The Week in Review

Well, here is one thing I've learned this week: when I'm 34 (almost 35!) weeks pregnant, it takes me a loooong time to recover from a weekend of fun and festivity. I had so much fun last weekend (I don't think I mentioned that my two sisters-in-law and two nieces, my mother, and my aunt came to town for the shower), but I still have that "hit by a truck" feeling. Add that to the fact that it was Graduation Writing Test week and my 10th graders are reading Julius Caesar (which, I'm sorry, I just don't enjoy teaching although I try to fake my love for it), and it has seemed like a really long week.

Other happenings this week: Thank goodness the new fall TV season started. Although I've Fake TiVoed most of my shows and plan to watch them at some point this weekend, I did catch my guilty pleasure, Dancing with the Stars. I wasn't really looking forward to this season because I didn't really care about any of the "celebrities," and I thought it was too soon after the last season, which ended, I think, in late May. I have to confess, though, that I think I'm really going to like it. Most of the celebrities seem likable, and there are some really promising dancers in the mix. My favorites are Jennie Garth (look, I loved 90210 back in the day) and Helio the Racecar Driver. He may be my schoolgirl crush for this season.

Last night, Darryl and I took a Baby Essentials class so that we could learn how the proper way to feed, bathe, and diaper our newborn. It was quite fun and informative. I've changed a few diapers in my life (but Darryl has probably changed more than I have), but I never feel like I'm doing it the right way, and I have NEVER bathed a baby. We have our hospital tour this Sunday, and then next week, we're taking Infant CPR. From that point on, the education--which I'm sure will be quite vast and overwhelming--will be hands on.

Tonight, I'm having the most fun I've ever had doing laundry...I'm washing baby clothes! I have to confess that I opened the washing machine lid several times to look at my pink and white onesies swishing in the water. I'm sure the laundry isn't much fun when it is, you know, soiled by various gross substances that I won't specify, but for right now, I'll bask in this moment of baby preparation.

Yep, that's about it for us. I have a long "to do" list for this weekend...I'm crossing my fingers that I get everything accomplished.

Baby Shower!

Saturday, my friend Jessica C. threw a baby shower for me. I'm having a school shower in a couple of weeks, so this one included some family and some of my non-teacher friends. It was lots of fun...good friends and family, fun conversation, delicious food (chicken salad on croissants, spinach salad, fruit salad, and cake), and very generous and beautiful gifts. I'll say this much--the baby is definitely going to be one sharply dressed gal.

Here are some highlights...

The beautiful cake:


From Left to Right: Darryl's Aunt Carol Sue, my cousin Victoria, my mother, and my Aunt Winifred:



Here's Jessica measuring me for the infamous baby shower game "How Big Is She?":


Here's a shot of some of my friends and family:


This was a bit of a gag gift from Darryl's cousin and his wife. Most of you know that Darryl and I aren't telling the name of the baby, much to the frustration of many of our friends and family. Brandy (Darryl's cousin's wife) figured that since she couldn't get anything monogrammed with the baby's real name, she would just give us a onesie monogrammed with "No Name." Ha!



Here I am chatting it up with my friends Tiffanie and Sheri; my friend Lisa is in the background, talking with my cousin Victoria:

It really was a fun time, and I am tremendously grateful for the friends and family I have. Good times!

This and that

The most eventful thing that has happened over the past few days is that Darryl returned home from a 3-week stint in South Africa. That was officially his last international trip for a while, and I was (and still am) really, really, really glad to have him home. He's also been treating me very well the past few days, cooking dinner two nights in a row while I sacked out on the "big chair."

I'm tired of hearing about OJ.

Funny dog story: Tonight Darryl and I were eating our dinner (grilled pork chops), and about halfway through our meal, Darryl noticed that Abby, our dog, was not in her usual dinnertime spot; she typically sits by the table, staring longingly at whatever we're eating. We immediately jumped up from the table, afraid that our gate was open and she had gotten out, but we quickly discovered where she was: the little boy next door was throwing Cheerios over the fence to her. Daniel (the little boy) loves Abby, and he was so cute taking a bite of his snack and then throwing part of it to her. I'm not sure how Abby felt when she realized she missed out on pork chops to have Cheerios, though...

The glass half full

I guess I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning because I am in a really good mood.

I just returned from Dunkin' Donuts (don't judge me), and the thermometer on my car said 66 degrees. It makes me think that fall might actually be on the way. Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. Fall festivals, county fairs, Homecoming at school, pumpkin patches, sweaters brought out of their summer retirement...I love all these things. To top it all off, I'm excited about the tremendous life change that Darryl and I will experience in November. I know from all my friends and family who have kids that this will also be a time of being overwhelmed, exhausted, and perhaps even "blue" from time to time, but I'm still excited about it.

I also can't complain about school these days. My mother commented the other day that when she asks how my day was, I'll reply, "All right" or "fine" instead of saying it was really good or great. Honestly, the only thing that keeps it from being good or great is my constant fatigue. Taking a break from seniors, however, has been a drastic improvement. I have a good group of juniors who have helped me remember why I like teaching. My honors sophomores have been a bit of a struggle in the sense that they don't seem very academically motivated, but I'm hoping they'll come around.

So all is good. I am about to grade essays, though, so I'm not sure how long this mood will last...note that while I did say I like my students, I did not say they are great writers. :)

Random Thoughts

I don't think I can put together a coherent paragraph, but here are some random thoughts...

1--I'm so very tired when I come home from school. I confess I've done nothing the past two evenings except watch TV and read magazines. And eat. And nap.

2--Why does Rosie always want to create drama?

3--The Fat March finale was last night. It's time for new fall TV.

Why do four-day weeks...

...seem longer than a full week? All the people in my lunch group seemed especially tired today, and we all agreed this week seemed longer than usual.

This week has been quite busy with grading and class prep. Next week is going to be easier for me, thank goodness; my juniors will be watching The Crucible (I'll think of you, Jen!), and my sophomores are going to be working on a research project.

I just looked at my stomach in the mirror and I think it actually looks bigger since this morning. Is that possible?

Ugh

I have to grade essays and I don't wanna.

The Past Few Days--Baby Shower and Parents' Visit

Thursday, my 2nd period 10th grade honors class threw me a surprise baby shower. Now, before you are completely overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness, I must say that I think part of this was motivated by a strong desire to have a party. Regardless of the motivation, though, they did give me two gifts--one was an arrangement of towels, bibs, booties, blankets, and diapers designed to look like a cake, and the other was a goody bad for me full of bath/spa products. (I took a picture of the "cake" arrangement, but I realized after I loaded the pic that I had also captured the card with my full name on it...so I don't really want to post it here. I'll take another pic soon and post it, though, because it is really cute.) And there was cake. The students were all very sweet.

You may notice from the pic how enthusiastic the boys are about their first baby shower. Also, I constantly tell this class that they remind me of a 6th grade dance because the boys sit on one side and the girls on the other. Now, if I could only get this class to put as much preparation into their reading and essay writing as they do into their party planning...

In other news, my parents have been here since Thursday. Darryl had to work out of town this weekend, so they came up for a visit. I have enjoyed having them here. We've been eating well (Friday, my mom made roast, mashed potatoes, okra, peas, cornbread, banana pudding...yum!), and we did some shopping. My dad also put together a closet organizer for the baby's room. My mother already has purchased a bag of clothes for the baby, and she couldn't resist buying the baby her first pair of jeans the other day while we were at Kohl's.

Oh, one last thing...you must go to Jen C's blog and read the diary entries she's posted from when she was 15 years old in 1987. Hilarious!

The baby's football season attire

This past weekend, our friends Rebecca and Damian came to visit us from Baton Rouge. Their gift for the baby was this fabulous LSU cheerleader outfit. This will definitely be the baby's Saturday attire. Geaux Tigers!!!

More on the stomach touching

Today a random student I don't know walked up to me in the hallway and asked, "Is you pregnant?"

