24+ Hours

The last 24-plus hours have been slightly rough.

Yesterday
First, you need some background info for this to make sense. I'm going to 'fess up and admit that twice a month, a lady comes to my house and cleans it. Yes, I know that money could go somewhere else. Yes, I know I'm capable of cleaning a house. But about a month before Amelia was born, I made a hormonally-charged, tearful plea to Darryl that I really wanted someone to come in every other week because, as a working mom, I didn't want to spend my weekends mopping floors but would rather spend them with my daughter. And because no one should ever say no to a crying pregnant woman, Darryl agreed, and thus we hired this woman to clean our house twice a month.

Okay, so yesterday was house cleaning day. I never like to be home on those days because I feel awkward, so I took Amelia to daycare and then went to the scrapbooking studio and scrapped my heart out.

I picked up Amelia, and because Darryl was having dinner with one of his best friends who happened to be in town for a business trip, I grabbed Chick-fil-a drive thru and headed home.

When I went to unlock the door, I realized I had the wrong set of keys and that the cleaning lady had uncharacteristically locked the deadbolt. (I later realized that her daughter had actually cleaned our house that day, thus the deadbolt issue.) I called Darryl to see where he was, and of course he was dining about 10 exits down the highway. Awesome.

So I got back in the car to head that way. Amelia, who was not thrilled to be back in the car, began Meltdown #1.

The one fortunate thing in this whole debacle is that I made the super-mom choice of waffle fries for her CFA kids' meal (I usually try to force the whole fruit cup thing), and I was able to pass chicken nuggets and fries to her in the back seat. She was a little happier after a full belly.

I made it to where Darryl was and he gave me the key. Amelia realized that Daddy was not going to be joining us, and this began Meltdown #2.

People, there's nothing like a meltdown in rush hour traffic. There just isn't.

Anyway, we finally reached home. And Amelia took her sweet time falling asleep at bedtime.

Exhuasted, I decided to go to bed early, and I was OUT in probably five minutes. I was so out that I wasn't thinking when I locked the deadbolt.

I was awakened at midnight by a loud knocking on the window beside our bed. It is a miracle I didn't have a heart attack. It was Darryl, who had tried knocking on the door. I had locked him out because, you know, I had his key.

Today
Today I took Amelia to her 18-month appointment since she's going to be 19 months in two days. Anyway...

Darryl usually goes to these "milestone checkups" with me, but I had heard there was only one shot involved in this one (but there were two!), so I told Darryl he could bypass this one.

What a mistake.

I was hoping that by having a morning appointment, we wouldn't have to wait, but I was wrong. When we finally got in, I had to answer a million and one questions about Amelia's development: Does she throw a ball? Does she mimic sounds? Does she show affection? Does she take off her clothes? And on and on and on...

My favorite part is always the measurements. Apparently Amelia is tall. Really tall. Over 99th percentile for height. I'm sure I sound like one of "those" parents when I say I hope the girl can dribble a basketball. :)

All was going well until I was told that they would do a vision screening. I took Amelia to the special room for vision screening, and I'm told by the old lady that I have to keep Amelia perfectly still. She then proceeded to stick several sensors on her head and put an eyepatch over one eye. If you have ever met Amelia, you might understand how difficult of a task it was to try to keep her still, especially with all that paraphernalia on her head. Amelia was surprisingly good to have one eye tested, but by the time the woman did the other eye, Amelia was mad. And every time she moved too much, the test would cancel out.

The woman finally gave up and said she would try again at Amelia's 2-year checkup. (And Darryl will be going with me to that one.)

And when I say Amelia was mad, I mean she was MAD. The woman gave Amelia a Barbie sticker and Amelia threw it on the floor. When we got back to the regular examining room, Amelia was in full meltdown mode. And we hadn't even had the shots yet. I'll just let you imagine how those went over. :)

Amelia has been in a bit of a funk since the vision test. She didn't nap well, and has just been sort of grumpy all day. It's been fun. Really fun.

