, I love Slickdeals! I also love Amazon's MP3 department, mainly because they have a different album for a low sale price each day. I LOVE SAVING MONEY.

These are the tabs always open in my Camino browser: Facebook, Google Reader, Amazon MP3s, Yahoo mail, and occasionally, Blogger. Everything else comes and goes but those 5 remain the same:)

Oh My Pretties

Look at it! Wouldn't that cake be fun to eat? On one hand, I'd be in happy color heaven. On the other, I'd be thinking of what chemicals were in the cake to make it such happy color heaven. Sigh.

Today we rearranged the house and decorated for Christmas. New house feel in an old house. Love it when life is happy:)

Christmas, Music, Food

I think doing a Christmas with no gifts (or at least no gifts for adults) would be fine:) My family has been trading adult names for a while but everyone still buys for the kids. Btw, I lOVE Christmas shopping so I'd guess I'd really be a bit sad to see it go. And since we save money each month the whole year for gifts, it's not a big financial hassle.

But a gift free Christmas. It just sounds nice. Stress free. Christmas Day with food and talking all around!!!

I like a new singer: Erin Mckeown. She's delightful and her lyrics sometimes sound like a beautiful classic book! She sings "inane" and "a train only follows its rails" and “there’s a risk, there’s a twist, in anything worth doing” and "would that you loved me (or something like that)"!

I'm recently infatuated with a few different artists. CURSE AMAZON AND ITS DAILY SALE ALBUM!!!

Gotta go cook dinner:)

Let's Readjust That a Bit.

This is how playing my violin makes me feel sometimes.

And like this.

You can't see it but my fingertips have calluses!

All due to this lovely instrument.

I went to my violin teacher's viola recital tonight. She's been playing 20 years. I've been playing 6 months. I am at 1/40 of her level. Let's just say I changed my mind and will play the violin in a symphony by the time I'm 40. That gives me 11.5 years to be reasonably good.

Her bowing arm is MAGNIFICENT. Her wrists are MASTERFUL. Her slurs are TO DIE FOR. And her pizzicato!!!! I'm sorry, I'm lusting after another person's musical talent.

Someday. Someday I'll be good:) I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

Oh My Stars!!!!

So here's what I've been dragging from the back seat of my car for the past 2 days:

1. 2 hats
2. 1 pair of boots
3. 1 pair of eco happy shoes
4. A bra (left this at someone's house and apparently didn't miss it enough to actually bring it in the house for DAYS)
5. 1 bottle of ginger ale
6. 1 bottle of vodka (I was carrying this for a friend, I promise!)
7. 1 lime
8. 1 violin and practice book
9. A stack of social studies tests to grade
10. A poofy black jacket
11. A loose bag of onions (some are still rolling around under the seat...)
12. 4 canvas grocery bags
13. Jasper Fforde (hehe, I wish, just his book)

I think my organized house wonders what the heck is going on with my messy car. I'll just tell it to mind its own business.

I'm listening to Joshua Bell to inspire my hurting fingers and drooping confidence with my violin. It's getting quite hard and seriously makes my brain cramp with exertion. THE VIOLIN IS SO HARD TO PLAY. But I love it!! My goal is this (I decided today): Within 5 years, I would like to be playing in the local symphony. Should I up the years? I don't know. I won't ask my teacher cause I don't want to cry. But I thought having a goal would help me. I WANT TO PLAY FLUENTLY AGAIN. But man, this stuff is hard!!!

Panera tomato and mozzarella sandwiches make my tummy nauseous. FUN.

I'm a barrel of laughs tonight, I realize. Sorry, in real life I'm happier than this.

Wouldn't It Be Nice......

SOOOOOO. Last night I went dinnering and dancing w/ friends. Let me just say, I look GORGEOUS after 6 hours of sleep, too much drinking, and too much dancing. My knees feel funny too. My throat is hoarse also, a sad side effect of starting to cough yesterday AND having shouting conversations in 1,2000 decibel music.

The good news is, I ate some yummy pasta before dancing. AND THERE ARE LEFTOVERS!!!!

The bad news is, after about midnight, I was seriously dancing to stay awake. If I paused for a SECOND, I would start yawning and fall asleep. So it was dance, dance, dance. Punctuated by thoughts of: wouldn't it be more fun to curl up on my couch with a good book, J, movie, computer, or ANYTHING INTELLIGENT? I love dancing when I'm tipsy but a couple hours is enough for me.

It was fun though:)

And I found a friend from college I haven't seen in 7 years!! JUST LIKE THAT, BAM, he yelled my name and when I turned around, he looked the same as in college. Funny. Reminded me of studying biology in the library. And eating in the bottom of Decker (if memory serves me well, which often it does not).

Anyway, I went to dinner and dancing. I'm tired. I got my exercise. I drank a Bud Lite cause it was on sale. YUCK.

Ella, Ella

So I just finished reading this uber cool book to my kids on Friday. Each day during reading lesson, I'd crank up Ella on the speakers, we'd sit down, and the kids would listen to the biography of singer they'd only heard of from their grandparents. We talked about how funny records look. HUGE to the kids;)

20 years in the future, when my 31 students hear the following words, they will think of me:

1. Scat Cat
   
2. Bebop
3. Ella Fitzgerald
4. Dizzy Gillespie
5. Chick Webb
6. Swing music
7. The Savoy

And they'll remember that RIDICULOUS teacher who hounded them into thinking about facts and opinions about Ella and her music, the author's flowery figurative language, and the illustrator's idea of what music looks like.