I told her yes, I was, and then she said, "Can I touch your stomach?"

I said, "I'd prefer that you not do that." She said okay and went along her merry way. I'm sure she thought I was a big ol' meanie, but I did not know her at all.

I also have a student who recently returned to school after having a baby six weeks ago. She wants to talk baby with me every day. Now, I'm not one to "shun" these young mothers because many of them have very sad situations and I try to support them any way I can, but at the same time, I don't think we need to be bonding over pregnancy. Kind of strange.

I told TimShady the other day during one of our gab sessions between classes that I'm learning that motherhood is like a club and I'm a new inductee. Suddenly, women who really weren't all that friendly to me want to know all these things about me. When I was married with no kids, I was uninteresting to them. Apparently I'm incredibly fascinating now that I'm with child. Weird.

Pregnancy Brain

I definitely had the pregnancy brain yesterday. My students have been reading and discussing The Crucible for almost two weeks now. Yesterday, I gave several of my classes who were ahead in their reading a Crucible crossword puzzle. Up at the top, I had typed, "The Scarlet Letter, Acts 1 & 2." Even on the board under our agenda for the day, I wrote, "Scarlet Letter Activity." Go me.

School and Stuff

Here's some random stuff from the past few days:

--I had a prenatal massage Sunday. (For those of you who may be curious, the only difference I could tell between it and a "regular" massage is that I was on my back and side for all of it instead of on my stomach. Also, there are supposedly some pressure points that are supposed to be avoided on a pregnant woman.) Anyway, it was WONDERFUL. I told Darryl that I may need to fit in another one of those before November. :)

--I'm really enjoying teaching the juniors so far this year. I know it is kind of soon to speak, but so far, I have no complaints. I do, however, have some complaints with my 10th grade honors class. I'll just say that many of them--heck, the majority of them--probably should not be in an honors class.

--I just had some Publix Premium Monkey Business ice cream. Delicious. (Banana ice cream, chocolate shavings, and chocolate-covered peanuts...seriously.)

--Speaking of ice cream, my new guilty-pleasure TV show is Fat March on Mondays. A) I think it is both impressive and inspiring how much these people are walking. B) The ambulance makes an appearance almost every week. C) It gives me something to look forward to on Mondays.

Yeah, that's about it.

Why I don't like to watch the news...

So I sat down on the couch this morning to watch a little TV to "ease" into my Saturday, and within 10 minutes, this is what I heard about on the local news...

--Vick's involvement in the killing of innocent dogs (something that makes me want to throw up, by the way)
--The discovery of the West Nile Virus in the metro-Atlanta areas
--Armed robberies and assaults
--The danger of OTC cough medicine for young children
--Local car thefts

Happy Morning, Everyone!!!!

Trimesters and School

Well, I've hit the final stretch...the third trimester. Why do I think this will feel like the longest one? I'm feeling okay, but I think the tiredness has returned. I also think this tiredness is combined with the usual tiredness I feel when my body adjusts to starting school again. Anyway, the first item on my agenda when I get home is a nap. Do I really have time to nap? No. But I do it anyway. (That last sentence makes me think of Martina McBride's song "Anyway," except she's talking about big things like loving and dreaming and singing. I just want to nap. Go Martina.)

School is plugging right along. This is my first year without seniors, and I have to admit I'm enjoying the break. Seniors have this certain attitude of "I'm the big, bad senior, so I don't have to do what I don't want to do." I gotta say I'm not missing that. I'm a little disappointed with my two classes of sophomore honors students, and I can't really put my finger on why that is. They all seem like good kids, but both my classes are larger than the honors class I taught last year (last year, I had 13 students, and this year, I have 20+ in each class), and one class--the last class of the day--can be downright obnoxious and loud. Today was a little better, but we still have a ways to go.

My juniors are starting The Crucible tomorrow, and we're reading parts in class. That can either be fun or painful. Cross your fingers for me that it will be the former. I'm looking forward to the line--and fortunately, it takes place early on--when Abigail tells John something along the lines of "Remember when you clutched my back and sweated like a stallion" because that is when the students' interest perks up. :)

Well, speaking of The Crucible, I better start working on my prep. I've taken a nap and I've blogged, so I have no excuses not to work on it. Yay.

Back to School

Today was the "real" first day of school. Overall, it was pretty uneventful, which is good. My seventh period honors class wins the award so far for the loudest class--not bad kids, but they loooooove to talk. Loudly. My quietest and oddest mix of students is my 5th period. I spent most of the class wondering if I should check for a pulse. I guess it's the post-carb-load coma after lunch.

Our school is trying a "standardized dress code" (no jeans, collared or crewneck shirts of certain colors, etc.) this year. I honestly thought it would be a disaster the first day, but surprisingly, most of the students seemed to comply. I'm curious to see how it pans out.

Right after school was over, I was feeling really good, surprisingly energetic. Then on my way home, the exhaustion hit. I had to take a nap this afternoon.

Oh, my glucose test results were normal. That's good. Heaven forbid I cut out starches and sugar.

A long day indeed

Today has been the longest day ever. My day began with the 3-hour glucose test. While it wasn't horrible, it definitely was not the way I would choose to spend my morning. The worst part was that all the blood had to be drawn from one arm (four blood draws total) because the other arm wouldn't produce enough to fill the tube. (Of course, that required another needle prick to determine that.) The good thing is that the lab facility let me leave between blood draws, and Darryl (a.k.a. Husband/Baby Daddy of the Week) came along with me, so we actually drove around and ran errands. That definitely helped break up the time.

After the test, I went to school and worked on this and that. It seems that no matter how much I try to prepare, I end up scrambling at the last minute. For example, I thought I had my schedule set for Thursday and Friday, but I found out yesterday that we may have some kind of assembly Friday where students receive/go through their handbooks. Now I need a Plan B. I'm too tired to think of a Plan B.

From four to six this afternoon/evening, we had Open House. I could actually feel my feet swelling in my shoes. Open House also entails constant smiling and cheerfulness. I wasn't feeling it. Several people touched my stomach. I'm not a fan of the stomach touching. If you are a close friend, I am not offended if you touch my stomach. However, if I don't know you well, please do not touch my stomach. Why do people feel that it is okay to touch a pregnant woman's stomach? People don't touch a non-pregnant woman's stomach. In fact, that would be seen as inappropriate. As we were standing in the hallway, Tim told me that I just needed to go ahead and accept the fact that my female students will touch my stomach. Geez. (How many times can I write "touch my stomach" in one paragraph?)

Let me digress here to say that I truly am excited about this baby, and pregnancy, for the most part, has not been bad (so far). I don't want to sound like an angry, bitter pregnant woman. I'm just amazed at the obsession with the belly...and everyone's apparent entitlement to touch it.

I met Darryl for dinner, and while I was completely famished, I felt as though I could curl up in the booth and go to sleep. Speaking of sleep, I think I'll end this blog now. The bed is calling.

Comments I've Gotten Today

1. From Tim: When I arrived to school this morning, he said, "Don't take this the wrong way because I don't mean it that way, but you look more pregnant today than you did yesterday." (Sorry, Tim--I had to rat you out! All in fun...)

2. From the registrar at our school: "Wook at de wittle belwy. I wuv pwegnant belwies!" (This was said as she rubbed my stomach. If this woman weren't one of the sweetest people ever, I would have been really annoyed.)

3. From our friend Blake, over dinner: "You still have three months to go? You're going to be HUGE!"

First Day

The alarm sounded harsh this morning at 6:00.

The first day back to school (for teachers, anyway) wasn't too bad. I'm kind of glad to be getting back into a routine. My stomach--which obviously has expanded over the past two months--received a great deal of attention. I hope that's out of the way and we can all move on now. (I'm not too great with being the "focus.") Kim, Tim, and I had a good lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately, today was the only full day we had in our classrooms; the rest of the time in our rooms will be an hour here and there between meetings.

