It's Been A While

It's Been A While....

...since I posted here. There's so much to say and then again, not much to say. Back at school and not liking it. I really need a life/career change. I suppose I could analyze all of this but the thing is, I just feel stagnant. Nothing's working.

I'm worried about my health. I am having trouble breathing and feeling chest flutters. But I've felt the chest flutters for a very long time now and so far it's been nothing. The breathing thing? Well, I've been really, really stressed about it until today when I discovered by accident that when I take a Benadryl, the breathing problems disappear. So it looks as though I'm allergic to something, which is a relief. But I about gave myself a heart attack a few minutes ago when I was secretly checking out Hannah's blog and she started stomping up here. Holy shit! What if she caught me? Not that I would ever comment on her blog or stop her from using it but she would absolutely feel betrayed if she knew I read it. I just want to know what's going on in her head. She doesn't share much around the house, probably as a defense mechanism because her dad and I like to tease her. But I know she's a good girl overall. Anyway, my heart seriously started pounding and I almost couldn't click off the blog! Would've served me right, though, huh?

I've only finished 3 books so far this year. The one I'm reading now is such a doorstopper that it may be another month before it's done. I'm trying not to stress about that but it's hard. I want a quantity of books!

Rudi the wonder cat is at the top of this page! My kitty will be 20 this year! I worry about her constantly because while she seems to be perking right along, I know cats don't normally live this long. I realize how blessed I am but it's really worrisome. But she's my buddy who sleeps by me (and sometimes on me) and the "person" in the house I get up for to feed in the middle of the night.

I'm not sure what I need right now but maybe I should go looking for it rather than sitting here.

T~

Books in 2006

Here I will try to remember to list the books I read in 2006. I feel good about my reading this year as I'm already 2/3 of the way thru with my current book which I just began on New Year's Eve.

Stay tuned for more info here on this very page!

So here it is...post #1:

1. Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot (1/16/06)..7/10
2. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory (1/16/06)...6/10
3. Night by Elie Wiesel (1/21/06)...9/10
4. Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1/31/06)..6/10
5. A Hollow Crown by Helen Hollick (2/6/06)...9/10
6. Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (2/10/06)...9.5/10
7. Small Steps by Louis Sachar (2/18/06)... 7/10
8. The Preacher’s Daughter by Beverly Lewis (2/18/06)....8/10

Top Ten Books for 2005

Assuming I won't finish anything else that will knock my socks off, here are my Top Ten Books for 2005:



A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
The Revelation by Beverly Lewis
Daughters of the Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick

**with a major honorable mention to God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant

Top Ten Excellent Things About Christmas Break

Top Ten Excellent Things About Christmas Break!

1. Sleeping Late
2. Reading Late into the Night
3. Christmas Itself (with all the food, presents, family, etc. that that entails!)
4. Going to the mall during the middle of the week
5. Santa Claus!
6. The smells of Christmas (food, spices, hot chocolate....I'm making myself hungry!)
7. A clean house (well, at times, anyway!)
8. No students!
9. No late car duty!
10. Staying in pjs all day if I want to!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School's out for Christmas break! I love it. It's one of the best times of the year. Katherine and I went to the mall this p.m.---couldn't believe the amount of people there on a Friday afternoon. Of course Hannah and her friends were there and while I figured we'd never run into them, we did. LOL Anyway, most of my Christmas shopping is done and now it's on the wrapping. I must be crazy---I don't mind wrapping at all.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trotting Along Toward Christmas Break....

One more week....
Just one more week until Christmas break! I'm so excited to have so much time off this year. We get out on December 16 and go back January 3. Ahhhh....how nice just to contemplate having time before Christmas to get ready and then time afterwards to relax.

Observations of the Week, December 5-9:

• Car duty stinks---really, really stinks.
• There will always be some students I just don't like but I have to deal with it.
• The Two Towers may have the best lines of all 3 movies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• Some people will never be satisfied, no matter what you do.
• I would never want to be a principal!

I am considering writing some fan fiction. I'd never thought I would be an idea popped fully blown into my head this morning and now I'm th inking it might not be such a bad idea. I feel the need to be more creative these days but I'm just not sure how....

T

Thanksgiving Break!!

Things I Am Thankful For:

• My health
• My family
• Jeff (and the fact that we found each other at such a young age)
• My cat (aged 19 and still going strong!)
• My friends (and also the fact that I'm not dependent on them to feel good about myself)
• Good cars
• A warm house
• A five day weekend!
• Books, books, books!
• Good food
• Pants with elastic waists (LOL)
• Imitrex (God's gift to migraine sufferers!)
• My computers!
• Christmas trees, decorations, ornaments, etc.
• Snow!
• Digital cameras
• Dolls
• Titanic trivia, books, movies, dolls, etc.
• Medieval history
• The beach during the summer

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are going to my mom's on Thanksgiving Day as we always do. There is something about being at my mom's that makes me nuts. It's just a feeling I get---I want to get out of the house as quickly as possible. It's not like it's dirty or I'm afraid---in fact I'm fairly certain my dad's ghost hangs about. It's just this oppressive air, left over from my childhood. I still feel like she's judging me and I'm just not comfortable. You'd think at age 42 I could put it all behind me but there it is, hanging like the big Matzo ball it is. I always feel better when we leave and go to Jeff's parents', though they have their own set of quirks and irritations. I'm afraid if I analyze this too much I'll have to deal with the heavy shit, and I just don't want to. I'm just not comfortable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ode to Christmas Stuff

I unpack you carefully

Gazing at my treasures and remembering

They all remind me of another time

And their beauty makes me smile

Is it because they are of Christmas or...

