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“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” L.M. Montgomery
“A strong woman is a woman who craves love like oxygen, or she turns blue choking. A strong woman is a woman who loves strongly and weeps strongly and is strongly terrified and has strong needs.”
- Marge Piercy
One of my other favorites is at the top of this blog.
I’m entering a contest. It’s about all I have energy for right now. . .but I’ll be back.
Sorry about my absence this week. It was a crazy run for a few days. I’ve had some of you ask what’s up with the whole job thing. . .and here is what’s what.
I applied for this same transfer last year, but there was not an opening. This year it just worked out.
I will get to ride TO and FROM school with Tony and the kids every day. I did the math last year, and that as well as the “extra” time I get with them in the morning since I won’t have to leave as early turns out to 11 more days per year that I get to spend with them.
The kids will be at the elementary that is “next door” (which is across a practice field and a playground) to the school where we are. Victoria has been there since 1st grade, and Thad will be in kindergarten there next year.
I teach 6th grade reading, and Tony teaches 7th grade science. So, the likelihood of us even laying eyes on each other during the school day are slim to none. . .but that’s okay. It will make faculty meeting/tutorial/department meeting days much, much easier since one of us can get the kids while the other one does whatever needs to be done.
There are about 1300 kids there this year, but there will be about 1500 next year.
I will either be teaching gifted and talented/on-level kids or on-level/dyselexic/lower level kids. I don’t know yet which it will be. I have more experience teaching the latter, although I am not a “certified” dyslexia teacher.
I think that does it for dry new job info.
I also have two prayer requests
1. My Daddy, Harold, is having trouble with his foot. I know I’ve mentioned somewhere on here that he has only one. . .someday I’ll write the story. . .but he is diabetic and is having trouble with what we call his “good foot” (which in reality is his ONLY foot) and seeing as how he only has one, if things with this one go amok, we’re fresh out of feet for Daddy. He has some circulation problems, etc. and just got out of the hospital again. Momma is trying to keep him still with his foot elevated, which sounds much, much, MUCH easier than it is. So say a prayer for Daddy and one for Momma while you’re at it.
2. I found out tonight that a close friend, Deanna, has stage four lymphoma that is in her bones. She just found a lump in her breast about 3 weeks ago, and all of the testing has taken this long to get done. She and her husband, Tyre, have one child, Savannah, who is Victoria’s age. She is having chemo done at MD Anderson, which is a world class cancer treatment hospital here in Houston. Sarah’s dad has been there a time or two, and can attest to it’s wonderfulness. Please, pray for Deanna. She is scared, and her first round of chemo did not go well. She got sick during the first two tries, so she had to have it done three times the first time and ended up having to do the third go at half speed which required 12 hours rather than 6 hours and an overnight hospital stay. Thank you in advance for praying for her and her family.
I hope it is spring where you are–lovely and flowery–and not too sneezy from allergies. . .
I got the job.
And now I have to go and watch the Brownie Powder Puff Derby.
But I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interview tomorrow at 3:00. I’ll keep you posted.
I know that some of you remember I put in for a transfer to Tony’s campus last year but there were no openings. Well, today his principal e-mailed me to request an interview for a reading opening next year. I do not yet know when the interview will be–scheduling issues in this horribly busy week, but I am requesting prayers now. God sees the big picture, so whatever He wants is just fine with me.
My children are currently and simultaneously in the kitchen bathroom with the door closed and the light on chanting “Paper, scissors, rock” while making paper/scissors/rock noises and generally chatting it up in there. Go figure.
Once when I was “venting” about some situation to Tony, I was kind of waiting for a reply. . .some sort of verbal acknowledgement of my steam pouring forth in his general direction. When he did not reply, I said, “Well????” And he said, “You said you wanted to vent, and a vent only blows one way. Out.” Basically saying, “If you want me to respond, tell me in advance and don’t call it venting, call it a discussion.”
That man!!!!!
But I’ve told several people about his statement, which is so totally true. Vents only blow one way, people.
That being said, I am about to vent, and you are welcome to vent along with me or comment or pat my back and stroke my hair over this cable that connects us. . .but it’s just venting.
I AM FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am frustrated, because I have been logging in every morsel that enters my mouth for over two months now. . .TWO MONTHS. . .and I am, by very conservative measures taking in 500-700 calories LESS per day than I’m burning. . .and by moderate measure 700-1000 calories LESS per day than I am burning. . .and still I manage to not be really losing any weight of which to speak. I am frustrated. FUH-RUSS-TRAY-TED.
I am still logging in my food. I am still eating high fiber. I am still making sure that I am not eating out of boredom or stress or frustration (except for last night when all of those things hit me at one time and I ate a boat load of fried fish and okra and then some apple dump cake with a healthy serving of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla icecream–but THAT is what I wanted , and so THAT is what I had, and I did not continue to mindlessly eat while I was cooking the things I WANTED to eat.)