On another note, I had a call today from my doctor's office that my glucose test results were "slightly elevated," so I get to have the fun three-hour test Tuesday. I've decided that this will be the real test of whether or not I'm over my needle-phobia; so far, I've done well with all the poking and prodding. Let's hope the streak continues.

Tonight I spent my $100 Teacher Gift Card. I didn't buy anything too exciting--pens, Sharpies, a stapler, and the like. It was fun, though--nothing like buying school supplies courtesy of the state.

She's How Old????

This may seem kind of random, but I almost flipped out the other day when I was browsing through an old magazine and discovered that actress Toni Collette is only a year older than I am. Am I the only one who thought she was...older? (Of course, this starts all those questions like, do I look that old? Does the makeup just make her look old?) No offense to Toni Collette (like she reads this blog or something)--I think she is a really good actress. But seriously...she's only 34??

(You can tell I have a lot to think about these days. Maybe it is time for school to start.)

The Last Days of Summer

School starts for teachers on Thursday, so I'm enjoying these last few days of vacation. On one hand, I'm ready for school to start--I'm excited about teaching 10th Grade Honors and 11th Grade American Lit this year, and I'm also excited about having my planning period first period and I also "should" be ending the day on a somewhat positive note because one of my honors classes is the last class of the day. (I say this because for the last two years, my 7th period classes have been not so great--they would leave me feeling defeated at the end of the school day.) All of these things are things I'm looking forward to. I've also been getting a little bored and restless lately, not really wanting to tackle anything that requires effort, but tired of just doing nothing.

On the other hand, I know that once the papers pile up and the grading begins, I'll be ready for a break. And I've enjoyed much of this summer, having occasional lunches with Darryl and other friends, getting the house organized and cleaned out (not fun at the time but feels good now), working on the baby's room, going to the pool, vacationing with family in Pigeon Forge, and relaxing. I've also enjoyed spending time with my girl, Abby:

You can tell that she has enjoyed a lazy summer, too.

So today I plan to have lunch with Darryl, do laundry, and work on some school things, and tomorrow I will have my glucose screening test done (fun, fun!), relax, and then have dinner with my friend Lisa.

Here's to the last days of summer!

This made me laugh and laugh...

Saturday night I was channel surfing and ended up watching an episode on E! of Saturday Night Live featuring a pre-DUI arrest Lindsay Lohan. This Debbie Downer sketch made me laugh so hard that it took me a while to get to sleep! I love it when they get cracked up. It all starts to fall apart about two minutes in and then unravels from there. Enjoy!

Last Full Week of Vacation

I haven't posted much this week because, frankly, not much has been going on. Here are the highlights:

--I met Kim Thursday for dessert (cake--yum!), and she wanted to know if I ever finished The Shipping News. I did. I thought the book was just okay, but I'm not going to judge it too harshly because seriously, people, my brain is just all over the place. My lack of focus possibly has something to do with my so-so reaction to it. (When a dead body was discovered, I actually had to flip back through the book to find out who it was because I couldn't remember. That's how bad my mind is right now.)

--I bought three pairs of pants. That might not seem like much of a highlight, but if you knew how hard it was to find a decent pair of maternity pants, you'd understand what an accomplishment this is.

--I accomplished some things for school. I now have my honors class planned out for the semester. My next task is to plan American Lit (11th grade) for the semester. (FYI--I'm taking a much-needed break from seniors this year. I've taught 11th before, so I'm not really doing a new prep. I'm looking forward to the change.)

Aside from those three things, I've just been enjoying my last opportunity to relax. I've watched TV (specifically online episodes of Friday Night Lights), played the Wii, taken some naps, gone to the pool. I'm soaking up the last bit of summer I can.

The Beckhams

Am I the only one who doesn't really care that the Beckhams are in America? I'm adding them to the list of people I'm sick of hearing about.

The Weekend in Review

Darryl and I went to Ingles for a "snack run" this afternoon, and this is what we bought:I have my glucose test next week...should I be concerned?

Other things of importance this weekend...we are pretty much finished with cleaning/organizing the house. Finally! My original goal was to finish before the weekend, but Darryl informed me that it would be impossible. He was right. It's finished now, though, thank goodness. When the organization guru was on Oprah a couple of weeks ago, he said that most households have "that" room that is never shown to company and always has its door closed. That room was our office, but not any more! Now it is the baby's room, all neat and tidy.

Yesterday we saw Ocean's Thirteen. It was just okay for me, but Darryl seemed to like it. I asked Darryl afterwards if it seemed slow because I was sleepy or if I was sleepy because it was slow. I liked the first two better. (Many people didn't like the second one, but I did.)

I should finish The Shipping News tonight. If I do, I'll consider this past week a success. This coming week, I really, really, really need to focus on school stuff. My main goal is to get my 10th Honors class planned out for the semester. This whole "turning my class over to a sub" thing has me a bit stressed because I have no idea yet who this sub will be. I need to structure my class so I'm leaving the sub with something "doable" for the last six weeks of the semester.

So this is my last full week of vacation. I hope to get in plenty of prep time, pool time, and even nap/reading/TV watching time.

Funk, Furniture, Friday Night Lights, and Harry Potter

I'm just combining it all into one post.

Funk. Yesterday I experienced what Darryl likes to call a "funk." I was just in a bottomless pit of self-pity and despair for about six hours yesterday. Do I really have anything to feel bad about? No. Shouldn't I be thankful for how good life is now? Yes. I'm blaming it on hormones.

Furniture. The dresser/changing table and a nightstand were delivered for the baby's room yesterday. (We don't really need the nightstand right now, but we're kind of thinking "long term" with this furniture. I hope Coretta likes it because she's going to be using it until she's in high school!) That means we have all our furniture except for a glider that probably won't get here for at least another month. I also received the curtain rods I ordered online. Seriously, people, how hard is it to find a white curtain rod? Apparently it's very hard as I looked EVERYWHERE for one and finally had to order one from Target online. Darryl hung the valances last night. Everything is coming together. Once we get a few things on the walls, I'll post some pictures.

Friday Night Lights. Tim and a few other people (and even TV critics) have been singing the praises of this show for quite a while, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. (How many cliches can I use in one sentence?) I found the episodes on NBC's website, and now I'm hooked. I'm about four episodes into it and really like it so far. While my mother might argue that I already watch too much TV, in all actuality, I don't really have many "series" that I watch. Lost isn't coming back until February (I think), and Gilmore Girls is now over. I think FNL, Grey's, and The Office might be my main shows next year.

Harry Potter.Whenever a new Harry Potter book comes out, I wish I read Harry Potter. I love the excited frenzy everyone gets into over a book--I feel as though I should be a part of it. I haven't read any of the books, and I'm not even sure I would like them, but I feel like I'm missing out. Does that make sense?

Goals for the Week (and More on Big Daddy)

I realized that I failed to conclude the story of Big Daddy, the not-so-bright student in the Labor and Delivery class. The third week of our class, which happened to be the day after the 4th, Big Daddy and his wife weren't there, but several other couples were out too, I guess because of the holiday. Well, our last class was this past Thursday, and Big Daddy was back, but he was different: cleanly shaven and quiet, no stupid questions. Darryl and I determined that he really was stoned the first two classes. (Seriously...we think he was smoking the Mary Jane out in the parking lot or something.) And that's it for Big Daddy.

I had a rude awakening this morning when I actually looked at a calendar to see how many days left until school starts. Not many. Not only do I need to get some things accomplished, but I also need to work on being more active or else school is going to DEMOLISH me by the end of the first week. I need goals for this week. Here they are:

1--I want the house back in order by the end of the week.
2--I need to finish The Shipping News. (How long can it take Amy to read a book?)
3--I need to get up at a decent hour--oh, let's say 7:00--this week. I've been sleeping until 8, people.
4--I need to cook dinner every night until the weekend. No more relying on Chick-fil-a or Sonic or pizza to bail me out of cooking. :)

I would also post something about needing to walk for exercise every day, but let's not push it. Maybe that can be a goal for next week.