And Tomorrow???
Um, let's hope for a better day.

Pool Time and Scrapbooking

We had a really nice, relaxing weekend. We spent a lot of time at the pool, which Amelia absolutely loved. Here are a couple of pics:



I also finished my London scrapbook today, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

And really, that's all I have to report. But at least you got some cute pics, right?

The best laid plans...

Today was another daycare day for Amelia. Even better, it was supposed to be "water day," and Amelia LOVES water. So here is Amelia all dressed for water day this morning:


I know the picture is out of focus, but if you saw all my other attempts to get her to be still--especially while trying to prevent her from having a meltdown because I wouldn't let her have my camera--you would understand why this is the best shot I have. (Is there anything cuter than a little girl in a bathing suit? I think not.)

Anyway, we were optimistic that the weather man was wrong about the rain, but this was one time he was actually right. It started raining about halfway to daycare, and Amelia never had her water day. Bummer.

I was also supposed to spend the day scrapbooking with my friend Blayne, but she had a last-minute house emergency and was able to scrapbook with me for just a couple of hours. Oh, well. I ran a few errands and scrapbooked a little. Still a good day.

And in case you are wondering, I do plan to do other things this summer besides scrapbook. I just haven't been able to do it in several months, so I'm just kind of crazy with it now. I'm almost finished with my London book, though. :)

Summer Catch-up

I know I kept you in suspense with Post-Planning Days 2 and 3, didn't I?? I'm sure you've been chompin' at the bit in anticipation.

Those last two days of post-planning included meetings, counting textbooks, and, for me, some major cleaning and organizing. Oh, and we had a somewhat awkward end-of-the-year luncheon at which people whose contracts hadn't been renewed who were not returning next year were given parting gifts. (Is it just me, or is that odd?) The program/luncheon finally ended with a nice farewell to a retiring English teacher, so at least it ended on a not-awkward note.

So far, the summer has been wonderful. Amelia and I had a great day Friday, and it involved a somewhat hilarious adventure at the playground, where I ended up chasing Amelia down a really big tunnel slide. She thought it was hysterically funny, and I just prayed I wouldn't get stuck or flash anyone.

My mom came up for the weekend because for Christmas, I gave her tickets to see the musical Jersey Boys at the Fox. While the actual gift was a long time coming, the musical was great, and my mom loved it. If you don't know...the musical is basically the story behind Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. When I was in high school, my mom took me to see the real Frankie Valli and Four Seasons, so I figured she would love the musical. And as I already said, she definitely did. I really enjoyed it, too. I'm thinking I might even put it in my Top 5.

Yesterday my mom went back home after lunch, and Amelia and I took a long nap and ran some errands.

Today I had a "me day." I'm taking Amelia to her daycare two days a week this summer. Yes, it does give me some time to get things done, but Amelia is also at the age where she really seems to enjoy being in the company of her daycare friends. She practically ran in and hugged her teacher when I dropped her off today, and then her friend Addison walked up and they jabbered at each other. Too cute.

Anyway, I ended up going to a scrapbooking studio and scrapbooked pretty much all. day. long. I have finished up the photos with Amelia's "first year book," and I even got a little bit done on my London book.

Speaking of London, I finally transferred some pics from Darryl's computer to mine. At some point this week, I'll try to post some.

Post-Planning, Day 1

So today for post-planning, we had to attend a 3-hour (yes, 3-hour) seminar on school safety. And in those three hours, I didn't learn anything I didn't already know because...well, it was just common sense.

It's not like I didn't have grades to print, textbooks to count, and files to sort through.

Oh, and the tile and carpet are being replaced, so we got to listen to lots of industrial fans and floor sanders what little bit we actually were working in our rooms.

I'm not sure what the point is of this post exactly, but there you have it.

Cheesy

I cleaned out our fridge today.

For the record, we are not running short on cheese:

The Weekend...and "Good Nap" Hair

We had a good weekend...for the most part.