I am trying to exercise–walking being my preferred method–along with yoga–but I am not doing yoga right now, because I have not nailed Tony down about the monthly fee for the yoga center. I WANT to go out and rip 3+ miles in 45 minutes as I did in my college days. I FEEL like I can do it. My body FEELS like it can do it. . .but my calves, namely the tibialis anterior muscle is gumming up the works. I have done everything I know to convince it otherwise. I have stretched before walking. I have not stretched before walking but walked slowly for several minutes, then kicked it up a notch. I have walked slowly then stopped to stretch. I have stretched at varying intervals throughout the day. I have used orthodics. I have used different socks. I have used both the pink AND the red shoes with/without orthodics and with/without different socks. I have PRAYED that God would keep my calf muscles from feeling like they are being torn assunder.
To no avail.
Tonight–determined to walk 3 miles I set out. Hopes were high. Walking pace was slow and steady. A quarter mile to the track at a nice, relaxed speed. I get TO the track. . .it is a level dirt track, not packed, has plenty of give to it so it’s nice to the shins. . .I begin to pick up the pace. . .good. . .good. . .okay little twinge. . .it’s okay, it’s okay. . . . . . . . . . .it’snotokayowowowowowowowowowowowowodarn.
So I slowed down. . .and it hurt even slowing down. . .but I just kept on going. ..walking THROUGH the burning until it didn’t burn with the heat of 1,000 white hot suns but more like the heat of 750 white hot suns. . .but that may have been some numbing.
I walked 2.5 miles in 50 minutes. That is just so wrong for me. But, evidently (and after googling my syptoms) I am too old, too fat, and too unfit to go out and top my speed like the rest of me says I can. Even though I’ve been walking for two months now and even though I have lost some weight. Evidently, I need to SLOW down, LOSE more weight, and THEN try to amp it up.
You see my frustration.
So. There ya go. Venting done. I have had a wonderful spring break. I managed to take care of several loads of laundry and a floor that needed vacuuming AND take a nap after church today. I have a clean kitchen in which to make lunches tomorrow. I am off to shower and climb into my bed.
And go at it again tomorrow.
I heart spring break, but it’s going all too quickly. I have done several “projects” including buying shoes for everyone, shirts and ties for Tony, getting Easter goodies picked out, mailing packages, etc. Today we went to the Museum of Natural Science to see the frog exhibit and the Wild Safari I-Max, but by the time our family of four along with the other half of Houston showed up to buy tickets, it was sold out–the movie–not the frogs. So we saw this on Space Elevators instead. . .very cool concept, but I don’t plan on traveling to outerspace any time soon.
Thunderstorms were looming–and arrived in full force while we were there–so everyone who had planned to go to the zoo or the park ended up in the museum with us. It’s a really cool place–they have several complete dinosaur skeletons in the main hall. The biggest is the Diplodocus followed by a T-Rex, another herbivore that’s nearly as tall as T-Rex, and a Pterodactyl that is suspended from the ceiling. They also have a sea creature skeleton in under glass–it’s about as big as a great white shark, and then a mastadon skeleton that was native to the Houston area. If you are in Houston, I highly recommend it. It’s worth the dinosaur section alone.
The frogs were really cool–and the poison dart frogs? Those things looked like they came straight out of a package at the dollar store. The colors were so brilliant and they were so tiny and smooth that they looked plastic. The little blue ones that are in the link, I’da bought ‘em if they were glass. They are the perfect shade of cobalt blue, and their spots look like little pieces of alancon lace. There was one teeny, tiny yellow one that has enough poison in its body to kill 20,000 mice or 10 humans. Yipers. Glad there was some thick glass between the pretty, yellow mini frog and me. We also saw THE BIGGEST GRASSHOPPERS EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. I kid you not, those things were 6 inches long and HUGE. Ickadoo.
We are leaving for Galveston tomorrow–will be gone until Saturday–so we are going to swing by on our way and see Wild Safari and take photos of the kids with the huge cowboy boots that are in Hermann Park for the Livestock show and rodeo. They are sitting under the watchful eye of Sam Houston as he points toward San Jacinto. You can click on the “huge cowboy boots” link to see all 85 of the 6 foot high boots, or you can just look at these. . .
Houston is called “The Bayou City”–and there is a lovely photograph of the downtown skyline. There is an uptown skyline too–just not on the boot.
This one was sponsored by the Key Map people, and if you ever come to Houston and need a map, this is the EXACT one I’d draw for you–as was drawn for me 15 years ago by my Honey. OR, you could just go and find the 6 ft. boot and use it.
This was the Grand Champion, and I can see why. Plus it’s got bluebonnets. . .so there ya go.
I just like this one. . .plus it’s got that Canadian flag that I thought Sandy would appreciate. And, even though I’ve not laid eyes on this particular boot, I bet dollars to donuts that there’s a Mexican flag on the other side.
And this is my favorite, just ’cause it’s so pretty.
Just for fun and to see what I’ve actually read. . .I found this from someone who had commented on Denise’s site. Thought it looked interesting. I will admit that most of the “classics” I was able to bold, I read in high school. Don’t remember much of them. As you can tell, there are other books I read over and over and over. I’m pretty particular about books, so when I find a good one, I tend to wear it out.
Here are the rules:
Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read (bold and italicized I’ve read multiple times)
*Italicize the ones you want to read
*leave alone the ones that you aren’t interested in.
Here is the list:
1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2.Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3.To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10.A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12.Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100.Ulysses (James Joyce)
