Is it Just Me or...

I'm watching American Idol and Sanjaya just sang. He was wearing an old fashioned fedora and he sang an old song--I didn't catch the title. When he spoke, I swear he sounded just like Michael Jackson! And with the fedora, he looked like Michael circa the Smooth Criminal era. It was a very disturbing mental image for me, LOL. Anyway, I've copied Sanjaya's photo and will paste it below near one of Michael in the Smooth Criminal video. Imagine poor Sanjaya with a fedora and...is it just me? Anyone, anyone?

~taminator40

When It Rains....

Well, I'm very sure you've heard the old adage that when it rains, it pours. Well, February can quit pouring now. This has not been a good month for us. First, our beloved cat, Rudi, passed away at age 20+ years. Not unexpected, but still heart wrenching as she was a member of our family and my first baby. Then our downstairs heating unit went out, not once, but twice. $2000 spent on that wonderful piece of news. This weekend, our hot water heater began leaking and had to be replaced. Another $500 down the drain. Thankfully, Jeff and my brother Fred were able to install the new heater themselves this a.m., which saved us a little bit of money. I swear it's going to bankrupt us, though. Now we have Hannah's prom coming up, plus Jeff's sister Amanda's shower/wedding. It'd be nice if we could catch a bit of a break here. Last night I was really down about the whole thing, but I've recovered today and am hoping that March blesses us with riches...hopefully literally. :)

~taminator40

What Kind of Reader Are You?

I got this link from a yahoogroup I belong to, WeeklyReads. It's a fun quiz to see what sort of reader you are. I came out as a dedicated reader, which is about right, I think. Give it a whirl!

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_kind_of_reader_are_you

~taminator40

She Walks These Hills Review

I finished my second tbr_challenge review book last night: She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb. I liked it well enough, but was not overly enthralled by it. I suppose it's partly because I expected the historical element to play a larger role than it did. I'd heard so many people rave about this one and maybe I'd built up my hopes for it unrealistically. Anyway, you can read my amazon review for yourself and decide if I'm on the money or not. Here's the link:

http://tinyurl.com/yt7s8v

I'm pretty sure my next read will be the third book in Sandra Worth's Rose of York trilogy, Fall From Grace. I'm looking forward to seeing how she bring Richard III to his tragic end. I'm definitely a Ricardian so this one will probably tug my heartstrings. I really, really loved her first book in the trilogy, Love and War, and felt the second, Crown of Destiny, was a bit of a let down, a sometimes problem for the middle novel in a series. The third one looks great, though, and I can't wait to pick it up, though it'll probably be tomorrow night since tonight is a LOST night! I'm totally addicted to that show. Hope there's at least one Desmond siting!

~taminator40

Inservice Days

We had an inservice day at school today. Yawn. While the rest of the world (or so it seems) had Presidents' Day off, the teachers here were forced into meeting hell. Actually, it wasn't so bad; our principal is really pretty laid back (perhaps too laid back?) and didn't overschedule us as far as meetings are concerned. I did have enough time to get caught up on several things in my room, which was good. Plus I had an awesome time over lunch, just chewing the fat and laughing and commiserating with some buddies. It's so nice to know you're not alone in your thoughts about a school problem; sometimes it's just nice to be able to bitch a bit and then get on with it.

This is my last week with my current rotation of students. I'm kinda sad. There's not a group this 12 weeks that I've really disliked, and I've actually enjoyed most of them. The last 12 weeks (can you believe we'll be that close to summer break??) sees me returning to teaching reading to a small group of 7th graders. I made a class trade with another teacher and it's coming up roses for both of us. Which means I'll have one less technology class this time, but I do so like to teach reading. I've already got my first novel selected--The Watsons Go to Birmingham. Now granted, 7th graders may be a *bit* squirrelly, but I think we'll have fun with it and I'm looking forward to it. It'll be nice to teach reading again for a change.