Yesterday we went to breakfast and took Amelia swimming at the gym we have a membership to. (I can count on one hand the number of times we've been, but their pool is pretty great.) Amelia took a really good nap afterwards, so that meant she was in a good mood to stay with my friend Kim and her daughter "Mac," who graciously agreed to keep Amelia for us so Darryl and I could attend a funeral. (Thanks, Kim and Mac...I'm sure she had a blast!) After the funeral, Darryl and I picked up Amelia and ate at Bonefish Grill, which was really good. (And, I might add, Amelia was wonderful at the restaurant. She's kind of been "iffy" with restaurants lately, but she was the perfect angel here.)

Today we went to church, and afterwards I started to tackle what I will call "Summer Household Project #1: Cleaning Out Amelia's Closet/Wardrobe." I haven't done this since last year, and boy, was her closet ridiculous. I'm about 85% done with it all and should finish tomorrow.

Darryl took Amelia swimming again, and while they were gone, I went to Target to get another storage box because I grossly underestimated how many clothes would be cleaned out of the closet. On my way back, I got in a fender-bender that involved four cars...one of those "chain reaction" things. I had some damage to my back bumper, but that was it, thank goodness. (Really, that was the only flaw in an otherwise great weekend.)

Here's an Amelia-ism: She calls Elmo "Elbow." Cute.

And I leave you with what I call "Good Nap" Hair. This is what Amelia looked like after a 3-hour nap. Girlfriend slept hard, and she was all smiles afterwards, as evidenced by the second pic.


And here's the smile:

I thought this day would never get here...

Everything is graded.

Graduation was tonight.

I can take a nap this weekend and not feel guilty.

I can catch up on Lost and The Office.

I can spend time with Darryl and Amelia and not think, "I should probably finish grading those essays."

I don't have to sit in a Starbucks, grading papers and thinking, "I wish I could be with Darryl and Amelia."

I'm done. D-O-N-E.

(Well, not completely...I have "teacher workdays" left, but who cares?)

Breaking Up Catching Up is Hard to Do

I realize I have been terribly amiss at blogging lately. Here are just a few highlights from the past few weeks:

School
I ain't gonna lie--school is running me through the wringer. We had our academic program Monday night, and again, I was disappointed with the turn out. I can understand--a little, anyway--why kids who know they are just getting a certificate don't show. However, what about the seniors who are getting at least $150 in scholarship money...they can't be bothered for an hour and a half to come get it? How do you fix apathy? I'm still trying to figure out that one...

The week has been full of unfocused students who are already on summer vacation in their minds, ridiculous tasks the administration has us do that consume a lot of time, and stacks of final essays that are waiting for me to grade them. Friday was the icing on the cake, as I had to deal with a situation (that I don't want to go into detail about) involving one of my favorite students. The only saving grace is that I know we have not even two more weeks of this stuff before summer begins. (One week with students.)

Darryl, the Awesome Husband
Darryl has definitely been earning points toward Husband of the Year by tending to Amelia while I try to get all my end-of-the-year stuff done.

When I came home from a pointless, stupid program Friday evening that is a "tradition" at our school, Darryl had bought me a new point-and-shoot camera that I had been wanting. (I felt bad because I was too exhausted to do the cartwheel that I should have done over this gift.)

Then, THEN he told me to check my email, and I found a confirmation email from where he had registered me for a scrapbooking retreat/workshop later this year. I'll tell you more about that when the time comes. (You know...because my mom thinks someone will follow me there if I put it on my blog.)

I asked Darryl (jokingly, of course) if he was planning to leave me. (No.) I asked if he was having an affair. (No.) I asked if he was about to tell me he was leaving for two months on a business trip. (No.) Apparently he just wanted to do something nice for me because he thought I needed it.

Now, I'm not one who measures love by the kinds of gifts that are given, but y'all, how sweet was that?

Mother's Day
My parents came up for Mother's Day weekend. In fact, they drove up in the middle of the night Thursday night/Friday morning so they could keep Amelia for us. We thought she was sick, but yet again, it was just the same runny nose and cough she's had forever.