Is it Christmas because of them?

Adios, amigos! Have a wondermous Thanksgiving!

Books--Part Deux

58. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (11/12/05)....9.5/10
59. A Feast For Crows by George RR Martin (??)...9.75/10
60. The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick (??)...10/10
61. John by Cynthia Lennon (12/27/05)...8/10
62. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (12/31/05)....8/10

Books I Have Read This Year

Books Read in 2005
1. The Saint by Madeline Hunter (1/4/05).....6/10
2. God Went to Beauty School (1/7/05)....10/10++
3. A Sterkarm Kiss by Susan Price (1/7/05)....7/10
4. Brooklyn Rose by Ann Rinaldi (1/9/05)....8/10
5. Every Boy’s Got One by Meg Cabot (1/16/05)....8/10
6. The Firedrake by Cecelia Holland (1/17/05)....5/10
7. The Education of Mary by Ann Rinaldi (1/29/05)...7/10
8. The Trespass by Barbara Ewing (1/30/05)....9/10
9. Silken Threads by Patricia Ryan (2/6/05)...9/10
10. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell (2/15/05)...5/10
11. The Glass Café by Gary Paulsen (2/21/05)...6/10
12. The Sun and The Moon by Patricia Ryan (2/23/05)...5/10
13. Raising the Griffin by Melissa Wyatt (2/27/05)....8/10
14. Titanic Affair by Amanda Grange (3/6/05)....6/1015
15. Daughters of the Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick (3/13/05)...9/10
16. Sanctuary by Beverly Lewis (3/16/05)....5/10
17. Lady Jane The Nine Days’ Queen by Ann Rinaldi (3/24/05).....7/10
18. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (3/31/05)...9/10
19. An Egg on Three Sticks by Jackie Moyer Fischer (4/2/05)....7/10
20. Princess Diaries VI: Princess in Training by Meg Cabot (4/4/05)....7/10
21 Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman (4/17/05)....7/10
22. Magical Mystery Tours by Tony Bramwell (5/1/05)......8/10
23. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (5/3/05)....8.5/10
24. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (5/21/05)...8/10
25. The Court of Love by Denee Cody (5/25/05)....5/10
26. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison (5/28/05)...10/10
27. The Revelation by Beverly Lewis (5/30/05)....10/10
28. Titanic Names by Lee W. Meredith (5/31/05)...9.5/10
29. The Mediator: Shadowland by Meg Cabot (6/2/05)....7/10
30. The Thought of High Windows by Lynne Kositsky (6/5/05).....7/10
31. Hammer for Princes by Cecelia Holland (6/9/05)....7/10
32. Desiree by Roberta Gellis (6/22/05)...3/10
33. Blood Secret by Kathryn Lasky (6/24/05)....8/10
34. 1912 Facts About the Titanic by Lee Meredith (6/25/05)......9/10
35. Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (6/28/05).....9/10
36. Hitler’s Daughter by Jackie French (6/29/05)....7/10
37. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (6/30/05)....9/10
38. A Foreign Field by Margaret Mayhew (7/9/05)...9/10

It's My Birthday....

It's my birthday....I'm 42 today! That used to seem so ancient but now I know it's just a number....in my mind, I'm 21. Which is kinda interesting because I have a 14 year old daughter, LOL.

Spent the day in inservice hell. I hate when the presentations don't matter to me and this workshop was on cooperative learning, something that was big 10-15 years ago. What a pain! Of course it didn't help that I have a massive head cold that is making my eyes tear and my nose stop up. I haven't had a head cold like this in ages and it's such a pain in the ass.

Band season is over so our lives are semi-normal again. I have to say I had a blast hanging with the other uniform moms! Here's a pic:

Jeff says we're a cult and maybe we are. It was too much fun! Le Plume? Oui!

Last weekend Jeff was going to go fishing with his college buddies but I pitched such a fit that he didn't. The thing was, Hannah was in Atlanta with the band and Katherine went to family camp with my in-laws so why was he leaving me all alone? And as it turned out, we had a fantastic time together and it was nice to just be ourselves for a bit.

Guess that's it...lalalala....time to go read for a bit.

T

Updating My Life

My Life as a Band Mom

I've been MIA lately due to being a band mom. It just feels as though that's all I do! But it's basically over now....Contest of Champions is done and I'm not traveling to Atlanta to be with the band, thank goodness. For weeks now every Thursday nite, Friday nite, and Saturday all day has been devoted to the band. Love the kids (most of the time) but hate feeling like I'm so overwhelmed and rushed on Sundays.

Anyway, I've enjoyed it and have made some really good friends with other band moms as well. Funny how tight you become with people when you seem to be with them all the time! Here's a picture of us yesterday. Aren't we silly? I remember my own mom traveling with our band all the time and I thought she was just checking up on me. Turns out she was enjoying hanging with her friends, and I get that now. These ladies are too funny....I'm gonna miss them but hopefully we'll see them a lot as the year goes on.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm stilllllll reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes. I haven't finished a book this entire month! I just can't seem to get much reading time in. Oh, well, I'm trying not to put pressure on myself to worry about how many books I've read this year, and this is one honking large book. But still, there are so many other books to read! George RR Martin is coming to town next week but Katherine has a chorus concert that night. I'm bummed.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Till next time.................................adios!