Ground control to Major Tom

Well, today's field trip pretty much went off without a hitch. No kids left behind - I think we can agree that's always a good thing.

The biggest problems we had were with the bus. Jeez, in the morning, it was 15 minutes late picking us up, and in the afternoon, 15 minutes late picking us up. Someone, somewhere, in their infinite wisdom, thought it would make sense if the driver did her regular morning route, and then picked us up after she dropped all the other kids off.

I know it's been a while since some of you have been in a high school circle drive at 7:30 a.m., so let me tell you - IT'S AN ABSOLUTE MESS. Don't you think the BUS company, of all people, would realize this as well? The poor driver - she sat in traffic in the circle drive for 15 minutes, waiting to get out so she could pull around and get us picked up.

Of course it's fun and exciting to be in a bigger city, bigger school district, etc., but I'm not gonna lie. I really appreciated the fact that, at Derby, I knew the folks who ran the bus barn by name and face. They worked for the district, not some outside corporation who does it on contract (similar to the Wichita schools setup).

The students all seemed pretty jazzed up when we left - sounds like they heard some cool things, and got re-excited for working on yearbook and newspaper. I know there are quite a few newspaper types who read this blog - so I just want you to know that any time you speak to students like that you've done a great thing. The kids won't usually let you know that while you're talking with them, but for weeks afterward, I hear "remember what so-and-so told us that day they were here?" It really does make an impression on the journalism students.

On the bus ride on the way up to Lawrence, one of the girls wrote a rap about BVHS publications. I'm going to ask her for special dispensation so I can post it to my blog later this week. The best part is - she's the most straight-laced, youth group, all-American white girl you'd ever meet. She even went to engineering camp at MU this summer, and she wrote a RAP today. It includes the line: "Chitty Chitty comin' up from Derby town, this is how we throw down."

Just a little preview for you. Like I said, I'll try to get a copy of the rest so y'all can see it.

TV note for tonight - Kid Nation, anyone? I think Greg's going to do something really stupid next week. I also think they went out to the most redneck, small towns they could find to dig up some of these kids. Maybe those were the only parents willing to give up their kids for money? To listen to some of the kids talk - yikes. I will say though, that there's a 14-year-old on the show that I wish was on one of my publications staffs. He's seems to really grasp the concept of "We're all in this together, and let's lift one another up instead of acting like jerks all the time."

Private Practice? I guess I liked it. I just think they're trying way too hard with the whole Addison-doesn't-know-what-the-hell-she-wants thing. Her speech at the end? "I thought I had a big finish. But I don't. No big finish." Is it not possible to make at least one of the women on PP or Grey's not be a complete bumbling idiot? I know we all have our flaws, but the little feminist in me says that it would be nice to see a strong, smart, successful woman, be just that. We need more Baileys!

Tuesday TV no man's land

and it's a good thing, too, since I've just spent the last four hours doing schoolwork.

I'm going on a field trip tomorrow with yearbook and newspaper kids, so I had to get the plans for my sub ready, get my presentation for the field trip/conference ready, burn a CD for someone, etc., etc.

Oh, yeah, and I had to help Adam out with his latest hare-brained scheme. I can't tell you what it is quite yet, but it involves cooking, shopping at the farmer's market and a video camera.

I just don't know that I would have had the willpower to accomplish all that I needed to do tonight with the temptation of TV hanging over my head.

It's been an incredibly stressful couple of days - my brain is buzzing with activity, constant commotion, etc. Sometimes, when I'm stressed, it literally feels like my brain is a wet sponge that can't soak up any more information, troubles, thoughts. That's what I felt like driving home tonight. Going over my list of things to do tonight, going over stuff for tomorrow, thinking, thinking, thinking. It's not that anything has been particularly hard, it's just been BUSY.

I think it's getting to be that time of year for teachers. You're completely entrenched, trying to keep up with grading, planning, being energetic and keeping kids engaged, and in my case, keeping the newspaper and yearbook staffs chugging along. I wish I was like Stretch Armstrong, so that as I get pulled in nine million directions, I would just keep getting more flexible.

Alas, I think I need a day at the spa...

Blogs are big time, baby.

So, TWICE tonight on new fall shows, a character made some sort of reference to blogs, like "That'll be on your blog tomorrow." or something along those lines.

If you didn't watch the new show "Big Bang Theory" you should add it to your DVR list - it was pretty cute. We laughed out loud multiple times.

That's about all I can muster tonight, guys. We ran seven miles after school today and here it is 9:08 and I'm pretty much falling asleep at the keys.

I think the fall is affecting me more than I expected. The days are getting shorter, and it makes me more tired. Stupid Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Buenas noches.