Amelia didn't feel great and was therefore in a horrible mood all day. We had a very harried breakfast at IHOP and frozen pizza for lunch. We did have a good dinner that evening, though, when Amelia seemed more like herself.

TV
I'm behind on Lost, so no one tell me what's going on there.

Grey's has been gut-wrenching. I won't say anything else in case you haven't seen the finale yet. I had been disappointed with this show most of the season, but the last five episodes or so have reminded me of how good Grey's can be.

I'm also sad about the drama surrounding this couple. I'm going to confess...I just bought the People magazine with her on the cover.

Amelia
I can't believe how much she is growing. While she is definitely testing the limits (am I bad that I find some of her "meltdowns" comical? "Oh, I can't have an M&M because dinner is ready? Let me lie on the floor and cry about it!!"), her moments of sweetness and cuteness make up for it. The other night, after a rough day, I was rocking her and she sat up, kissed me on the lips, and settled her head back on to my chest. Bliss.

Here's a pic I took with my new camera last night. Amelia has learned to respond to "Cheese."

On a Blog Note...
Can you tell I'm excited that I finally learned to strike through words? I'm sorry...when I learn how to do something like that, I tend to go a bit overboard with it.

And suddenly, she looks three years old...

A couple of weekends ago, Amelia experienced a few important firsts...

--Her first Chick-fil-a Kids' Meal. (I didn't take a pic of that.)
--Her first pigtails made by Momma. (They lasted about 30 minutes.)
--Her first little table and chairs. She loves it!

Here's a pic to document the last two items on that list:

She's already a Mac girl!

And here's another pic of her just goofing around. Amelia loves to grab the remote and a blanket and get in the recliner. I have no idea where she has witnessed that behavior. :)

Yep, still here

I really don't want to become one of those blogs people never check because they think, "Well, she never writes on it, so what's the point?"

To my four or five readers, I assure you I will return to blogging soon. I hope within a couple of days, in fact.

I am caught up in the typical end-of-the-year craziness. I do have stuff to blog about. Finding time to do it...well, that's a different matter entirely.

Don't leave me! I'll be back soon! Soon!!

Dear Blog,

Dear Blog,

Oh, how I've missed you. I remember the days I used to write about cute things Amelia did, TV shows I was watching, teacher anecdotes (good and bad)...

But lately my life has been swamped with awards program preparations, papers that still need to be graded, End of Course Tests, a house that never feels "straightened up" enough for my taste, and the list goes on.

I have some really cute pics of Amelia to post, but I can't find the cable to do it. It's lost somewhere in the chaos of my life at the moment.

Maybe this weekend, blog, we can have some quality time. Maybe, just maybe, I'll find my camera cable, which I'm sure has a more technical name than "camera cable."

Until then,

Amy

Crawling out from under my long "to do" list...

Poor blog. I've been so negligent lately...

The past couple of weeks have been ridiculously crazy and tiring.

For a little over a week, Darryl was in Australia. That's right. Australia. And, of course, after he left all sorts of things came crashing down. Nothing tragic happened--and I'm probably being a wee bit melodramatic--but it was lots of little things just piling on top of one another.

Here's just a list of some of the things that went on:

--I help sponsor an academic club at school (we put on a program every year and give out money for scholarships and stuff), and we found out that a local business that gives us most of our money is having to cut their donation in half because of the economy. That's completely understandable, but what isn't understandable is that some higher-ups knew about this back in January and didn't tell us.

--My students started to have their typical attitudes toward work at the end of the school year. Need I say more?

--It seems that I had a meeting of some sort every day after school.

--I got brave (or stupid) and decided to take Amelia to Moe's by myself for dinner. It was AFTER I had gotten our food that I realized none of the high chairs had working safety belts, so I spent the entire meal trying to get her to stay seated in her chair. I finally gave up and took the rest of our food home.

--The same night after Moe's, I gave Amelia a bath and was putting her to bed, and she had her first puking incident ever...all over me, her, the glider, the floor. I had to clean that up and bathe her again. Good times!