Saturday the 14th

We now have carpet! It looks really good, much better than what we had. I'm not bothering to post pictures because it isn't THAT exciting.

While the carpet was being installed, I went to a movie. I wasn't really in a movie mood, but I needed a way to pass the time. (Darryl was afraid the dust/carpet-dye smell might get to me.) I wanted a comedy, and I wanted something with an easy-to-follow plot because I don't have much concentration and focus these days. I decided to see License to Wed with Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, and the dude who plays Jim on The Office. (I'm too lazy to look up how to spell his last name.) It's not a great movie...definitely a rental. It has a few funny moments, and it does feature some of my favorite actors from The Office, and I do like Mandy Moore...

Last night, we had dinner at Maggiano's with Darryl's Uncle Sandy and Aunt Carol Sue. It was really good to see them again. They come to Atlanta once or twice a year, and we all try to get together when they come up.

Today we're going to try to get our house back together again. (Jen, right now, our house is similar to that house on Oprah the other day because we have junk from all the bedrooms in the garage and in the living room!) Lots of fun!

Friday the 13th

We have no carpet.

The lovely business who installs carpet for Home Depot insists that we called this morning and cancelled our installation. That is not true. When Darryl went to Home Depot to complain, Home Depot basically said that they have never had a problem with this company, and apparently the company thinks Darryl and I are lying about calling this morning. They're supposed to come in the morning, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Darryl took off a day from work today and that we've been accused of lying. Whatever.

On the upside, though, and more importantly, I had a doctor's (or, to be more specific, a midwife's) appointment this morning and everything is going well. She even said my weight gain is fine! Even better! To celebrate, I had a brownie.

Cleaning and Organizing Woes

Our carpet is being installed tomorrow--yay!--but I really hate doing all the work it takes beforehand...cleaning out drawers, bookshelves, closets, etc. When all is said an done, our house should be, for the most part, all nicely cleaned and organized.

I don't know if anyone saw Oprah the other day when she had on the organization guru. Anyway, he talked about how we tend to hold on to lots of stuff for sentimental reasons, but we don't really DO anything with those items, so they might as well be tossed. He also said that if we go through a pile and hesitate on whether or not we should keep something, we probably shouldn't keep it. That inspired me to throw away a lot of college T-shirts that I had been saving in a drawer (saving for what, I don't know), and I also am sending lots of things to Goodwill, things I probably should have sent long before now.

I've moved on to my closet, which has really become a hazard zone with all the shoes in the floor. Here's the thing about me and shoe racks: I like the idea of a shoe rack, but in all honesty, I don't use them, and they end up just taking up space. I'm thinking about just getting a few crates--one for black shoes, one for brown, and one for everything else. At least that will get them out of the middle of the closet floor.

For the record, I am not "nesting." My impression of nesting is that it is more out of a driven want or need to get things "settled." I pretty much feel anything but driven these days.

Comfort Foods

I had really been wanting some spaghetti, and I was just going to make the same old spaghetti I usually make, but then I ran across Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti and decided to give it a try. I thought it was delicious. (Darryl isn't a huge spaghetti fan, so he wasn't turning cartwheels over it or anything. Trust me, though--it was good.) If you ever decide to make it, I would suggest making the layer of sauce on the bottom very scant because I really didn't have enough sauce for the top layer.


I also love cake, and I've really been into the cupcake thing lately...not sure why. I made these a few weeks ago and they were a hit with Darryl, me, and some of his coworkers, so I decided to make them again. I confess that the cake is Duncan Hines mix. The frosting is from the recipe on the Nestle cocoa container. Delicious!

Vanity Post

I'm just in a posting mood today, I guess...

I've had a few requests for a profile shot, so here you go. I'm 22 weeks. I have 18 (at least) to go. I'm going to be huge. I'm not going to sweat it, though. I've already decided that as soon as I feel physically recovered after the baby is born, I'm taking myself to the local Weight Watchers, a la Jenny McCarthy, to get the baby weight off.

I'm excited about two recent purchases. First, I finally found some jeans that I love from Gap Maternity. I've searched for weeks for some jeans, but nothing seemed to fit right. Gap was having an online sale this past weekend, so I decided to order two pairs and just take back what didn't fit. (That's something I love about Gap Online...I can just return everything to the store instead of having to mail it.) Well, both pairs fit. One pair fits well now, but I think the other pair, which is a bit looser, will fit just right in a couple of months. Hallelujah!

Also, I have Rosacea, something I've had for about ten years or so. Pregnancy certainly hasn't helped it, but I found a skin care line at Kohl's--Good Skin--that has products for red, irritated skin. I bought a starter kit yesterday, and so far, I'm encouraged. I've noticed an improvement already.

I'm not really sure why I posted all that--I think that women just like to share when they find some good products! There's nothing like the high that comes after a good shopping experience. :)

Democratic Dreams

Last night, I had one of those nights where I dreamed all night long. While I can recall about six or seven of them, here are the two most interesting:

1--I dreamed that I was having dinner around a square table in the backyard of my childhood home with my parents, Al Gore, and actress Jennifer Connelly. (She was in several of my dreams--one that included us going to church together in my hometown, and another that had us drinking coffee at Starbucks together. Not sure what's up with that.)

2--I dreamed I was playing board games and smoking cigars with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and another presidential hopeful I can't remember.

Any attempts at analysis are welcome! :)

Pic of my Dr. Scholl's shoes, per Jessica's request

My friend Jessica, who is a very fashion-forward shoe fan, wanted to see my Dr. Scholl's tennis shoes. Can we still be friends, Jessica, even though I own a pair of these? I did at least try to get the cutest offering in the Dr. Scholl's selection!

Baby Registries, Tennis Shoes, and More

Darryl and I (well, mostly Darryl) have really been getting a lot done with baby stuff. Darryl painted the baby's room this weekend, and it looks great. (We're getting new carpet installed some time in the next week or so, so he wanted to paint before then.)

Saturday, we registered at Babies R' Us and Target. (I'm not saying that as a plug for gifts, trust me; I'm just detailing our progress.) Wow, was that a project. We already had a good idea of what we wanted, but still. It took about three hours, and we had to take a nap afterwards to recover. While it was kind of fun, I'm glad that has been checked off the list.

Yesterday, I cashed in whatever coolness I had when I bought a pair of Dr. Scholl's tennis shoes. I decided that I really need to be doing some walking and mild exercise so that I don't turn into a complete slug, but my hideously swollen feet won't fit into any "regular" tennis shoes. My Dr. Scholl's aren't very pretty, but they are slip-on (yay!) and have more flexibility than Nikes and the like. I don't know what I'm going to do when school starts--seriously, I may be wearing flip-flops with everything.

Is there such a thing as Pregnancy ADD? I have been reading the same book--The Shipping News--for six weeks. I like it, but I just am not in in the mindframe to read a book with a plot, nor do I have the focus to watch a 2-hour movie. What's wrong with me?

Joel Siegel

I just found out that film critic Joel Siegel died. I'm a huge fan of Good Morning America (I love Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer--and I miss Charlie Gibson), and Siegel just seemed like another good-natured (but tough!) member of their team. In fact, he was on the show just a couple of weeks ago, reviewing Ocean's 13, so I assumed that he was in good health these days.

Anyway...

I'm adding a third person to my list...

Not only am I sick of hearing about Paris Hilton and Rosie O'Donnell, but I'm also sick of hearing about...

3. Isaiah Washington (from Grey's Anatomy)

He isn't gettin the TV news coverage that the others are, but the story of his firing from Grey's is permeating all the entertainment mags and websites. I'm done with him.

More from the mouth of Big Daddy

Darryl and I had our second class last night. Big Daddy and his significant other were a few minutes late, and I was a bit hopeful that they wouldn't show up. But no, they came, and this time, Big Daddy was wearing a skull cap/'do rag.

Big Daddy didn't have as many questions this week, but he did have one moment of, um, "brilliance."