It'll be just one more thing they get to discuss with their therapists. MRS. J SCARRED ME FOR LIFE. ELLA FITZGERALD HAUNTS MY NIGHTMARES!!!!

Sadie

Whilst Sadie and I were walking this afternoon (minding our own business, mind you), we were chased. Fiercely and feverishly followed. Nipped at the heels. Terrorized you might say.
BY A CHIHUAHUA.
Yep, once again, the little bugger was free to roam and didn't want us to go anywhere near its abode. Always this thing hates us and SCARES ME TO DEATH. Let me say it again, he/she hates us. Not a sweet dog. Come to think of it, I've never met a nice chihuahua.

Until today I didn't know how to spell chihuahua. Today one of my kids told me how to spell it. I'm happy to give them those moments when they may teach the teacher. Although really, this happens very often.

I also found out today that Sadie is about 30 years old in dog years. She seems to be dragging for a 30 year old. I guess in 2 years, if given the chance, I might nap a lot too.
I CANNOT WAIT TO BE 30!!!

My Minor Complaints in This Life

So in the adult restrooms at work: there are limits on how much toilet paper you are allowed to use.

That's right. Those in change restrict our toilet paper usage by STOPPING THE TOILET PAPER ROLL FROM TURNING. Yes, they do. They do!! I'm not pulling your leg!! Toilet paper rolls at my workplace do not turn. Is this normal? I've always been annoyed by this but this morning, I got a little bit ~ahem add word here~ about it. It's not been the best of lives for me lately and the toilet paper, damn it, why won't it turn?????

Because there is nothing else in the world to rant about;)

Except that I think those who are obese, smokers, or non-exercisers should pay more for their insurance. Safeway supports me in this view.

And, that I'm sad my farmer's market ended Tuesday. I will miss chatting with my fav farmers.

Also, I'm sad I can't do much for the redwoods that are so tall they blow my mind.

I wish I didn't have 31 kids in my class so I could focus on each kid as an individual and give them the education they so need and deserve.

I wish I could have a normal holiday just once more in my life. Sad that life changes and I don't quite know how to deal yet...

Oh Lawrence!!

So I found this lovely website somehow and I want this tea. It's actually been a tab in my Camino browser for a week or so. Once we get new grocery budget money this Friday, I'M ALL OVER IT.

Also, I'd like to add 6 hours to this week, one for each day.

And I'd like to see what happens in Lawrence of Arabia. J and I have been watching the movie for a few night now and last night, LAWRENCE WENT CRAZY!! Poor guy. It kinda ruined my day. I haven't seen the movie since I was a kid and only remember the most horrible parts (boy exploding, boy getting sucked into quicksand, torturous journeys across desserts). Sometimes I watch these old movies my parents let me watch when I was TINY and I think I WAS ALLOWED TO WATCH THIS?!?! This is like R in 1950's speak!!!

Really, I have 12,000 things to do tonight so I gotta go.

Money of Mine

Since I love getting grades (something to prove how AWESOME I am), I jumped at the chance to see my credit score grade. Credit.com has a free credit score report and I would just like to say, I am an A. Yep, an A. So is hubby (don't know his report card score but he is a couple points higher than I am number-wise). We're going to get a SUPER interest rate on our next mortgage.

My fav part of the report was when it told me "You have a score better than 167 million people" and automatically that makes me better than 167 million people. If I wasn't as infantile as I am, this wouldn't matter. But today, I will be thinking in my head: I am better than 167 million people.

Yes, I am often this silly. And no, I REALLY don't think I am better than everyone else. I just like to indulge sometimes;)

Just on a side note, my blood type is A+.

The Stink

This was so awful that I had to post about it. Naturally.

Today a kid in my class, I'll call him GEORGE, found a big stink in his desk. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most stinky, GEORGE'S stink was at least a 9. This stink was of unknown origin. At least that's what he insisted to me. This stink left the classroom it was so large. It went down the hallway. It ate all our clean, fresh, natural air. This stink made us all groan and want to puke. It was a mixture of: dead animal, stinky feet, rotting horror.

THIS STINK WAS HORIFICAWFULHORRIBLETERRIBLEWRETCHEDNAUSEATINGGODAWFUL.

It was.

I had two papers on my desk GEORGE just turned in and those made my desk stink. FOR REAl. I made the kid clean out his ENTIRE desk contents to bring home over the weekend. I wasn't letting that stay in my classroom! It had permeated them so completely!!!

Odd thing is, there wasn't any mess. At all. On anything. After repeated questioning, GEORGE didn't know what the stink source was. I gave up and wanted to gag all afternoon. It gave me a headache. I feel like I need to shower now. And I HATE showering.

GROSSAWFULYUCKGAGGAGGAGGAGGAGGAGGAGGGAGGAG.

Kids. Remind me to never have one.

Amazing!!!

You know what I love? Seeing people grow. Not physically, but more mentally and academically. I was trying to express this to my kiddos today and they stared at me blankly.

I was working with a small group on summarizing an ENTIRE book. Incredibly hard for a 9 year old. Trust me;)

Me: "This is hard, isn't it?"
Them: "Yes!"
Me: "You know the amazing thing though? In 6 months, I won't need to help you this much at all! You'll be able to do this well all on your own! Wow isn't it?"
Them: Stare. So?
Me: "You will have grown and learned SO much that you will be able to summarize a WHOLE book without my help! It will be so amazing!!"
Them: Stare, nod for loony teacher's sake.

