Help from friends DOES keep you more accountable...

I've been absent here, yes, but I have been blogging quite a bit over on Unraveling the Stash. Check it out if you haven't already.

If any of you made New Year's Resolutions to get/stay in shape, I've got a tip for you: enlist a friend to help hold you accountable. It's not a new or revolutionary tip. They tell you that in all the fitness magazines. However, it's been working pretty well for me. Even if your workout buddy lives across the state instead of across town, she really will help your motivation.

Kathryn (lives in Wichita) and I text each other each time we work out, so I always feel guilty if I tell her I'm going to do something and then I don't do it. And, she works out before work most days (she doesn't have to be there at the crack of dawn like a high school teacher does), so when I see that she's worked out for the day, it makes me go later in the day.

I didn't really want to work out yesterday, or Friday after school, but I'd already told her I was going to do it, and I didn't want her to call or text and make fun of me for wussing out.

Of course, I'm typing this after having skipped Zumba class at Lifetime this morning, so will I get a workout in later today?

I guess we'll see.

You are (dead) everybody. You are (dead) everyone.

(Don't worry - that title is not some scary call to action. If you watch LOST, you'll get it, if you don't, you won't.)

I'm still not sure what to think about last night's LOST series finale. All I know is that I went to sleep thinking about it, and I woke up this morning thinking about it, still trying to decide what I know and what I don't.

That show has been with me since I started teaching - it premiered in September of 2004, just after I left the newspaper business.

Adam and I watched the first season in the basement TV room at our first house in Valley Center.

I watched seasons 2-3 at our little pink house on Holyoke in Wichita. Betsy and Mitzi and Adam and I watched season 4 (with great premiere parties at a certain principal's house). The girls gave up on it because they got behind, but Hubs and I stuck with it.

At one point during season 3, our DVR quit working, so I watched most of the shows on ABC.com in our back computer room. It was FREEZING in that room, and I spent the winter huddled under a blanket watching people on a desert island on my iMac screen.

I loved those characters. Each was flawed in some way, but all they were trying to do was make their way in the world and do the right thing. I'm not ready to talk about what actually happened in the finale just yet. I think I still need some processing time, and I'm interested to see what all the TV gurus out there have to say.

Did you watch? What did you think?

Spring Break

Wow, I really thought I would have written a few blog posts during break. Not working on school stuff, not on newspaper or yearbook deadlines, time to blog, right?

Well, not so much.

I've been doing lots of work around the house - general organizing and spring cleaning, cleaning up the yard (raked a lot today). Mitzi and I hit the Shawnee St. Pat's parade and the KC St. Pat's parade to sell beads for Team in Training. We did pretty well at both - sold all the beads she ordered, and didn't have to deal with drunk a$$holes, so that was nice.

Betsy came over Monday night and we shot some photos of stuff to put on eBay. I've got three items out there right now - hopefully they'll sell so I'll have some more donation money for Team in Training.

I got to have lunch with two out of town friends - Candice and her boyfriend on Monday, and Sharon on Wednesday. It's nice to a.) be able to see friends from out of town, and b.) get to go out to lunch!

Mitzi and I will be having a benefit garage sale on April 3 and 4, here at the homestead. If you're here in town, and you've done a little spring cleaning, we'd happily take your cast-offs off your hands! Consider it de-cluttering for a great cause...

I can't believe it's already Friday night of break. This week FLEW by. We didn't do anything special, just tons of little tasks and catching up on home stuff that gets sloughed off during school days.

Our group training is tomorrow morning at Longview Lake. Eight miles. Then, we've got our Silent Auction/Benefit Dinner at Red Robin on 95th and Metcalf. Hopefully tons of people can be there, and we'll get some good traffic. I'll be there a little early, handing out flyers to diners so we can get the 10 percent donation from Red Robin for their food bills.

I'm headed to Wichita tomorrow right after training - it's L's birthday party time again. The trip was supposed to be longer, but I couldn't get everything done before today. So, it'll be a quick down and backer.

I probably have no blog readers left since I'm not regularly updating, but if you're out there:

Ask me some questions. I need some writing prompts so I can get back in the blogging state of mind. You ask, I'll answer...

The Books page

I've been reading a lot more lately than I usually do during school. I got started right before Christmas break when Adam brought home a book from the library for me. Since he was being so thoughtful, I figured I better make the time and effort to read it, especially since it was vacation time.

So, I read "In the Land of No Right Angles."
Then, I read "Friday Night Knitting Club: Knit Two."

I was excited about FNKC, because I had really liked the first one. Granted, we were still living in the pink house in Wichita when I read it, so I probably don't remember it that well. But, it was given to me by a wonderful former student, and I truly enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, the second one didn't live up to my opinion of the first. I feel like it was a little bit forced. Things just seemed to work out so magically and easily, and the language felt a little stilted to me. It's too bad, since I was looking forward to reading it, and it was given to me by my good friend Kat. (It's like I feel guilty if I don't like a book someone has taken time to choose for me. But it's not their faults - they didn't write the books!)

Then, I started to read "A Spot of Bother" by Mark Haddon. Again, I had really enjoyed his earlier book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time."

But I couldn't get past page 13 of this one. It was like pulling teeth. I don't usually give up on books. It feels like losing.