I know it's too hot to think of wool sweaters, but...

Okay, when it gets to be that time and you're swapping summer clothes out for winter clothes - I have a recycling proposition for any of you.

I'm in the market for some cast-off 100 percent wool sweaters. I re-washed the one I got from mom today, and it will be a purse by the end of the month, I hope. I'll probably take to trolling the thrift stores within the next few months, looking for CHEAP sweaters to experiment with.

If you pull a sweater out of your closet and it make you go: "What was I THINKING when I bought this thing?" don't take it to DAV, give it to DA-ME!

When I pulled the argyle sweater out today, the body of it looked like it MIGHT fit Kyle or Lauryn, one of my 2-year-old BFFs. It's definitely felted tightly enough to cut with scissors now.

New schmnew

Okay, people. Just because you rebroadcast the season finale with some "never before seen footage" doesn't mean you're broadcasting a NEW show.

These crafty network execs know exactly what they're doing. They know we're starved for some REAL TV, not re-runs and random crap, so get that fall season on the road. I actually thought (stupid, stupid girl) that "My Name is Earl" was new tonight.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. I guess I just have to wait one more week for the season openers - tonight was like a little warm up for the DVR.

We did, however, watch one new show last night - "Kid Nation." Did anyone else watch this, and will actually admit to it? I have to say, it reminded me of why I teach HIGH SCHOOL, not elementary kids. I don't think I could listen to 30 of their little voices all day long - some of the kids just seemed a little off.

Parents who read this blog - I guess each family got $5,000 for sending their kid off to the desert for 40 days? Anyone else heard that? Would you do that? I know five grand is a chunk of change, but that seems a little crass.

It's been one week (part deux)

I guess I've already used "It's been one week" as a title before, to document my blogging tardiness.

It is so windy here right now, it sounds like I'm typing this from a haunted house. There must be a storm blowing into town.

I just got home from the Sunflower Knit Guild meeting. Mom and I went to check it out. There were probably about 20-25 people there, from my age, up to Grandmotherly. It was interesting to see all of the projects people were knitting on. I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one out there with serious KRADD (Knitting Related ADD). Alas, I only had one project for show and tell, the infamous sweater vest. I did get to work on it for two whole hours, so I think I made some pretty serious progress tonight. My hope is that by this weekend, I'll be back to striping time.


It almost looks like a little mini-skirt, doesn't it? It's pretty lumpy and bumpy right now, but once it's knitted and blocked, I think it'll look pretty darn good.

The next item on my agenda is turning this 30-year-old wool sweater of my dad's (SHHH - don't tell him)...



into another felted purse. I think I need to wash it one more time to lock the fibers before I go cutting into the yarn. The plan is to get it nice and felted, and then cut it into pieces, using the sleeves for straps. I love the color scheme, so I think it will look pretty cool.

Livin's easy

How funny that Shep asked about the apartment life after my last post.

As I was trudging over to the mailbox this afternoon, I was thinking to myself, "Self, you need to write about how it is living in an apartment after owning a house all this time."

Overall, it's been all right. We're on the lower level, so no schlepping groceries up a flight of stairs. And, until the last two or three days, I haven't heard our upstairs neighbor at all. But, all of a sudden, it's like whoever lives up there gained 100 pounds, because I'm always hearing he/she walking around, opening their sliding glass deck door, etc. No loud music or TV noise, and no gettin' busy noise, so that's good.

I do ABSOLUTELY hate walking to the mailbox. I LOVE LOVE LOVE checking mail, but it's more fun checking it in our cool old school post box on our Holyoke house. It's not that it's too far, and I'm not lazy, I just hate the thought of it.

One thing that really annoys me about the other Dunes Dwellers is that three times now, people have asked me for the code to the clubhouse after hours.

Point for debate here: Would you give it or not?

I won't. How am I supposed to know that they actually live here? And, it's only six digits. The managers give it to each of us on a piece of paper. How hard is it to keep up with that? What if I let some "resident" in on Saturday, and then Sunday, when someone else goes in to use the gym, there's a crazy man who's been hiding in the bathroom overnight waiting to pounce?

Plus - there are computers in the building, and we can't even have free weights in the gym because some a-holes stole them all when they DID have free weights. This is why we can't have nice things. Luckily for us, treadmills and ellipticals and the weight system can't be carried out easily so they're still there.

I really like the property manager though, she gets things done. Did I already say that we got a brand-new refrigerator? Our old one was freezing stuff that was in the fridge, no matter what setting it was on, and the icemaker didn't work. Now we have one that does, at no cost to us (at least, no immediate cost to us).

Last but not least, we don't have to mow the lawn. I like yardwork, but Adam doesn't.