Hehe. Kids. Don't appreciate their growing brains:)

Today was violin lesson. I LOVELOVELOVE that I have bow strength now, that my tone is rich. I love that Mary Had a Little Lamb is now child's play. I love that I can play a 3 note slur. Amazing! Vibrato, here I come!!!

I Worked Out

My one relaxing thing to do at work is to read Time Magazine. Odd, I know. But when I decide to have lunch in my room because the morning has been especially hairy, I enjoy reading the goings-on in the world, courtesy of Time. I get (or rather got) the mag free when my students got their Time For Kids last year. This year I'm doing National Geographic Explorer but do I get that free? NOOO. Fortunately, I get NG at home. Alas, this leaves me with nothing to read at work:(

So I had ONE issue of Time left and I read it last week during lunch. I really enjoyed this article about how exercising doesn't really help make you thin.

Basically, exercising won't make you thinner because you:

1. Tend to eat more when you exercise since your body needs more energy to replace the calories you burned.
2. Tend to eat more thinking you deserve that cookie since you worked out.
   
3. Tend to be less active throughout the day/evening since you had such a hard workout.
   

Last Sunday I went to yoga. It was a new class and place so I didn't know their routine and MAN was I sweating like a pig by the end!!! I was WORKED OUT. Went to Whole Foods afterwards and thought, I can have a piece of pizza for lunch because I worked out! Sat around the rest of the day cause I worked out. Didn't want to do much cause I worked out. In the end, I did take Sadie for a walk. But I worked out, I didn't have to do anything, RIGHT?

So yes, makes sense how you can actually gain/replace weight when you exercise. SO TRUE!!

The cure for this is to be active DURING the day, not just at one big workout. As a teacher I walk, sit, stand, and scream (hehe) all day at my job. When I wear my pedometer, I get close to 10,000 steps by the time I get home. And then I take Sadie for a walk after dinner. I eat healthy generally. I'm good to go:)

I think I'm okay.
But I just wanted YOU to know about this.
Cause I worked out.

Croak, Croak...

There's this blog I read called Dooce cause she's freaking HI-LAR-I-OUS. We both talk in caps a lot and maybe she yells a lot in real life, like I do. Anyway, she started a blog of HATEMAIL to make ad money off the crazy things people comment on her page/e-mail her.

I really like this idea. But I think if I got hate comments, I'd cry a lot. A LLLLLLOOOOOTTTTT. Because I am a wimp when it comes to accepting criticism. Or hate. It makes me sob and worry.

Guess what? I'm staying home from work tomorrow cause I'm losing my voice!!! I had to do this once last year, in December (3 days in the 3rd week that month) because I got a HORRIBLE cold, didn't rest, and it consumed my life. Seems familiar. Damn me and my not resting skills. Why is it when I feel fine, I am lazy but when I am sick, THINGS MUST GET DONE?

ANYWAY, I will be home tomorrow, antsy and home. I need to go out and buy dishwasher soap, return some things to stores, and drop off Goodwill stuff. But I'm scared to cause if any of my students' parents see me, they will immediately assume I'm skipping out on their kid to play hooky and run errands. When I speak/croak, they'll know I have a good excuse but what if they see me far off? What if they point fingers? CRITICIZE ME??????

I think I'll do my errands in a different town, not in mine.

BTW, I don't know how to spell criticize. Or errands. Or available. Isn't that smart of a teacher? But I am a very good teacher, a fine example to kids that not everyone is good at everything. I'm an amazing teacher but an atrocious speller.

New Harmony on Saturday, must be able to speak by then!!!

These are thoughts I've had since coming down with a bad cold Thursday:

1. Should I really be staying home if I'm not puking and dying? Yes, I know I have 48 sick days saved up, BUT STILL. What about the chillens? They need me!! I assuaged my guilt be the reminder that I would have wilted under The Power of The Fourth Grader in my delicate condition. Plus they would have been drenched in my germs.
   
2. Yesterday I sneezed at least 60 times. I counted sneezing bouts and multiplied by 4 since I tend to sneeze in 4's. And these aren't my normal tiny sneezes, these things are BIG. For me.
   
3. I've spread germs on probably every surface in the house. Lovely. Of course I worked VERY hard on this, PURPOSEFULLY.
   
4. Yesterday I rebounded in the middle of the day and did laundry, hung out laundry, organized guest room closet, organized my closet, went through clothes, did dishes, and cleaned the house. This is when I did the most damage spreading germs.
   
5. The Internet doesn't have anything new. Books make me sleepy since I'm not sleeping well BECAUSE I CANNOT BREATHE. I've read 3 magazines. Watched 7 episodes of Gilmore Girls. Ate a lot.
   
6. I like being wide awake at 2:30 AM or 5:30 AM because it gives me time to do things. Such as looking at EVERYTHING on the Internet. While sitting on my butt.
   
7. I don't like not sleeping. But even more, I HATE the repetitive, inescapable, sicky dreams I have. OH MY do I hate dreams when I am sick. It's like I'm hallucinating and all I want to do is LEAVE THE DREAM, NOW. But often I can't. So I suffer through them.
   
8. I'm using cloth napkins to soak the snot oozing out of every pore of my being. I'm not wasting tissues but and spreading germs, once again, by carrying around a snot encrusted red napkin.
   