--I took Friday off to--get this!--grade papers. More good times!

--I took Amelia to the doctor Friday afternoon to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. If you've ever had to keep an active child entertained in a doctor's office while you wait to see the doctor, you understand how that was stressful. (I had also been informed by the daycare that every kid except one little girl and Amelia had been sent home with pink eye, so I was fully expecting for pink eye to rear its ugly head over the weekend. Fortunately, we were spared.)

--Saturday night, Amelia acted like one of those horrible kids you see on Supernanny. There was kicking, screaming, shrieking, crying, hitting, scratching. I was really wondering what happened to my child. (Sunday, she was sweet again.)

--Sunday just involved a lot of coming and going.

It was just one of those weeks, you know? Now D is back safe and sound, and this week--though better--seems to be d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g by. The one thing getting me through, however, is that the end is definitely in sight.

And not a moment too soon.

I'm still around

I will probably blog some this week. Last week was just crazy, and I just didn't feel like blogging. I'm hoping things will get back to normal--at least somewhat--this week, and then I can blog about what's been going on. (Don't get too excited--it's mostly just overwhelmed working mom kind of stuff.)

Twenty more days of school, people.

Meltdown Time

I think I've written about 30 blog posts in my head last week but never got around to sitting down to type them out.

I was going to post about how I've been in a better mood lately and felt like things were going well.

And then today I became fully aware of everything I need to do in such a short amount of time. I have a stack of grading up to my eyeballs. Every time I knock a little off the stack, something gets added on. I want to say, "Okay, no one is turning in anything else until I finish grading what I already have!" But I can't do that.

I say I'm going to grade after I get Amelia to bed, but then I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

I try to grade in the afternoons, but interruptions--people, meetings, students, parent emails--keep happening.

Okay. I'm going now. It's ridiculous for me to post about how I don't have any time and then spend time blogging. :)

Happy Easter!!

Here's Amelia, enjoying the gifts left by the Easter Bunny:



And here she is outside the Smith House, where the three of us had lunch after church:

London, Days 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7

Obviously my plan to update every day about our trip never reached fruition. Oh, well. We're now back in the good ol' USA, and we had a great time in London. I'll give you a very Spark Notes version of our trip, and if you have any questions about any of the things I mentioned, feel free to ask. (By the way, Jen is the only one showing me any comment love lately. What's up with that?? And thanks, Jen, for commenting!)

Monday, we...

...went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. It was pretty cool, but we didn't have a good enough place to stand to see/hear everything. We got the gist of it, though. Darryl and I would have been okay with it being about 20 minutes shorter.

...went to Trafalgar Square and ate lunch at Cafe in the Crypt.

...went to Harrod's. Y'all, that place is insanely ridiculous. Where else can you buy a 6-carat diamond and pick up a 10 pounds of shrimp at the same time? We had a dessert there (surprise, surprise) in a big frou-frou cafe.

Tuesday, we...

...went to the Tower of London. This was probably one of my favorite touristy places that we visited. So much sick and twisted history there. We saw the Crown Jewels, of course, but what I was fascinated most by was the exact location where Anne Boleyn literally lost her head.

...went to the British Museum. Darryl and I were both disappointed by this museum, but primarily because we didn't really understand what it was all about. We thought the museum housed collections from the ancient past to the present, but we were wrong. It is room after room of Mesopotamian pottery, Egyptian tombs, and such. Now if you're into the artifacts of ancient civilizations, you will love this place. If not (and I'm in this group), it is just like one long 10th Grade World History video. The building is impressive, however...and I did see the real Rosetta Stone.

...walked along the Thames to see Big Ben and the House of Parliament "lit up" at night. Beautiful.

Wednesday, we...

...went to Westminster Abbey. I loved this as well. I think you could spend a full day here and still not see everything.

...kind of saw St. Paul's Cathedral. The only reason I wanted to go there was that Charles and Diana were married there. (It was a wedding I reenacted MANY times with my Barbie dolls.) There was a long line, however, and we were both tired, so we pretty much just stuck our heads in the door, looked around as far as the eye could see, and ducked out.