The teacher was telling us about what happens immediately after the baby is born, and she mentioned that the baby gets a shot of Vitamin K very soon after birth.

Big Daddy raised his hand and said, "Yeah...speaking of shots, did you hear about that wrestler that killed his wife and kid, but he was giving his son steroid shots?" (What a connection there, dude--Vitamin K, steroids...virtually the same thing, right?) Several of the men (Darryl included) got up immediately and left the room because they were about to lose it. The teacher just quickly acknowledged the tragedy and then dismissed all of us for a break.

Another thing about Big Daddy--he is constantly leaving the room. He'll stay for about fifteen minutes and then leave for about ten. Last night, his eyes were half-closed most of the night. I really wonder what he's doing when he leaves the room...smoking a joint, maybe? Odd.

Two People I'm Sick of Hearing About

1. Paris Hilton
2. Rosie O'Donnell

Is anyone with me on this?

Back from the mountains

Saturday, Darryl and I left with my parents for a cabin in the mountains near Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. My aunt Winifred; cousin Andy and his wife, Leigh, and daughter, Lily; and Aunt Winifred's nephew Clint were staying in another cabin about a mile from us. We had a great time hanging out together and having a good, relaxing time. Unfortunately, I took very few pictures (I'm terrible), so I don't really have any good photos to show.

Sunday, we all went to Dollywood. I wasn't really sure what to expect from Dollywood. Country schtick aside, it is a really nice amusement park. It had quite a few rides for adventurous adults and older kids, and Lily seemed to enjoy the kids' section. This was my first venture to an amusement park when I couldn't ride anything, so that was a bit different. I ended up being "that person" that held eveyone's wallets, cell phones, and such. The park was very clean, and the food was VERY good. I had fried chicken for lunch, and then I had ham and pinto beans, turnip greens, and blackberry cobbler for dinner. Delicious! There were also stands selling fare such as fried green tomatoes, sausage sandwiches, ice cream with fresh berries...not your typical amusement park food.

Monday and Tuesday, we went to various places around Pigeon Forge and spent time shopping and eating. In the evenings, we just stayed in the cabins, playing Wii bowling and various board games.

And that brings me to today and our trek home. We made a spontaneous stop in Athens, Tennessee, at the Mayfield Dairy. While the tours were closed, we still managed to have some good ice cream. I had the Extreme Moose Tracks; I was really wanting some serious chocolate, and that really hit the spot.

All in all, it was a nice little vacation. I will be more than happy to sleep in my own bed tonight, though!

My Father and the Wii

I probably won't post for a few days; Darryl and I are going with my parents to a cabin in the mountains and will be back Wednesday.

Last night, Darryl showed my dad how to bowl on the Wii, and this morning, my dad asked if we could take the Wii with us to the cabin. :)

Poor Anteaters

Well, the Anteaters didn't make it last night. My interest in the CWS has waned, so I guess I was really addicted to the Anteaters instead of the series itself.

Big Daddy the Clueless One

(Before I begin this post, I want again to clarify that I'm not turning this into an "all baby" blog, but this story is too good to pass up.)

So Darryl and I are taking a Labor & Delivery class, and our first meeting was tonight. (The class meets one night a week for four weeks.) Yes, we know it is early in the game, but this class would be really difficult to do once school starts, and it is something I can check off the "to do" list.

Our class is made up of about nine couples, and it is just like the classes you see on TV--mats on the floor, teacher who talks in a soothing voice...the whole shebang.

Anyway, one of the couples is this guy and girl who look like they are in their mid-20s, and he had kind of a scruffy look and was wearing a ball cap. (Darryl noticed later that his nametag had his real name, and then under that he had written "Big Daddy.")

The teacher started mentioning everything we would cover in class, and she said that at some point we would talk about C-sections so we would know what to expect in case any of us have to have one.

Big Daddy's hand shot up in the air.

Big Daddy: I have a question about C-sections. How many births are C-sections?
Teacher: About one in four.
Big Daddy: Wow. Really?
Teacher: Yes.
Big Daddy: Is it true that a woman has to have a C-section if she has an STD?
(Big Daddy's significant other turns red, says something through her teeth, and punches him in the leg.)

Seriously, y'all--I was embarrassed for the girl. I could feel my face turning red when he asked that question. Couldn't that have been a question saved for, oh, the doctor or after class?

(I also feel the need to add here that I'm not judging anyone for having an STD, but I seriously doubt that is how a person would like to be introduced to a group of strangers that the person is stuck with for four weeks.)

Then, about 10 minutes later when we had to introduce ourselves, he made some comment like, "We ain't known each other very long." Okay.

Big Daddy continued to ask questions for the duration of the class, ranging from "Is breastfeeding hard?" to "If a baby is breech and starts coming out and the doctor has to do a C-section, do they just cram the legs back in?"

I think it is going to be an interesting class. And I have a feeling that I will have future posts about Big Daddy.

Randomness

I had a bit of a reality check when I went to the dentist yesterday. As the hygienist was scheduling my next appointment for January, she asked what time I'd like to come in. Just before I blurted out some random time, I realized that I needed to schedule a time when someone could watch the baby. Yikes. (I ended up taking the last appointment time of the day Darryl could leave work a little early to watch Coretta Scott.)

I think I might be addicted to the College World Series. I'm pulling for UC Irvine's Anteaters. They've never been to the CWS before and are the underdog. I stayed up until after 11 last night (which is late for me these days) to see how the nailbiter between them and Arizona turned out. (Both were facing elimination--how exciting!)

I had ice cream (after my dental appointment!) with Kim and enjoyed visiting with her. She has already bought Coretta the cutest toile outfit! (I also enjoyed my double-dark chocolate ice cream with a Reese's cup mix-in.)

Oh, Tim and Max, Darryl's coworkers like the name Coretta Scott, but they also have another suggestion: Hilary Rodham.

Progress

I promise not to turn this into an all-baby, all-the-time blog, but I just had to report our progress. Apparently, finding out the baby's gender has spurred us into action. Since Friday, we have done the following:

1--We bought baby furniture. We had an idea of what we wanted if we were having a boy, and we knew what we wanted if we were having a girl. Anyway, our plan was to find a crib and order it, but the place had it in stock already, so we figured we might as well take it. It is now in a box in the garage. Because the crib is white and therefore pretty easy to match, we decided to buy the dresser (also to be used as a changing table) and a nightstand (to be used when Baby Girl is older and for us to use now as a table next to the yet-to-be-purchased rocker) at a regular furniture store at a much lower price. Even though the store had those in stock, we were able to have them put to the side in the warehouse so that we weren't completely overwhelmed with furniture! (Another plus--all of this was well within our "baby furniture budget." Yea!)

2--Darryl finished building the shed behind our fence, so we have begun moving stuff from the garage to the shed, and stuff from our office to the garage. The baby's room will be what is currently our office, but now that we are both on laptops, we really don't need an office anymore. We just need a place to put our filing cabinet and a few other necessities.

3--We have found some carpet. We have carpet just in the three bedrooms, and it looks terrible, thanks to our dog, Abby. (I'll just say she has come a long way in housetraining since we moved into the house.) We were pretty much planning to replace it anyway because we want to sell our house in a couple of years, but while we're cleaning out/moving things around, we figure we might as well do it now. (And yes, I realize the baby will make her own stains on the carpet, but the carpet we have selected is darker than what we have now AND is stain resistant. I also think we may be getting a rug for the baby's room, just to be safe.)

You probably didn't find this post fascinating, but I'm really proud of our progress so far. I have to confess that Darryl has done most of the work, but I'm pitching in where I can. Our goal is to have the office emptied this week--if we can accomplish that, we are in good shape. I really want to get as much done as possible before school starts again.

It's a . . .

GIRL!!!!!!

Darryl and I are really excited! This pic is my favorite because it looks as though she is shaking her fist in the air. Yeah!

One Life to Live: The Musical

This post is mainly for Kim and Tim because I thought they would get a kick out of this...