9. I complain a lot.
10. I'm snarky.
    

Seriously, you'd think I'm dying from this post. No, just bored. I was with myself all day yesterday.

Since I'm up so early, you think it would be okay to go spread my germs at garage sales?

BTW, next week this time, I'LL BE IN NEW HARMONY. Or waking up to get ready to go there.

A Little Irritation

As a teacher, I think it is very important to expose my students to different and new ways of thinking that they might not be familiar with. I ask their opinions on how things are going in class or with how I'm teaching, we talk about culture, racism, the morals of lying (white lie, big lie, lie?), and everything else on the planet.

I endeavor to show my kiddos every day that we are all different and that is fine! Some kids get knocked for a loop when they realize they struggle a great deal in reading or math. "I must be stupid, I'm getting extra help from the teacher!!" they think. I want them to know that is perfectly fine and normal not to be good at everything. It is wonderful when they accept who they are and learn on a level appropriate for them. We all have talented areas and areas where we have great difficulty. We all need to accept that in ourselves and in others.

All this "Accept One Another!" talk sounds like mumbo jumbo, I know! But it works in my classroom. We generally live a peaceful, bully free existence.

AND THEN COMES THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. And parents make it clear to their kids this man should not be accepted.

I've read the speech. I admire it. A bit weighty for 4th graders but beneficial nonetheless. The entire speech is about staying in school and studying hard in order to achieve great things and make something of yourself. A speech that any speaker at a convocation at my school would give and we would applaud.

But I've got a few kids who will be leaving when we play the recorded speech on Friday morning. They'll be going to the library to read because their parents deem it WRONG for their kid to watch THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES tell their kid to stay in school.

I don't know why I am SO ridiculously pissed about this. Must be PMS. I've tried hard to think around my opinions and this is what I've come to:

1. If President Bush gave this speech, I'd say KUDOS! I may not have entirely liked the guy but heck, I'm not forbidding my child to listen to him.
   
2. Talk radio and news shows have really hyped this up. Maybe parents don't really know the speech's content, just what the media says about it. But if I continue down this avenue, I get disgusted with people for not forming their own opinions and simply absorbing what other people say.
3. If Hitler gave this speech, I don't know if I'd want my kid to listen to him. I'm assuming some people must hate Obama as much as others hated Hitler? Best I can do.
   

I must say, I'm a bit saddened by this. ACCEPTANCE PEOPLE, ACCEPTANCE. Change what you can, don't hate others for differing views. Hey, but aren't I not accepting them? Yes, that's true. I AM A HYPOCRITE. I see this now:(

I just confused why the speaker is unacceptable though the message is sound.

No Rest For the Weary

In fact, I'm not weary. That's why I'm up at 11:57 on a work night. J is asleep before I am. For those of you who know my school-year sleep habits, this is quite odd. But it does happen. SOMETIMES I DON'T GO TO BED AT 9:30!!!! This happened once last school year. It is happening again tonight. DUDUDUDUM.

I know, this is SOOOO interesting. Don't worry, everything else ahead in this entry is RIVETING, ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT NEWS.

Tonight J and I got in a slight fight. For those of you who don't live with us, I thought I'd outline the levels of our fights. Oh, the thrills of reading my thoughts!!!!

1. Happiness: This is where J and I are 70% of our time. We joke and cuddle and have a gay olde time together. We like Happiness. We sometimes bicker about things we don't agree on, but happily, if you can imagine. We laugh a lot in this stage. I chatter endlessly too, thankful I married a man who loves to hear me talk. OR SO HE SAYS.
   
2. Disagreements: We land here about 20% of our existence. This is when we disagree amicably and are able to get over it pretty quick. A common conversation here might be: "No, that's not what I meant." "Oh? That's what I felt." "I'm so sorry to have conveyed that. I love you." "I suppose I do too. Give me a minute though. Okay, I love you too."
3. Arguments: 10% maybe? We were here tonight. This is when we get mad and irrational and raise our voices about it. Mind you, we don't yell, we merely raise our voices a bit. There is frustration and pent up fury. This could go on for hours, until we pull our heads out of our asses and see that in the grand scheme of things, this really doesn't matter. We are only 2 tiny people among BILLIONS and will we really remember that this was so important in a year? Or even in a week? NO. Tonight it took us a grand total of less than 30 minutes to take a reality check. Yay for us!
4. FIGHTS: 5% or about 1/month. These are full blown and hideous. there is yelling (loud, usually on my part), crying (vehemently, usually on my part), and very open fury (both, but I'm better at it because J is so very wonderfully nice). Of course we both still recognize that we love one another and this is just a FIGHT but still, we (I) relish it for a while. Often for a day. At least. And the whole time, I'M thinking, "Aww, I miss J. I wish I could cuddle with him on the couch. I wish we could go for a walk, holding hands and talking." BUT NOT ENOUGH. And J is thinking. "Geez, Sarah is such a FREAK!" And he is correct. But he is a freak too, that's why I married him ~squeezing J's cheeks~.
   
5. The other 5% of the time I don't know what we do. You decide.
   

BTW, being married is the most wonderful thing I've ever done in my life but OH SO HARD. You work every day and if you slack off, FIGHTS, here we come!!!

Yeah, That.

Oooo, MUSHROOMS!

Delightful Abby and Summer

Ze Kitty

I'm surrounded by boys! They love me!!