Four weeks until spring break....I can't believe it! Less than a week until Jeff starts his new job as the new principal at a brand new school opening in the fall. Hannah got invited to the prom! Our lives are marching on. I'm grateful and contented. Let's hope I don't screw it up, LOL!

~taminator40

Addition of the Grateful List

I decided I needed to add a public "Grateful List" to this blog in an effort to make myself more aware of the good things I have going on in my life. I tried at one time to write these things down on a daily basis in a book, but that fell by the wayside fairly quickly. I figure if I've got it out there for others to view, perhaps I'll make more headway. I tend to focus on the bad stuff, and maybe this will be Step One in learning to look at the good stuff, too.

I started off with the Biggies (with the addition of *snow*--we've had the prettiest flakes here all day today!). Of course I'm grateful for all of these things and people, but occasionally I need to remind myself of these things. I hope to get down to more specific little things as the days progress. Maybe I won't feel the need to repeat myself continually...I intend to try to list even such small "gratefuls" as not hitting a traffic light on my way home today.

So what about you? Anything you're grateful for? Not just the big stuff, but are you grateful for the minor things? I should have listed the fact that I'm grateful I saw 6 male cardinals in our backyard today, so bright and pretty against the falling snow, even if each did look like it weighed about 5 pounds. We have the fattest birds in the state in this neighborhood, I do believe. But it was a beautiful sight and I'm glad I got to experience it.

Right now I'm also grateful for good music. I've got Napster playing some softer rock/country stuff on in the background and every once in a while, I need the reminder of how much music touches me.

Yep, I'm grateful for a lot of things. And I do need the reminder.

~taminator40

Of Snow Days and Other Stuff

Yesterday was a surprise snow day for the girls and I! Honestly, we could have been on a delay and been fine, but it was nice to be off. We went out and got "You're Turning 40" gifts for my brother (whose birthday is today---Love Ya, Little Brother!) and got lunch. Then I attempted to read a bit. I'm tackling She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb, one of my tbr_challenge books. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but while it's certainly readable, it's not exactly what I thought it would be. I expect I'll be able to knock it out rather quickly and time will tell whether or not it'll be a "good" book.

Before that I finsihed The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell. I ended up liking it quite a bit! Here's the link to my Amazon.com review, found under the name Taminator1:
http://tinyurl.com/2l4fs2

Thanks to my book friend. Beth, I've got Lords of the North awaiting me in Mt. TBR and I do think I'll be reading this one sooner rather than later.

~taminator40

Girls' Day Out

With Jeff and Hannah off skiing, Katherine and I had a quality day of shopping! We hit the mall and made quick work of all our favorite stores, including Bath and Body Works, Macy's, and Waldenbooks. Then we bought her some fabric at Jo Ann's (proving that being a good seamstress does, indeed, skip generations, she's inherited my mother's love of sewing). Next, because you can never have too many books in your life, we hit Barnes and Noble, which included a visit to the Starbuck's within (I have a problem with addiction to white chocolate mochas....). Then it was off to the $100 store, Target, and finally to the grocery for Jeff (I absolutely hate going to the grocery and would probably go hungry or simply only eat whatever's sold at Target if the grocery shopping was left up to me on a weekly basis). We finished out day eating Chinese. What a wonderful time, spending lots of money on things we don't need but just enjoying each other's company. I'm so glad that, at 10 years old, she still feels okay about occasionally holding my hand as we walk....what a good kid she is.

Shamelessly Stealing...

I'm shamelessly stealing Nanci's map idea for my blog. I love the idea that unknown people stop by my blog, even if it's not updated often. Still fun to see!
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Jeff and Hannah have gone snow skiing this weekend. Katherine, in true spoiled child form, has convinced me that tomorrow should be spent at the mall buying her stuff. So looks like we'll be off spending money we don't have on stuff we don't need...but at least I can hit the bookstores once more before Lent hits. I always give up book buying for Lent, though Jeff laughs and says I should give up something that means something. Uh, hello? Has he noticed the size of my TBR mountain lately, LOL?