While flipping through the channels today, I saw a promo for a special episode of One Life to Live--a "prom musical" that is airing Friday. I tried to find the promo on You Tube, but all I could find was this video, which may be even "better" than the promo.

This production apparently has it all: zippy choreography, romantic tension, teen angst, a positive message, a high school setting, a rivalry...shall I go on????

I know Kim will tune in; she LOVES pop musicals!!

Babies, babies, babies

That was definitely the theme for yesterday.

My friend Jessica, who has a year-old son, was kind enough to take me through Babies R' Us, showing me some useful things, giving much-needed advice, and so on. I think between Jessica's recommendations and my favorite baby book, Baby Bargains, I am in pretty good shape when it finally comes time to register.

Last night, I became obsessed with looking up nursery themes/bedding online. I think it is amazing how I have a knack for picking out and liking the most expensive collections BEFORE I ever see the price. After some searching, though, I found some things I really like at reasonable prices. I'm just waiting for Friday, when I'll finally know the gender!

In the midst of my online search, I realized what was playing in the background on the TV--VH1 had some show on about the cutest celeb babies. (#1 was Britney Spears's Sean Preston, but I think my vote would have to go to Suri Cruise or Gwen Stefani's son, Kingston.)

So I completely felt immersed in all things baby yesterday. I have a feeling this is just the beginning...

The Secret Life of Bees

I finished The Secret Life of Bees this morning. I really, really liked this book. I've noticed that it is appearing on more and more Honors reading lists (along with Life of Pi and The Kite Runner); I'm not sure I would ever assign it as a book I would teach to the whole class, but it might be a good contemporary lit option for independent reading.

I like the characters, the plot, the message, the setting, and the voice of the book. (I also found some of the beekeeping stuff pretty interesting.) My only complaint about the book is that sometimes it seemed to beat a dead horse a few too many times--Lily's longing for her mother, her emptiness inside...it is central to the book, but I think it is something that Kidd doesn't have to keep being quite as overt about. Other than that, though, I would recommend this one.

Darryl, a.k.a. Superman

Darryl and I work in the kids' program (department, whatever you want to call it) at our church--Darryl's job is to pass out candy to kids as they walk in, and I work at the registration desk. Anyway, our church does this thing for kids every summer called "Summer Craze," and the theme is "Superheroes." As you can probably tell from the picture, part of the attire includes a red Superman cape. Darryl was oh-so-happy when he was told that although there weren't enough capes for all the workers to wear one, the "candy man" MUST wear the cape. (Jen, does Luke have one of these?)

Darryl also did not want me to post this picture. Oh, well...I think he looks smashing in this cape. The more I look at this picture, though, the more it makes me laugh. Darryl looks almost forlorn, holding his bucket of candy in one hand, very unthrilled to be wearing the satin cape. Ha.

Paris...Out Already

Ridiculous...but should anyone be surprised?

I'm sick of people not having to take responsibility for their actions. This is a huge problem with students at my school (dare I say that?), but I think it is just a huge problem in our country, period.

Okay, enough about that.

P.S. This should be my one and only post, ever, related to Paris H. :)

An observation

It stinks that now that I have time to watch TV, there is nothing on TV. :(

My summer vacation...so far

I haven't posted this week because there really hasn't been much to post about. I'm enjoying being off from school, but I've pretty much been a lazy bum most days. Here's a rundown of things that have happened or things that I've done when I haven't been lounging on the couch. :)

1) Darryl returned home from a business trip. Darryl went to South Africa for a business trip for two weeks and returned Saturday. I'm really glad he's back. (I had pretty much exhausted all conversation topics with the dog, anyway.)

2) Darryl and I saw Shrek the Third. It was okay, but I didn't think it was as good as the first two.

3) I've had to do fun medical stuff. Monday, I was convinced I had a urinary tract infection. (Is that TMI? I don't think so, right? It's a fairly common, talked-about ailment.) After spending three-plus hours driving to the doctor, waiting for the doctor, and driving back from the doctor, it turns out that it is highly likely I do NOT have a UTI. Tuesday, I had to have blood work done at a lab (not related to the UTI--this was a routine screening test). I've been pretty proud of myself with all this needle-sticking I've gone through in the past year. Some of you may know that I do not have a good track record with needles and such, but, knock on wood, I have had no issues so far. Maybe I'm finally turning into a big girl. (Look, that's true in more ways than one these days.)

4) I've finally gotten back to cooking on a consistent basis. I'll be honest--Darryl and I have definitely done much more eating out than eating in since I found out I was pregnant. At first, this was because my tastes seemed to change with the hour and there was no way to plan a menu, but then it just turned into "I don't feel like cooking" blahs. Now that school is out, though, and my tastes are somewhat more consistent, I have no excuses. Last night I fixed a pretty good Paula Deen pepper steak recipe (with blueberry cobbler for dessert!), and tonight I'm having good ol' meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

5) I watched The Queen and really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I confess that I was completely obsessed with Diana's death when it happened (yes, I actually woke up at the ungodly hour to watch the funeral live), and it was really neat (for lack of a better word) to see a "behind the scenes" look at the royal family and the relationship between the Queen and Tony Blair. I also see why Helen Mirren racked up during awards season.

That's about it.

Summer Vacation Officially Begins!

After a week (!) of post-planning, summer vacation has officially begun. So far, I've spent it by lounging in the chair-and-a-half, reading and watching TV. Somehow, I don't think much will change this summer.

Last summer, I had all these goals of losing weight, reading tons of books, and cleaning/organizing the house. Well, this summer, losing weight is a no-go, but I do want to attempt to eat healthier foods. I'm trying to work in more fruits and veggies. I also have some books on my reading list for the summer. Right now, I'm finishing The Secret Life of Bees, a book I began earlier in the semester but had to put on hold for what seemed to be a hectic semester.

I also need to do some cleaning and organizing. Our office has to be cleaned out for a baby's room, but that can't happen until the storage shed is built. Once that happens, though, we can do the fun stuff like decorating the baby's room. :)

Well, I better get back to my lounging...

Memorial Day Cooking and Books

Memorial Day weekend has been pretty low key, but the highlight so far has been the wonderful dinner last night. (Max details it on his blog, and he does it justice, so go here if you want the details.)

I guess that Max's culinary creations inspired me to do some cooking as well (something I haven't been much in the mood for lately), so today I've made Max's famous broccoli slaw and Paula Deen's Pretzel Peanut Bark. I also bought the ingredients to make her Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes and her Three Chocolate Cookies. I can't decide between those last two; I doubt I'll go completely crazy and make all three in a day. :)

Also, I'm teaching both 10th grade honors sections next year, so I'm basically free to teach the books I choose. Does anyone have any good suggestions for 10th graders? Because it is an honors class, I do want the reading selections to be challenging, but not ridiculously so. I'm open to your ideas...

Graduation and Other Things

Yesterday was officially the last day of school for students, and last night was graduation. Graduation itself was pretty uneventful, but I enjoyed spending time with Kim and Tim. We had a delicious meal at On The Border before graduation, and we've decided it will be a yearly ritual. I've decided that I'm a guacamole snob; I usually don't care much for guac, but Kim and Tim wanted to have the "Guacamole Live," which is guac made fresh, tableside. I thought it was wonderful. So I guess I don't care for guacamole unless it is prepared from fresh ingredients...tableside. :)

(The fact that the previous paragraph focused more on guacamole than on graduation is kind of sad.)

On another note, I must find a pool for the summer. Our neighborhood doesn't have a pool. Before we moved here 4 years ago, we always had access to apartment or neighborhood pools. That has become my quest this morning--finding a public pool. I think I've found one in a nice area not too far from here. Today is the grand opening for the season, so I'm sure this weekend isn't a good time to visit, but I might ride by and check it out. There is nothing I want more right now, though, than to grab a book or magazine and sit by the pool, getting in every now and then to cool off. Ahhhh.

