The things children say

I stopped in to visit a friend today in an elementary building where I used to work. As I was walking down the hall, I stopped to talk to a student, I think he is in 1st or 2nd grade. Here's how the conversation went:

"Hey, do I know you?"

"I don't know, do I know you?"

The student told me his name, I told him mine.

His eyes lit up and he stuck his head into his classroom and announced, "Hey everybody! Mrs. O is back!"

Several students came out in the hallway to say hi and give me hugs. (they are so good at that).

After greeting them, I suggested they should return to the classroom before we get in trouble, told them goodbye and then headed down the hallway. As I was walking away, I heard one of the students say, "That's Mrs. O? She used to be a lot older!"

Don't you just love children, you never know what they will say. Personally I love Sara the magician beautician who cuts and colors my hair in a style & color that must make me look younger.

We're having a heat wave

By Gosh! We ARE having a heat wave. I think the temp was above freezing today. To celebrate I wore my fleece jacket outside without my winter jacket on. A little chilly but I am tired of winter jackets. Winter sotrm is predicted for tonight but the brunt of the storm is supposed to be south of us. Guess we won't be "celebrating" any more snow days off work.

Finished my fleece jacket (which I wore today), now I'm crocheting. Don't know what I'm making but the pattern sure is pretty. Colors are tan, blue, yellow and pink. I'll post a photo in a couple of days - of the crocheting and the fleece jacket.

Cats and Dogs

The hubby worked 3rd shift last night. Normally, when the cats wake up, he gets up and feeds them (it could be 2 am, 3 am, whenever). If he doesn't, Leo, the little boy cat will knock everything off the dresser, fireplace, bathroom counter - anything to get attention. The hubby chuckled last night as he hinted I will have to get up to feed the little buggers. Nothing got knocked off last night. However, there was a huge cat fight around 4 am this morning. The fight started by the window in my bedroom. I through a pillow and the hubby's balled up PJs in the direction of the hissing and fighting. It didn't work. The fight escalated. I got up to break it up. The took it behind and under the bed where they know I can't reach them. So, I opened the cupboard on my night stand, brought out the catnip and gave it a shake. Out come both cats. I lured Leo out of the bedroom and shut the door in his face. When I turned around, Allie -the girl cat, was standing on the bed by my pillow. I put the catnip in the cupboard, moved Allie and crawled back in bed. Leo stood outside my bedroom door crying; don't know how long 'cause I went back to sleep. The empty cat dishes and the unopened can of food are still sitting on the counter where the hubby left them. The cats can eat dry food today!

The dog. The hubby normally lets the dog out when he gets up in the morning. Since the hubby isn't here (he is working 1st shift after working all night), the dog hasn't been out yet. I got up at 7 am because I assumed the dog needed to go outside. After all, he normally goes out between 4 & 5 and then again at 7:30 for me on weekdays. I open the door to his room and he can barely open one eye. I open the back door and invite him outside. Ha, I don't blame him. It's cold out there. But wait! I just got out of bed for you dog! You are going outside. He finally complies and is busy doing his duty when I spot the Chronicle carrier hoofing down the street. I slip my feet into my crocs and rush out to the end of the driveway while the dog is at the end of his leash choking and barking on the steps. Don't know if he finished his business but he is back in the house and sleeping on the carpet.

The cats keep giving me the evil eye. The forget who they are dealing with

Weekend Plans

My B Swap partner received her box full of items beginning with the letter B. Here's my photo of the items. After I took the photo, I realized I forgot two items, those went in the box last. I've never done a swap like this before so I hope I did a good job.

I could get used to working three day work weeks. This has been great. Anyway, it's Friday and the weekend has arrived. I managed to leave the library looking pretty good today. Got my reports done & prizes distributed to almost all the students who earned them. Played a mean "trick" on a class of 5th graders suffering with the disease "substitute-itis". They were out of control and unruly with their teacher away. While in the computer lab which is directly off the library the 5th graders were extremely loud. After repeated requests to them to respect the class in the library, I finally went on the program Syncroneyes and shut all of their computers down. When the substitute came to me and stated "one of the students" accidently shut all of the computers down" I told her it looked like they weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing anyway & she should take them back to their classroom. Never did take credit. The teacher with me in the library encouraged me to get them out so her class could have a quiet end to their library time. Feel bad for the sub but they can be noisy in their classroom without disturbing the library patrons.