...went to the area known as Piccadilly Circus and bought some souvenirs.

...saw the musical Billy Elliott at Victoria Palace Theatre. I love, love, love musicals, and this one was wonderful. The choreography alone makes this production worth seeing. It is based on the movie of the same name that came out about seven years ago. So, so good.

Thursday, we...

...did the London Eye, which is a huge ferris-wheel type contraption that allows you to see London from "way up high."

...took a train to Oxford. I really wanted to see the school (which is sprawling and all over the place). We also had "cream tea" at a little tea room called The Rose and had some awesome scones with clotted cream and jam. (I agree, Tim..."clotted cream" is a really gross name for something that tastes that divine.)

...did NOT go to Stratford-upon-Avon. It was in our plan all along to take a tour of Shakespeare's birthplace, but by Thursday, I wasn't up to it. Will my English degree be revoked because I was in London and failed to make that pilgrimage??!?

Friday, we...

...walked around the area where our hotel was, soaking in the last bit of London.

And then we left.

A little something extra that probably isn't covered in any tour guide manuals...The public restrooms in London are nothing short of amazing. Spotlessly clean, and, AND...you get your own little "closet" with floor to ceiling walls. (I really had nowhere to work that in earlier, but it is something I thought y'all should know.)


We really had a wonderful time. We missed Amelia terribly, of course, but it was also nice to spend time just the two of us in such an interesting place. I've wanted to go to London since I was in college, so I'm thrilled we had the opportunity. We're also very grateful to my parents, who kept a very, very active 17-month-old girl for a week. I think they may need weeks to recover. :)

London, Days 1 & 2

First, I need to assure my mother that London is so big and sprawling that I feel perfectly okay in revealing that's where we are.

Yep, Darryl and I are in London.  We left Friday evening and arrived in London late Saturday morning. 

Saturday-- When we arrived in London and got to our hotel and showered (because we felt nasty, y'all), we went to the Tate Modern museum, which features modern art pieces.  Darryl and I aren't necessarily art buffs, but we'd heard the museum was cool from a couple of people, and we wanted to do something that was interesting but not necessarily on the top of our list--we wanted to be more awake and enthusiastic for our "must see" attractions.  Anyway, I have to hand it to Dr. Hockett (or Hackett?), my one and only art history teacher, who taught me enough so that I don't feel like a complete moron in an art gallery.  We saw some Picassos, some Matisses, Rodin's The Kiss, as well as some images that were a little, for lack of a better word, disturbing.  There was also a room that reminded me of the episode of Designing Women when Charlene tries to make a phone call on a pay phone and is asked to hang up because the phone is actually an art piece.  (Seriously...a string of bars of soap...that's art?)

We also walked a lot around that area of London, primarily because certain lines of the Tube (subway) were closed, and here is where I'd like to add this request:

Dear London,

If a portion of the Tube line is closed, could you please post a sign at the bottom of the stairs instead of the top so maybe we could see it BEFORE we climb all the stairs instead of AFTER?  My quads are killing me!

Sincerely,

Amy, an American Tourist

Sunday--Today we did quite a few things.  We started out at the National Portrait Gallery, which contains painted portraits and some photographs of everyone important to British history, beginning with the Tudors.  Darryl was thoroughly bored with this (which surprised me, as he is such a history buff), but I enjoyed it.  (In his defense, I probably would have been bored, too, if I didn't teach a good bit of British history and literature.)  I particularly enjoyed looking at the portraits of the writers like Jane Austen (whose drawing is a small sketch done by...oops, I forgot...her sister? her niece?), the Brontes, John Donne, and such.