Also, yesterday was the "first anniversary" of the blog. I've really enjoyed conversing with you all through blog comments and posts. Thanks for reading and commenting!

A few quick things

1. I'm finished with students for the year. That's a good thing. To be quite honest with you, I will be happy for the seniors to graduate, and that seems to be the feeling throughout the building.

2. My younger boyfriend Apolo emerged as the victor of Dancing with the Stars last night! Yea!

3. I'm psyched about the season finale of Lost tonight. I will be watching...after I attend our school's "Inspiration Service," that is.

4. I did not watch the American Idol finals last night. In fact, I gave up AI several weeks ago because it bored me.

5. I think I caught senioritis from my seniors. I have work to do--grading my sophomores' final papers, cleaning my classroom, working on lesson plans for next year, etc.--but I don't want to do any of it. I'd rather surf the Internet.

A Busy Week!

Finally I have a chance to catch my breath and post about the last week. I decided just to tackle all this in one long post, but I'll use subheadings so you can read whatever interests you.

Mother's Day Weekend. My parents came up last weekend for Mother's Day. My dad helped Darryl with building a storage shed in the wooded area behind our house. (Our hope is to move everything out of our office into the storage building so we can make the office the baby's room.) My mom and I went maternity clothes shopping, and that really deserves its own subheading. Sunday, we met my Uncle Len, Aunt Jeana, and their one-year-old son, Larson, at Lake Lanier for a Mother's Day brunch. All in all, it was a really good weekend and Darryl and I enjoyed spending time with our family.

Maternity Clothes Shopping. Look, this was completely new territory for me. I'm in that wonderful in-between stage of being too big for my regular clothes, but not quite big enough for maternity clothes. Anyway, I found some really good sales, and I was actually able to buy quite a few things for not too much money. The highlight of the shopping had to be when we went to JCPenney and were strolling through the racks of clothes, and then suddenly I noticed a sign on one the racks that said, "Doorbuster Sale! All maternity clothes 50% until 1:00!" It was 12:30. My mom and I tore through the clothes, grabbing anything and everything that looked remotely cute or fashionable (well, fashionable for maternity clothes). We ran to the dressing room and managed to get everything tried on--we had a wonderfully efficient system going--and I was able to check out by 1:00. I actually was able to find several things there, so the mad rush was definitely worth it.

I've also decided that after my maternity pants have served their conventional purpose, they will become my Thanksgiving pants. :)

Academic Banquet. This was the first year I was in charge of our school's academic banquet. (I inherited this from a teacher who left this year and Tim encouraged me to do it, saying that I should have a "niche.") This was a pretty big undertaking, but for the most part, things went pretty smoothly. One of the things I was most nervous about was the food; the caterer who has covered this event for the past zillion years couldn't do it this year, so we decided to go the route of a (cheaper) dessert-only reception, and from what I hear, people really liked it. The biggest annoyance was the low teacher turnout. If I had blogged about this earlier in the week, you would have probably gotten a 5-paragraph tirade about that, but I have since mellowed a bit and let it go. I will just say this: for a school that consistently sends the message that athletics is (are?) more important than academics, that message is just reinforced when the coaching staff AND many of the other teachers don't show up to the banquet that celebrates academic achievement. Okay, I guess I haven't let it go completely.

Class Night Music. I don't want you to think I'm completely down on our school, because I'm not, but Friday night I had to participate in the ridiculous tradition called Class Night. It is a very long program at which the senior "prophecies" are revealed and the students read their Last Will and Testaments. Then this even more ridiculous song is sung while the seniors leave the stage and the juniors take their place. This ceremony will probably never die. Never. Anyway, I had to play the piano for it because our chorus teacher had to tend to personal business. I didn't mind playing at all, but I didn't really enjoy the 2-1/2 hour practice that it required.

I also have to confess that I really enjoyed wearing the headset with the microphone (is that what it's called?). I was backstage and couldn't see anything, so Tim, Kim, and the other people running the show were able to communicate with me this way. I think that if I ever take on another profession, I will look for something where I get to use one of these on an every day basis.

June 15. That's the day I get to find out if we're having a boy or girl. I can't wait! I had a routine check-up the other day, though, and everything sounds good.

TV. I watched TV for about 6 hours yesterday. I figured I deserved it after my extremely busy week. I bawled through the Gilmore Girls finale (I'll miss you, Lorelei and Rory!), and then I had to watch The Office to cheer me up. I also watched the last two episodes of Grey's Anatomy--what a depressing season ender!

This week. Finally, the last week of school is here! We pretty much have just exams left, thank goodness. This week will be almost as busy, though, with more senior activities and graduation. The end is in sight, though!

I will post again...

I haven't posted in a week, and I actually have some things to post about. Things are just really busy right now with the end of the school year approaching, but maybe I'll get a chance to blog over the weekend.

When I do post, I can tell you all about Mother's Day weekend, my foray into maternity clothes shopping, and a few other random bits of interest.

And I can't tell you how happy I am that school is almost out. One more week of students followed by a riculously long week of post planning! The end is in sight!

Les Miserables

Last night, the musical theatre class (which consists of 60+ students) performed Les Miserables. It was incredible. First of all, I'm amazed at how many talented kids we have at our not-so-big school. I know you teachers out there (and maybe some of you non-teachers out there) have sat through your share of high school musicals that featured solos that made you want to cringe (I haven't experienced that at our school, Kim), but all the soloists (and there were quite a few) sounded great, especially the students playing the main parts. Kim, who often comments as "Theatre Director," and Tim have done a wonderful job of bringing out the best in those students. Equally impressive was how much was going on...Les Mis is such a huge undertaking--lighting, haze, a rotating stage, etc. My only complaint is that I wish I had seen it before closing night because I think I would have gone back to see it again!

The End of an Era

Yesterday, Darryl and I said farewell to the red couch and chair. This was our first major purchase after we got married in 1999, and it has served us well over the years. Maybe it isn't the "trendiest" couch by today's standards, but when I saw this in the furniture store eight years ago, I knew it would be the perfect addition to our first apartment. Three apartments, two houses, and two cities later, the couch and chair have been retired.

Now we have a more subdued look going on, as you can see in the picture below. We like the new furniture, but I think it is going to take some getting used to. I'm particulary excited about the "chair and a half"--I think that it is going to be the PERFECT spot for some napping and reading this summer.

News getting out

So the news of my pregnancy is making its way around the school now. It feels kind of good to be out in the open with it; I don't have to keep trying to suck in my stomach, something that wasn't working well anyway.

My students started finding out yesterday (one class actually asked), and I'm just trusting them to spread the news. They've been pretty sweet about it, though, wishing me well and offering congratulations.

I'm oh so tired, though. I went through this several weeks ago, but I appear to be going through it again. Yawn.

BIG NEWS!!!

I've been waiting to blog about this for what seems like forever...but I'm pregnant! I'm 13 weeks along now, and I'm due November 6 (which happens to be just three days after my birthday).

We tried to keep it quiet until I had 12 weeks behind me, but we ended up telling our families about a month ago, and the news has just kind of trickled out here and there. I finally told my principal yesterday, so now I'm okay with everyone knowing.

Darryl and I are both really excited. Poor Darryl--his "to do" list is getting longer by the day.

Anyway, I'm not really one to reveal too much information, but I'll give you a few bits in case you are interested:

1. I haven't been sick. Not once. (Don't hate me, Jen C.) However, the bad thing about this is that I often feel absolutely non-pregnant, so this has caused me overreact from time to time and slip into worry wart mode. (I actually moved up a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago because I needed to be convinced that I actually am pregnant. I needed proof via ultrasound.)

2. I'm hungry all the time. All. The. Time. My "snack" this afternoon was a chicken salad sandwich.

3. I love spicy food. I've eaten all the Flamin' Hot Cheetos out of the faculty vending machine.

4. I'm tired a lot. This has gotten better, but some days I feel as though I'm going to fall over. Today is one of them.

5. My clothes are getting tight in the stomach. I'm not sure if that is "pregnancy" or my eating all the time.

And that's about all I know for now. We do plan to find out what we're having, so I'll be sure to blog about that when the time comes. Oh, and if you know any scary pregnancy stories, don't tell them to me. I've forbidden myself to look at any more pregnancy message boards for that very reason. I just want to hear good things. :)

The best comedy on TV right now...