Anyhow, weekend plans: sleep, sew, laundry, bake, and go out with Sherry & her sisters to celebrate Sherry's birthday - is it 43 years OLD? Hopefully I can finish my new sweatshirt and take in the seams on the jacket I finished earlier this week. It is big enough for two of me.

Let's see how much I accomplish.....

Back to work

well, after an extremely long weekend, it was back to work today. We had Friday & Monday off for mid-winter break and then Tuesday was a snowday - no work. So, upon returning to work today I did not have the usual mess to clean up since I was the last person there. This gave me the opportunity to get caught up on some paperwork and reports that were piling up again.

Finally made it to Zumba tonight. Found out our original instructor, Courtney got a new job - we will miss her but wish her the best of luck. Stepped on the scale, not good news. This lack of exercise and poor eating habits lately showed up on the scales. Definitely need to start logging everything I eat again and couting stars/points. I now have a goal to lose 34 pounds by June 15.

SNOW DAY!!!!! again

What do other people do on snow days? Here's what I did this morning (along with 4 loads of laundry). Note to friends - please save your junk food wrappers - wrappers from potato chip, individual cookies, granola bars - anything with the shiny foil inside and bright colors outside.

Dancing with the Stars

The new list is out for Dancing with the Stars. I'm not too impressed. The hubby thought the list was a spoof.

Here's the list and my opinions:

*Marlee Matlin – actress extraordinaire she was rendered deaf as a infant by a bout of roseola infantium. I would love to see her win

Penn Jillette – of Penn and Teller – writer, actor, producer. He looks like a very big guy - probably not too graceful on the dance floor. Maybe he will surprise me.

*Marissa Jaret Winnokur – broadway star (born to sing, dance & act) – originated role of Tracy Turnblad on Hairspray (appears a little vertically challenged – which makes her appear chunky or is she just top heavy?) Will be interesting to see how well she does

*Adam Carolla – Comedian – Comedy Central - a possible top contender

*Kristy Yamaguchi – figure skater – Olympic gold medalist - definite top contender

*Christian de la Fuente – Latin heartthrob – actor, producer, writer - definite top contender

Monica Seles – Tennis Champion - will she grunt her way to the top 6?

*Mario – R & B Singer 21 years old held #1 spot for 9 weeks – hip hop dancer but can he adapt to ball room style dancing?

Steve Guttenberg – Movie Star, actor, producer, director, writer (remember Three Men and a Baby) hmmm, he will be fun to watch

Jason Taylor - NFL All Star - Miami Dolphins - can football players dance - perhaps his fans will keep him in the competition

Shannon Elizabeth - Award Winning Actress - hmmm

Priscilla Presley - Elvis' X - but does that make her a great dancer?

March 17 - that's when it all begins.

Could this be my new exercise program? Think of all the money I could save without paying for a Y membership.

Finally

The jacket is finally finished! Four colors, 72 "squares" outside, 72 "squares" of batting, and 72 "squares" inside. Unfortunately, it is too big for me. It was fun to make. Now the work begins on the new skirt. I'll make it out of a cheap muslin first but it will have all the bells and whistles. Stay tuned.

Twenty-three years ago

Twenty-three years ago I gave my hubby the best Valentines Day present - his first child was born. This year the oldest is living half a world away on a little island in the South/West Pacific Ocean. I arrived home from the Y Thursday night to my son, hands on hips saying "Where have you been young lady? Your daughter walked over an hour in 90 degree weather to call you.

I quickly went on line and purchased a long distance calling card so, if she returned the call, I could call her back. Well, she called back but someone had torn the paper with the village phone number off the phone. We had about 20 minutes of talk time before being cut off. After being in labor for 38 hours twenty three years ago, I guess 20 minutes of birthday wishes is going to have to be good enough.

Anyhow, I felt much better after talking to her - even though we were rudely cut off when time ran out. Then, last night while doing random things on the laptop, I noticed I had e-mail. The senders name was some random numbers. Almost send the message to the spam file but noticed the message said: "FORGOT TN SAY YESTERDAY THANK YOU FOR THE SHOES, I BROKE THEM IN ON THE WALK AND THEY WERE GREAT!" She finally has a SAT phone that works.

I sent a birthday package three weeks ago which contained random items and a lovely pair of Chacos. I can't wait until the snow melts and I can again wear Tevas and Chacos. Also in her birthday package was four 1/2 pint jars with cupcakes baked inside, a tub of frosting and birthday candles.