Bella and Me. She's cuter:)

Sometimes I'm the world's biggest slacker. Sometimes I'm the most productive person that ever lived. I guess that's just how life goes.

So lately I've been craving new music. These are on my must get list: The Decemberists, Wilco, Neko Case, Bon Iver, Nick Drake, and The Shins. Some I have their old albums, some I don't have at all. But I NEED NEW MUSIC, LIFE IS BECOMING DULL AND MEANINGLESS.

So I asked J is we could set aside some money in next month's budget for us to "invest" in new music. I never got a straight answer so I'll wait a few more days before asking again. I'm gung ho YES but the thing about marriage is I have to get his stamp of approval also. DANG IT.

J is good at waiting a LIFETIME for anything to happen while I FREAK OUT AND DO EVERYTHING ASAP. Seriously, that's how it is.

ME: We need to get this done? I CANNOT REST UNTIL IT IS COMPLETE. STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING, STOP THE WORLD, OBSESS, DO IT NOW.
J: We need to get this done? Let's think about it, ponder it, meditate on it, research it, wonder about it, and then talk about it again before we decide anything.

The longer we are married, the easier it is to find common ground. In fact these days I am less frantic and obsessed and he is.... well, I am less frantic and obsessed now. He makes me better:) Aww:)

And since I've got nothing better to talk about and pics of mushrooms won't entertain you for long, I should got start dinner. Corn on the cob, baked beans, happy, healthy hotdogs, and watermelon. SUMMER!!!!

P.S. Any music suggestions? One can only listen to so much Belle and Sebastian, Killers, and David Grey w/o going mad. MAD.

Roundabouts

We have a new roundabout in front of my work. It has 2 lanes. AND EITHER I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT OR NO ONE ELSE DOES. Sad when I'm constantly in this predicament....

I've asked lots of people. I looked on the Internet. I've thought long and hard. I think that the outside lane MUST turn right at the next outlet. I think that the inner lane can turn whenever they want. That seems most logical.

It doesn't work that way though.



See, I get green car. But yellow car CONFUSES me. Shouldn't she turn right ONLY, at the next right? Because what if green car was already in the roundabout (before either yellow or green were there) and wanted to turn BUT YELLOW CAR WAS GOING STRAIGHT?????? What happens when green and yellow collide?

I DON'T KNOW. I HATE NOT KNOWING.

I think the outer lane should be specified as ONLY turning immediately. That's how it is at other roundabouts around here.

Because I don't know whether to yell and curse at yellow cars or apologize.

Sorry for all the caps.

Obsession

I easily obsess. Things, ideas, topics, stuff.

Let me just tell you, when I married J, I thought it was so funny (code word WIERD) that he would research items out the wazoo before making a purchase. Like when we went to a new restaurant, he'd pop up with the fact, "They serve the best lobster bisque here." And I'd look at him and say, "You researched this place, didn't you?" And I'd think he was odd. The man researches EVERYTHING. I told him when we get pregnant or have kids, I'll send him to the comp to see if something is normal or to find a solution to a prob. BECAUSE HE'LL FIND 12 SOLUTIONS BACKED UP WITH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

And I thought that was odd.

Then I realized I can get VERY obsessed with ANYTHING. I've always been this way. Each mid-September, I go w/ my mom and sisters for a girl weekend in New Harmony, Indiana. I am SO excited everyday of the year, each year, and the whole summer (daily), I say to J, "You know what will be nice? NEW HARMONY." Just ask him. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

And sometimes I like to spend HOURS at work, just getting things in order. I could leave. I don't need to make this document for 10 YEAR OLDS look perfect. And when I wanted to grow a garden, I read every book/website imaginable. I know the names of 12,000 flowers. And when I wanted to be organized, I read everything. As a kid, I'd have 20 books spread all over my bed (with me in it) over one topic. I heart topics!!!!

My new favorite genre, as of 2 years ago is non-fiction. This greatly aids with obsession. I've got books on germs, flowers, veggies, organic everything, health, food, local food, vegetarian food, house decor, sewing, organization, environment, etc.

The sad thing is, sometimes my obsessions fade. Sometimes I get lazy and don't stick with it. Or maybe it's just that I now know EVERYTHING about that topic and have to move on!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

She's So Fine:)

Just a note to say: My violin is back and it is as if I haven't seen a good friend in months. Oh, I missed it!! All I want to do tonight is play but I can't forget J's poor ears need a break every once in a while;)

My Brain

This is how my head felt when I left work today at 4:00:

wfhiuwehofmsuhogixbdfbljkxbvkjlrxtcgiumrtxrtglmchlrthmlrnuvchxemo8qgumxu8
3jjxm8924ytuchx94hcm9h4xg2jmix34o8m3489n8c54ycmtxzkn,vjbmzi;,iovmgn4c8

It imploded quietly for a while. Nothing remains. But a NAP will restore me!!!!!!

Death

Preface: I'm sorry if I offend you, whoever reads this. I don't like to filter my thoughts for your benefit if I'm writing in my blog. If I am offensive, please don't read me anymore. I won't mind. I don't like having to worry about what people will think of every word I write. Thank you very much, thank you very much!! That's the nicest thing anyones ever done for me!