...is The Bachelor. I'm not kidding. Let me clarify that I'm not "into" the show; I just happen to catch it once in a while, and last night I watched it longer than I usually do because I couldn't sleep. I don't care which girl he picks or if he proposes. Below you'll find my reasons why you should tune in (if only just once) for a few good laughs:

1--The stupidity of the girls. Take, for example, what one of the girls said last night: "This is hard. The man I love is, like, dating all these other women." Um, honey, you're on The Bachelor. That's pretty much the premise of the show.

2--The bachelor himself. Y'all, he's hokey. He looks like a living Ken doll and says some of the schmaltziest things. He took this one girl on a date where they made their own wine, and he said something like, "Oh, it's just like us--a perfect blend." Please. Gross.

3--The music. Yes, folks, because this edition of The Bachelor is called The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman, of course the show would feature the song--you guessed it--"Up Where We Belong" at any available opportunity. And really, isn't that one of the worst songs ever? "Love lift us up where we belong...where the eagles fly on a mountain high...."

I rest my case. (My apologies to my mother, who doesn't really like my TV posts.)

Prom

So last night I went to our prom. This is the second year that I've gone (my official job is checking in the kids as they come in), and I really enjoy it. I have a tendency to get really frustrated with my students at this point in the semester, and seeing them all dressed up and having a good time softens my heart towards them a little bit.

I didn't take any pictures, mainly because I'm not really extroverted enough to say, "Okay, everyone...let me take your picture." I may try to get bold enough with that next year, though. I'll work up to it.

I don't really have much to report about it. It went well, no major dramas or scenes. Some of the girls were dressed, well, a little too provocatively, but I would say the vast majority were appropriately dressed and very classy. I'm a bit dismayed, however, by the apparent comeback of the white tux. Ugh.

My own charm school

This morning, while I was making some lemon bars, I had the TV on VH1. Every time a promo came on for the new show Charm School, I couldn't help thinking of my 5th period class.

A first for today...

I can say that in all my teaching career, I've never uttered these words until today:

"Jeff, put your pet bat back in your briefcase."

One of my students hit a bat last night with his car and decided to bring it in a Ziploc to school. Gross.

And yes, he does carry a briefcase to school. He's an interesting kid.

I "Heart" Apolo

I have a schoolgirl crush on Apolo Anton Ohno. Sure, he's only 25, but if you watch this video, you'll see that my love is completely justified.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief...

Sanjaya's gone!!!!

Martina on Idol/The Bachelor

My mom isn't a fan of my "TV posts" (her words: "You write too much about TV"), but oh well...

Martina McBride is going to be on Idol tonight, and I'm psyched. Now, I'm not a big country music fan, but I do love me some Martina. She's not too "twangy" (my main complaint about most country music), and her voice is incredible. If you haven't really listened to her before because she's a "country" artist, you might give her a shot. You might like her. I also think I just want to hang out with her and watch girl movies and eat brownies. She seems like that kind of girl.

And on another TV note...why is The Bachelor still on? I must confess, I watched the first couple of seasons, but I gave up on it when it seemed that the couples just broke up two weeks later. Last night, though, I just left the TV on after Dancing with the Stars while I was packing my lunch and such, and I had the biggest laugh over these girls who were competing for this guy by participating in some kind of boot camp workout. One girl fell and hurt her ankle, and who dashes to her rescue but The Bachelor himself, with rose in hand? And you could tell that all the other girls hated her because she was getting the extra attention. Hilarious. Isn't this 2007?

Random bits of this and that

--I finally finished grading those senior research papers. I honestly expected the harps the sound and a choir of angels to break forth in song. I thought I'd never finish those things.
--I had a weird dream the other night that I was Jennifer Hudson. It was really strange.
--I don't know if you watch Dancing with the Stars, but Apolo and Julianne were INCREDIBLE tonight.
--It doesn't even seem appropriate to put this in the same post, but man, how upsetting is the Virginia Tech shooting? I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around that. My thoughts and prayers are definitely with all those faculty, students, and their families. (And while I've heard much criticism of the campus police for the way everything was handled, it does make me wonder how on earth an open college campus could be "secured." There is no intercom system, email is not immediately accessible to everyone at every moment, and there are tons of entrances and exits.) How tragic.

I don't know about you...

but I know I'm going to sleep much better tonight now that I know who the father of Anna Nicole's baby is.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is having a good Easter. Darryl and I went to the early church service today followed by lunch at the Smith House, where we seated at a table with one of the chattiest ten-year-old girls I've ever seen. She apparently saw Darryl as a captive audience and talked to him the entire time.

The rest of my Spring Break was good. Darryl was able to leave work early at his job Friday, so we just spent the day going here and there. I did get a good bit of grading done--not as much as I originally had hoped, but I made a really good dent in it. (This is quite an improvement over breaks I've had in the past where I didn't grade a single paper.) I think I should finish up the rest this week.

So now we're at the point in the year that I consider the "home stretch." The next vacation will be summer vacation, and the end is in sight. You know what I dread most about going back to school tomorrow? Getting up at 5:00. Yuck.

Spring Break--Thursday

I was a little better with the grading today, getting right to it this morning by grading a class set of Earnest tests. I graded a few papers this afternoon. Tomorrow needs to be a marathon.

I had lunch with my cousin Vicky at one of my favorite local restaurants (their chicken salad is delicious), so that was an enjoyable break from grading.

Tonight, Darryl and I went to The Capital Grille for our belated anniversary dinner. I usually don't get too excited over soup, but one of the reasons I wanted to go there is that their French Onion Soup is to die for. Delicious. I had the filet and Darryl had the ribeye; we split a side of mashed potatoes, and our dessert--cheesecake with fresh strawberries--was a freebie because we were celebrating. (A couple of years ago, they gave me free chocolate cake because it was my birthday. Nice. You don't even have to suffer the humiliation of the singing waiters and waitresses.)

Not a bad day. Tomorrow...grading. :(

Idol Stinks

I can't believe Gina had the least number of votes. I didn't think she was the best necessarily, but I liked her, and I thought she had an okay night last night. How bittersweet that her swan song had to be "Smile."

So Gina is gone. Sanjaya stays. Haley stays. Phil stays. Whatever.

Spring Break--Wednesday

I've graded a few papers, not as many as I should have. I still plan to grade more, though, while I watch the too-long results show of Idol. I did get to have lunch with Darryl today, however, and I had a much-needed haircut, so it wasn't a complete waste of a day.

Oh, here's one observation from the senior career papers that I've graded: If you are planning to go into the Christian ministry, maybe you should learn to capitalize God. I'm just saying.

Spring Break--Monday and Tuesday

Man, have I enjoyed having a break this week. I've enjoyed sleeping in, catching up on some TiVo, taking care of odds and ends...it's been nice. I think it has made me long for summer vacation even more!

I do, however, need to grade some papers. Very badly. I'm telling you this because I vow right here and now that I will grade papers tomorrow.

Other tidbits:

--I finally watched the movie Supersize Me. Yep, I'm a little late on that one, but I found it quite interesting. While I was fascinated with Spurlock's ability to eat McDonald's for 30 days (gross!), what I found even more intriguing was some of the other "side stories" and information...like the story about the alternative school somewhere (sorry--can't remember where) that switched to a healthy menu in the cafeteria, and administrators and teachers noticed a marked change for the better in the behavior of the kids. I can't help thinking that maybe there is a bit of a connection between my students' lethargic behavior 6th period and the "chicken rings," mashed potatoes, and cookies they have eaten right before class. Anyway...

--Apolo is still my favorite on Dancing with the Stars.

--Um, yeah, that's about it.