Why I love my yearbook staff

On our final push to get everything done before Christmas (send all pages from the first four deadlines, return proofs that we have gotten on pages already sent and get ready for second semester), the staff has really done a great job. In fact, yesterday a lot of my 6th period students were at school late working diligently. So, today, my editor-in-chief over 6th period Kristen brought a cookie cake to say thanks! How awesome is that? This is why I make sure I have touchy feely girls at the top. I would have never thought to do this. They did their job, great work, move on. But that's why I'm a crank. (Kristen in in green under the cookie cake.)

The holiday is fast approaching

I have even managed to get my car in the holiday spirit. If you look closely you can see the antlers on each window to go with the very cute button nose.

It is a little difficult to back the car into the driveway because the driveway becomes very narrow where the hows pokes out (apparently making the driveway just move to the left a little was too much). The car is backed up enough for the gate to be able to close.

I haven't gotten to see much of my neighbors lately. The cold has driven everyone inside.

I called the heating company that came out this past Saturday to get them to re-explain why, if the problem is that the heat is leaking into the attic, the front bedroom isn't warmer than the back bedroom. That would make sense right, since the heating system is basically above the front door? The guy tells me that it's because of the steel ducts, but my warranty doesn't cover that. So I call AHS ready to have a hissy. The lady tells me that yes it would be covered. Huh. Then I asked her about getting a second opinion since I believe these guys are idiots. She told me that AHS would pay the service fee for a second company to come out. OK. Things are turning around. However, I am stuck waiting for this company to submit their information to AHS. It'll be interesting to see how long that takes.

Of course what reminds me of that is adding the pictures of the mad scientist Christmas tree. humph. I've added arrows to the close up shot, so that you can see the different types of lights. I don't have any traditional lights. They are bubble lights, snow globes, flicker flame lights and pointy colored lights. A festive tree if I do say so myself.

You probably don't need this many pics of the tree to get the idea, but I was unable to resist.

Not counting today, we have 8 days left of school before break. Hip Hip Horray

I haven't bought a single gift yet. The house is still a disaster. I have a ton of grading to do for my English class, good thing I only have 16 kids!

I think today is the day I'm going to have to break down and grade their TAKS writing they did last week.

Did I mention I'm also in charge of a little thing called the Leadership Lens Newsletter? It's through the district. I've done it for a couple of years. It is only 2 per year. However, last year was totally screwy rabbit, so a spring one wasn't even done. This year I got a call asking me to do it, telling me that I'd actually get paid, but that I'd be in charge of the whole kit and caboodle from writing it to getting it printed. It is hard to get everyone participating in a timely fashion. At any rate, I'm trying to get that sucker out before the holidays.

More later.

So close, and yet, so far

So, I took pictures of the tree and the car (cute decorations if I do say so myself). Both came out horribly. I'm going to have to try again.

The bed is scheduled to be fixed next Friday. In the meantime, I've taken every blanket, comforter etc I could lay my hands on and made a pallet of sorts. Eva and Cat love it. In fact, they love it so much that at night they curl up on it. Mind you it is on the ground. They could sleep on the ground and be very close to me. They could sleep on Eva's little bed. No, no, they sleep on the little pallet bed keeping me from being able to move during the night. What is that about?

My eye tick is back. It started some time last week. It has to be one of the most annoying manifestations of stress ever. I feel like a freak.

Tonight my goal is to get all of the copies made of my medical stuff to be reimbursed before the end of the year. I don't think I've done anything since June. oops.

That's all for now. I do have one picture to show. I just found it on a disk today. It is of the flowers that Ann gave me right after I moved into the house. She did the arrangement herself.

I'm in a funk

I had no internet access all weekend. It is soo annoying. I don't feel very well today. I've been sleeping on the bedroom floor because the loveseat is quite uncomfortable and the bed fell apart again. Turns out there aren't as many people doing antique restoration as I had hoped. I have a call in to someone out of Van alstyne who might come out and help.