Afterward, we went to the Covent Garden Market area, which is basically a bunch of shops, street vendors, and a collection of various entertainers like magicians, living statues, and such.  After a leisurely lunch at a French cafe there, we headed to Kensington Palace and Gardens.  The coolest part of that, to me, was the exhibit of some of Diana's dresses.  At some point in my commentary on this London trip, I'll probably get into the mild obsession I had with Diana off and on over the years, but it was cool to see some of the dresses I recognized from over the years, like the black dress she is wearing in all the pics of her dancing with John Travolta when she came to the U.S.  She was obviously very tall and thin.

We also went into Hyde Park and saw the fountain that was built to memorialize Diana.  (Had we realized how far the walk was from the palace to the fountain, we probably wouldn't have gone.  I've noticed some of the London signs can be very misleading for how near or far something is.)

We stopped at a French pastry shop and I had a delicious espresso chocolate tart that was to die for.  We're walking so much that I feel absolutely zero guilt for anything I'm eating.

I know I should probably post pictures and links, but that takes more time, and I'm very tired.  Maybe later this week...

Nothing like a good scare

Last week at school, some teachers' contracts were not renewed for one reason or another, so there has been a feeling of ominous doom throughout the hallways. (We got our contracts the other day, however, so that's a good sign.)

During 6th period today, one of the assistant principals came to my classroom and told me the "main" principal needed to see me. Right now.

Let me add that our principal is BIG on not interrupting class time, so this had to be pretty important.

As I walked to the office, my heart was beating triple-time. "This is it," I thought. "They have found some reason to fire me." I immediately tried to think of what I had done that would validate my dismissal. (For the record, nothing came to mind.) Or maybe a parent had complained about me. I had no clue.

When I arrived at the principal's office, the superintendent AND the assistant superintendent were there.

I was about to wet my pants.

Fastforward to the end of the story...basically, they discovered that several employees had been overpaid or underpaid for the past five or six years. I had been overpaid by $100 a year. Apparently, the higher-up peeps had come by to apologize in person.

Really?

So for not even $10 a month, I about lost my lunch right then and there?

My theory is that it was one of those tactics where you make someone think a situation is really bad, so when you tell the person the "real" story, it's a relief, kind of like the teenager who says, "Mom and Day, I'm pregnant. No, just kidding...I failed my chemistry test today."

Breaking Dawn and Resolutions

I'm beginning to think that Breaking Dawn, the fourth (and right now, last) book in the Twilight series, is the book that simply won't end. I feel that for every page I read, two more are added to the end. While some interesting stuff happens in the book, it is REALLY drawn out. I want to finish it before our trip Friday so I can take something new to read with me, and I refuse to lug that huge book with me. (I have to finish one book before I can go on to the next. I'm weird that way.)

As for my resolutions that I proposed last Sunday, here's the report:

I give myself an A for walking. I walked Monday and Tuesday, even though I didn't want to, but then the rain came Wednesday and stayed for the week.

I give myself a C for Internet time. I did great Monday, but then I got caught up in a blog story (I'll mention it at the end) that compelled me to keep checking people's blogs all week.

I give myself a B for going to bed early. I did this Monday and Tuesday, and I felt great because of the seven hours of sleep I was getting. Wednesday and Thursday, however, I stayed up a little later to grade papers. Okay, I confess...Thursday I stayed up to watch Grey's Anatomy.

I give myself a B- for working diligently after school. I did get a good bit done this week, but I also killed a lot of time talking, mostly because of some school drama that I don't feel comfortable discussing here.

This week's resolutions:

Because of the trip Darryl and I are leaving on Friday, my main priority is to get stuff ready for the trip and to get some grading done. I don't need to worry about walking in the afternoons...I just need to get stuff done.

I need to go back to the 15 minutes of Internet surf time.

I need to work at school until I pick up Amelia.

And that's it as far as the resolutions go this week.


About the blog story that has consumed my attention...Several months ago, I mentioned a baby named Stellan who was a "miracle baby" who was having a rough time with RSV. Well, he survived that and appeared to be doing fine. Now, he's in the hospital again, this time for the heart condition that caused problems when he was in the womb. The doctors appear to be stumped. Anyway, if you are a praying person, keep him and his family in your prayers. You can read more here.