Americans have all these empty yards - plant something, build something, or bury someone. Makes sense. -Andrew- USA


As I'm sure everyone knows, I think it is very important to take care of our planet and ourselves. Let's keep things as natural and simple as possible and chances are we'll be healthy. And as long as we keep ourselves healthy, there's not much intervention that should be needed for normal events such as birth, colds, or death. Babies come out of people everyday, let's not make it frightening emergency. Colds happen all the time so why are antibiotics overused? Fever is our body's way of fighting germs. LET IT BURN. Hehe. Death, though it eventually happens to EVERYONE, is nowadays masked with a life like body, impenetrable coffin, and somber cemetery. This is not how I like things.

But some day I will die. And here's why I'm telling you this: The New York Times ran an article about home burials. Interesting! I've read about green funerals, simple caskets, and wooded, natural cemeteries. But this was different.

I've talked with J lots of times and don't know if I want to be buried or cremated. I've always been enamored with tombstones and think I'd like to have one some day. If I had to. On the other hand, I hate wasting things and if I'm dead, why should I waste space? A rotting body doesn't need a hole to rest in. And cremation is cool. It means you will drift in to someone's yard, on their trees, or in their lungs. Hehe, how cool to say: I'm in your nose!!!

BTW, DONATE YOUR ORGANS, YOU WON'T NEED THEM AFTER YOU DIE.

But, if I was buried in my backyard, in a simple coffin, with a nice tombstone that J in his profound grief composed, I think it would be nice. Except my backyard is tiny. You'd trip over me every time you walked out there.

And, if one day J were to die before me, I think I'd like to wash him and dress him. I'd like to touch him for the last time, just him and me. I'd want to cry over him and talk to him and love him before never seeing him again. I'd like only loving hands to prepare him and nothing unnatural used to ready his body for burial. I'd like him to be with me and our family before I'm all alone. I'd like him to always be close to me, even when he's gone.

After saying al this, I don't know what I'll actually do since I'm a death noob. I've never had anyone in my immediate family die. I've only experienced 'easy' grief. I've never had a baby but I have had colds and fevers. I usually like to suffer. J got me a $10 bottle of cough syrup last year. I took 1 dose. $10. I would rather cough. And tell everyone else what they should do through this, my insignificant blog. Thank you for listening. ~bow~


The difference between the NYT and a tabloid:
A tabloid: MAN BURIES FAMILY IN YARD
NYT: Home Burials Offer an Intimate Alternative

Update on Me

23 out of 32. That's how many goals I've accomplished this year. Not too shabby. I got a 78% on life this year! SCORE!!! Considering I added in 2 new hobbies and have been happily maintaining them, I think I get at least a C+ (maybe even a B-, what do you think?). I'm a better person this year!

I really love playing my violin! It makes me very happy though I'm not that great at it. Each time I practice, J tells me I'm sounding so much better. I think he's being a little nice but it is nice not to be confined to playing songs like 4 Shorts and 1 Long. Having that one stuck in my head was a little dull. I had to sing it to J a lot for a while since it was stuck in my head. Imagine me singing 4 long notes and then one short one. ENDLESSLY.

My repertoire now includes Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Edelweiss, and Mary Had a Little Lamb. So now I sing those to him. Along with some of my other favs: New World Symphony, The C# Finger Game, and A String Mixer. And, oddly enough, I love playing scales. I think I hated doing those on the piano.

Yesterday, J finished tweaking our wedding video and I finally got to watch it after 2 years! I didn't realize how much I smiled. I mean seriously, I SMILED SOOOO MUCH. Most of what I remember about my wedding is stress. Stress over getting everything ready, doing a TON of it myself (w/ the fam), and wondering what the heck I was getting myself in to. Yesterday I was sad that I didn't remember that I smiled so much. I need to revamp my wedding memories. It makes me smile right now to think of it.

And here's something I didn't know would happen: I love J 12,000 times more today than I did when we got married. We were talking about this and how I wish we could have another wedding (now that I REALLY love him). Of course, how will I feel 2 years from now? I think maybe next year we should have a giant anniversary party, kind of like a fake wedding, during which I can feel like I'm marrying him again.

Belle and Sebastian are regaining their spot as my favorite band. Sorry Killers, Lizzy overdid you.

My Pets

The Official Standard of the Miniature Schnauzer describes temperament as "alert and spirited, yet obedient to command. Friendly, intelligent and willing to please. They should never be overaggressive or timid. Usually easy to train, they tend to be excellent watchdogs, with a good territorial instinct, but more inclined toward vocal notification than attack. They are often guarded towards strangers until the owners of the home welcome the guest, upon which they are typically very friendly to them; unlike some of their terrier cousins, they are not typically aggressive. However, they will express themselves vocally, and may bark to greet their owner, or to express joy, excitement, or displeasure. In German, the verb schnauzen means to snap vocally (as in repartee,) or to give lip to something, or to talk back.- Wikipedia

<sup>I am happy at least one of my pets is normal. Sadie fits the bill PERFECTLY for her breed. Spock, not so much. Today I get to clean up the vinegar/baking soda mixture I poured over a section of carpet in an attempt to rid the floor of URINE. Yep, my cat pees on the floor. But he hasn't done it for nearly a month now. A MONTH!!!!! We're all very excited!

In case you were wondering, here's a pic of a toilet trained cat.</sup>

Here's a Blog Post You Can't Refuse

Last night J and I watched The Godfather. Surprisingly, I've never watched it before! J said I had to watch it since it was about my family. Silly boy, not all Italians are in the mafia! All I have to say is: THOSE POOR MAFIA PEOPLE. Even though it was fiction. Power is hard to maintain.