At any rate, I am totally congested and I have a headache. Now caffeine would probably help the headache but not the congestion.

I have book club tonight. We are discussing Year of Wonder. It is a great book about a town that quarantined itself during the plague. I've been looking forward to this for a long while.

Say a prayer for Pam C. She had her last chemo last Monday. Horray for Pam.

I finally got the Christmas tree decorated. The man that came to check out my heating told me it was the strangest Christmas tree he'd ever seen.
"Really?" I asked.
"That's good. It just looks like a mad scientist did it." >????? What does that mean? I told him that was the nicest thing anyone had ever said.

Photo to come. I must return to my funk now.

End of another week

Not much time, but I figured better write now before I forget. Tuesday I stayed home from school so that I could have the security system installed in my house. Cost me a pretty penny. I didn't get much done other than that. Wednesday I had a sub because I had to grade TAKS writing at the admin building, poke a needle in my eye that was no fun. Subs were highly suspect. Once again reminding me why it is important to plan ahead and have subs I trust!

Yesterday we had a snow storm of sorts. Lots of fun, the kids were maniacs all day long. They had great hope Wednesday night that there would be no school Thursday and great home Thursday there would be no school Friday. Please note: I'm writing this from work! The glass replacement people did install temporary glass in my bedroom window Wednesday so that the artic North winds couldn't blow straight into my home. They are looking for the right glass to match the rest of the windows in my home.

I have spent quality time analysing the fung shui-ness of my home. Look out world. As soon as I get off my butt and finish unpacking, there is going to be great chi in my home.

OK, so the long and short of it is that nothing exciting has happened this week. I'll see what trouble I can stir up this weekend : )

Only hours left of holiday time . . .

Survived anotherThanksgiving. This one was fairly benign. The fandam went to Atlanta (everyone but me that is.) I did have Thanksgiving dinner with Jon-David's family, so I wasn't lonely and abandoned, although I would have been ok just getting stuff done at the house all day. My neighbors across the street invited me over for drinks, so I did that for a little while before leaving for my own T day festivities.

I managed to get a lot done as far as cleaning and unpacking. I even got the tree up although no lights or anything are on the tree yet. I am reading one of my many feng shui books. It speaks frequently of getting rid of "things" since I am currently surrounded by "things" with NO room for any of them, forces are aligning as I look around thinking, ok what can I get rid of. This means the mother of all garage sales is growing. I don't know how that is going to work! I may try to sell things on the internet . . .

Today I realized my bed is not in good shape. The wood the slats sit on was coming unnailed. So, I was taking the bed apart, leaning the mattress against the wall, getting the box spring up and against the wall . . . no . . .no. . . into the window. Long string of cuss words. Broke a dang window. Can't wait to see how much that is going to cost. I went to Home Depot to get wood to put in the window . . . saw broken. . . went to another one, score. $2.00 for the wood : ) So, Monday I'll be calling Alamo glass to see what they can do to help me.

If I may pause for a moment for a small gripe. Nothing is easy. I mean I think, can't sleep on my bed tonight, I'll have to sleep on the fold out sofa bed, but I can't do that unless I love the crap out of the way that is in front of it. Can't do that until I create space in the back bedroom for the stuff from the front bedroom. Can't do that until I find more stuff to go out to storage. Can't do that until I rearrange the stuff in storage to make room. Sigh. double sigh.

As it turns out, I have gotten a fair amount of stuff done, but nothing on the Leadership Lens newsletter that I really need to have done by tomorrow.

Money makes the world go around, the world go . . .

I just got the contract from the real estate boys. HOLY COW. It is real. I think I have the shakes. They are going to pay me more to write this book than I make in a year of teaching. I think it is going to be important for me not to think on that too long.

Doing the happy dance, doing the happy dance.

4 1/2 hours until Thanksgiving break . . . .