Also, yesterday afternoon, J and I had a delightful fight for 1.5 hours. Then we got over ourselves and went to the IMA. We walked in the gardens and beside the river and made bets on who would cross the bridge and who wouldn't. I lost $0.35 to my husband. It was a pretty afternoon! The museum was closed but J got them to let me in to employ and observe the restrooms. The faucets there don't add air to the water like most do (bubbly water is what I usually see). I must admit, though it uses more water, an uninterrupted stream from the faucet is so interesting that I decided to write about it on my blog.

Then we went to Euphoria for dinner! Locally grown, in season, freshly prepared food from a chef named Brad. Though I'm mostly a vegetarian, I eat meat when it is "happy" (raised well, butchered well, and its upbringing not wreaking environmental havoc), last night I ate chicken in a restaurant! I rarely eat meat other than what I buy and cook so this was exciting!
Pretty yum too:)

That's all, gotta get ready for church!

Alas, I Ate Your Beloved Dessert

I must think happy thoughts right now because J is a bit miffed at me for having eaten his last-Friday-dessert. I seriously somehow thought he didn't want it. I don't know how I came to that conclusion because I realized this evening HE VERY MUCH WANTED IT!! My best guess as to why I consumed it is: it was TIRAMISU (coffee!!). AND yesterday, while attempting not to fall asleep while tutoring, it was the only coffee available to me in 5 minutes between kids. Plus, it being almost a week old, I didn't even stop to think about it....

Enough airing of The Jarvis Marital Problems. We seem to fight over desserts a lot. Hehehe:)

Here are a few things that make me happy this week:

1. Lizzy and I eat a piece of zucchini carrot bread each evening.
2. I played my violin very well today while practicing and only slightly less well at my lesson.
3. My fingertips are getting calloused!!!
4. I have exercised 5 times in the past 7 days.
5. My house is clean!!!
6. Coming home tonight are: my mom. my sister. my brother. I get to see them all tomorrow afternoon, after work! Sadly, leaving on Saturday are: my sister. my sister. my brother-in-law. my nephew. my nephew. my delightful niece. Alas, I will not be able to borrow any children for 2 weeks:(
7. Lizzy goes home tonight! We will have the house to ourselves. Oh. My. Gosh. I am just about jumping with excitement!!!! J and I have remarked "This is how it will be when we have kids? We'll only be able to have face to face conversation after 10:00? We'll be exhausted and only want to clean the house and then sleep? AND SHE'S A GROWN KID. AND ONLY ONE KID." I'm a little disappointed in us already.
8. I went to the library on Monday. I got a ton of new books, 2 of which I've already read 4 days later. It had been 3 weeks since my last book and all the magazines I've been catching up on aren't as good as a book. What made me sad was my $5 fine for late books. Sigh.
9. J is wonderful:)
10. Spock hasn't gone to the bathroom on our carpet in weeks! J's idea of aluminum foil on places Spock especially loves seems to be working. Also, my efforts at cleaning carpet helped too. I have to think this because if they didn't, what was all that effort for?!?! 20 pounds of baking soda and a gallon of vinegar!!!!

That's all the happiness I can give you this week!!

Ah, Sweet Delights

One of my favorite things to do is sit and read Travelzoo's weekly e-mail, informing me of all the delightful deals I could be getting somewhere in the world. And one day, when we have kids and I'm not a teacher, we'll abandon the chillens at one of our parents and go on a January vacation. We'll sleep late in Venice again, finally go to Budapest, cruise on the Russian rivers, and picnic on a green Irish hill. Then we'll come home, hug our polite, obedient children and leave in February for a short US trip. Perhaps New York again, but this time we'll be at a high rise, 5 star, downtown hotel. We'll sleep late there too. And we'll have aTV in our bedroom, something we don't allow ourselves to have here at home.

Of course we'll have to be rolling in the dough for this. But I think we can swing a January vacation every once in a while.

Travelzoo Weekly Top 20

Every week we search 1,000+ companies for their very best
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TOP 20 DEALS * -- JULY 22, 2009
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$699 -- Venice, Florence & Rome 6-Night Vacation w/Air
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$1118 -- Peru & Machu Picchu: 6 Nights w/Hotels, Tours & Air
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$699 -- Dublin Summer Getaway incl. Hotel & Direct Flight
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$139 -- Legendary Chicago Hotel into September (Reg. $255)
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$69 -- Upscale New Orleans Hotel w/Breakfast, incl. Weekends
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$365 -- Fly to Fiji from Los Angeles (each way)
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July 21, 2009 Is Upon Us

Clouds behind Jarvis's house:)

Japanese Beetles are here!!!

Sadie is scared of WAY over grown zucchini...

The infamous Lizzy

Jessica and her son, my nephew, Levi:)

ECHINACEA!!!

The wonderful J

Hello world!!! I've been busy! With Lizzy!

Officially, today is my first free day with no work, no Liz appointments, and no family gatherings:) To celebrate, we have been reading, cooking, cleaning, and catching up on things. Liz is reading Night of the Twisters and I am reading The Eyre Affair, a Thursday Next novel. Makes me want to name my kids after days of the week. Wednesday Jarvis. Sunday Ann Jarvis. Hehehe.

We're waiting for bread to rise, the pasta sauce to simmer, and the yogurt to finish doing what is does (Curdling? Hmmm...). At 4:30 we're off to the farmers market in search of tomatoes, corn, broccoli, onions, and anything else that strikes our fancy.

Today is my 2 year wedding anniversary! You gotta love my husband for sticking with me this long:):) Happy anniversary delightful, marvelous, patient husband!!! You are my best friend and I'm glad I get to be with you forever!!!

Violin and Others

In preparation for my violin lesson today at 4, here's a pic of the lovely instrument. I am reminded of a dream I had a while back in which I bought a violin but accidentally broke it before I could learn to play it. Hehe, because of that, I'm being careful today! I've wanted to play the violin ever since I was a little girl and am finally going to!! TODAY!!

Moving on: recently I've been sneak brushing my cat while he is eating. Spock is a huge pig and LOVES to eat perhaps more than I love anything in the world. Since he has such long fur and he can't seem to lick it all off/clean, I'm left w/ the job. It's actually calming and a practice in patience to get all his excess fur off w/ that fine toothed comb! Like hanging laundry on the clothesline (of which I did 3 loads today) or baking bread (I've got dough in the fridge needing to be baked tomorrow). Unfortunately these 3 things don't seem to be helping my overall patience level day to day. Alas.

I finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle on Tuesday (couldn't go to sleep until I had so I stayed up late!). The author had great voice but I'm not sure I'd enthusiastically recomend it to many people. 

My little sis, Lizzy, is in the hospital again. She's been having kidney issues and they think they've found the the name of what she has so she's been on meds for a while. She's very swollen though (lots of fluids hanging around in her!) and is getting stretch marks on her legs. Today she got worse so my parents are taking her to Riley again. I wish I could do something more than pray.... I'll visit her tonight or tomorrow and try to cheer her up. Poor kid, she's been like this since the end of May and it's going to take her whole summer to get better!  

William of Hamleigh

Just to let you know, I finished the book and William of Hamleigh died. In fact he was hanged. After 990 pages. 

My Week Thus Far

I started my summer jobs this week and have done the following at them: 

1. Wrote a press release (ridiculously hard since I didn't know how to write one nor much about the topic about which I was writing). Wrote blog posts and researched lots of stuff.
2. Planned a summer's worth of lessons for 10 kids. Tutored 5 kids on Wednesday. 

I ran out of room on my hard drive on Monday!!! EEEEEEKKK!!! So I ordered a new one and just got it today. I'm a bit leery of transferring things to it until J gets home from California. I'm sure I'll do something wrong. 

Yesterday I rented a steam cleaner and cleaned all the carpeted rooms in my house. Sadie and Spock (mostly Spock) make our house smell icky. So before the cleaning, in preparation, I bought myself a frappuccino. To give me strength. You know.

After cleaning cleaning for 2ish hours, I sort of fell on the couch and read for a few more hours. I was getting really hungry but there wasn't anyone there to cook for nor was there any food in my house so I just sat there. And read for HOURS. Until J called at 7:30 and my depressing book made me sad to talk to him and I was weak with hunger. WEAK. So I left to return the cleaner machine and bought a pizza. Then I sat around watching my parent's Star Trek TV series since I needed something to cheer me up.

The Pillers of the Earth, the book I was reading, is a captivating read but everyone is being killed and raped by William of Hamleigh. I HATE WILLIAM. He makes me very angry. Poor Phillip and Aliena and Jack and TOM BUILDER. Poor Tom. I can't read that book anymore. SO SAD. I get VERY into books and have trouble not adopting the feelings of the characters when I leave the book. 

Anyway, I'm hanging at my momma's house today. My nephews and I picked strawberries and lettuce for 2 hours this morning and then I spend 1.5 hours cutting and washing everything. The strawberries took the most time!! Yummy though! We're all eating strawberry shortcake (I've had 2 already) today!!!

Ummm, yeah.....

INDIANA!!!! So here I am, back at home. Well, not exactly.... I'm at one of my summer jobs (photography assistant and tutorer (is that right? tutorer? watch out, grammar mistakes ahead!)). 

I've got nothing new to say about life except that my husband is gone, in California for work until Friday night. I'm all alone in this world! Oh Rhett, whatever shall I do?!?!?!

I shall be photography assisting today and tomorrow, tutoring Wednesday, whatever Thursday, then tutoring Friday. Each night w/o J I will lounge about, watching raunchy, horrific amounts of TV, slurping spaghetti off my plate, eating salad with my fingers, and basically doing everything I don't do because people are around. J keeps me sane.

Here's a secret and it's really weird (to me) and slightly inappropriate (to you?). Stop reading if you'd like to NOT know the extra information I shall divulge today. I'm not wearing underware today! Wow, first time for everything! My gyno always tells me it is better not to wear underware so I'm trying it out. For size. Well, more like this: "OMG, I'm changing and all the laundry is sitting folded on the couch in the living room! I'm out of underware (due to vacation) (yes, I think in parentheses)(and sometimes don't capitalize correctly in them)! I'll grab some underware when I'm changed. Hmmm, I'm very busy getting ready to leave but I think I'm missing something. What is it? What is that 'off' feeling? OH. YEAH. Hmmm, maybe I'll give this a try, after all, I'm wearing a long skirt so it should be fine."

I've ever felt more free under my LONG skirt and it makes going to the bathroom 50% easier!!!

Weird. I KNOW. But this is a one time thing for me so don't freak out....