So, now I've moved on to "Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair" by Laurie Perry. She's one of the bloggers I check regularly over at Crazy Aunt Purl, so I'm thinking I'll enjoy her book, even though I'm only ONE of the things she mentions in the title.

PLEASE GOD, I HOPE EVERYONE CHOSE "Covered in Cat Hair" as the one I am. 'Cause that's the one that fits.

Started it last night at bedtime, and I can already tell it's probably going to keep me up later than I should be staying up.

In fact, I need to get off this darn computer and get ready for bed so I can read a little bit.


•••

TNT Update: Went to the official Kick-Off tonight. You should have seen our team - there's a ton of people on it! I've been psyched since I decided to do this again, but the Kick-Off made it even more clear what I'm about to undertake again. To see so many people with such a passion for doing good and helping others is pretty damn cool.

I'll have to run six miles on the treadmill this weekend at the Park City Best Western since I'll be at Crop A Ganza. I think Mitzi is a little upset that she has to do the first group training on her own. I'll be sad that I'm missing the group run, but happy to be a CAG.

Don't forget to donate here.

10 gallon head = 1 Kleenex box

Not even crocheting a blanket for my grandmother could keep me distracted enough during "The Pursuit of Happyness" to keep from bawling my eyes out. Jeez.

Everyone else out there has probably already seen the movie, and is all ready to go see "Seven Pounds." I mean, Oprah was all over it last year. I remember sitting on the couch in our little College Hill house watching Will talk about it with Oprah. We never saw "Happyness" in the theater, but we DVRed it a while back.

I'm really glad I did not see that movie at the theater. It would have been quite embarrassing to be so worked up over it in public.

I had to stop working on the blanket for a little while since I couldn't see through the tears in my eyes. I told Adam that I think part of the reason the movie is so emotional is that the boy who plays Chris Gardner's son is actually Will Smith's son, so it's really intense to watch the father and son dynamic.

If you haven't seen the movie, you really should. It was really incredible, and I love Will Smith anyway, so he really shined in the main role. Just a warning, though - you WILL be an emotional wreck by the end of it, so have the tissues handy.

Quick trip down and back

Last weekend I had to go to the KSPA winter meeting in Wichita. I'm happy to attend the meeting, because I get to see my journalism teacher friends that I don't see very often.

I'm also happy to go because I get to visit my Wichita family. Adam and I drove down Friday night after school. We didn't get to Derby until about 8:30, but we did get to see Kyle and Noah just before bedtime. Of course we were glad to see them, but right before bedtime probably isn't the best time to visit a 3-year-old...

We need to learn to time that better, so we don't get the K-Man all riled up before he's supposed to be going to bed.

After the meeting on Saturday morning, Amy dropped me off at Jeff and Kat's so I could visit with them for a little while, too. I really need three-day weekends to go to Wichita, so we can actually see everyone we want to visit.

After we sat inside and visited for a bit, Jeff headed outside to get some yardwork done, and we went out to provide moral support and take Haley for a walk. L decided she needed a little ride on the mower.

I was already looking forward to Christmas break, but now I'm really anxious for it. The weekend trip provided just a taste of hanging with friends, and I'll have some more time to do so during the holiday. Maybe Amy and I can actually get some knitting time...

Even though we don't get a lot of time together, it's still all quality time. I'm so glad that even though we don't live in Wichita anymore, we are able to stay friends with our tribe.

Still here

We got back from Arkansas about 8 p.m. yesterday. Adam and Joshua were out at a Grateful Dead tribute show (yuck - the only thing worse than listening to the Dead play one song for 50 minutes is listening to a fake band do it!), so I settled in and watched a few TV shows from the DVR.

Along the way, I worked some more on the knitted Christmas extravaganza. Three gifts are done, much more to go. Thank God for Wool-Ease thick and quick yarn. It might not be the most expensive or boutique yarn, but it knits up quickly, feels good and will keep the recipients warm on the coldest of days.

I decided to stay out of the Black Friday craziness this year. Since we've got no kids to shop for, there's no reason for us to get out for great deals on toys. Adam did go out early this morning for some thing we need. Home Depot and Kohl's got our money this morning. Mom went to a few places. She called to see if I wanted to go, but I wasn't up for it. I would have gone along for the ride, but I was worried about how long we'd be out, and I wanted to keep working on my term paper.

I rolled out of bed at about 8 and went to work. I'm up to nine pages now, and I'm confident that I'll get it done by deadline. Some people might say "Why don't you just sit down and finish it, so it's not hanging over your head?" Trust me, I would if I could. After a few hours of work on it, though, the words start to swim on the screen, and I'm afraid I'm repeating myself. I think it's better to break it up into small chunks.

That's pretty much where I've been the last week - if you've been looking for blog updates and haven't seen them. Much too busy to do much more that tweet about what I'm doing.

Amy and her family are in town, so we're going out to lunch and to do some knitting this afternoon. It'll be good to see her - it's been a long time. I think I'll take the rest of today off from the paper. We want to get out our Christmas decorations and put that stuff up. I feel like if we don't do it this weekend, we won't do it at all!

So much to do, so little time.

Twitterlicious

I've gone to the dark side. I'm now officially tweeting, along with the Wichita contingent, on Twitter.

I didn't blog from St. Louis since the Internet wasn't readily available, but I was tweeting pretty consistently. Twitter has been called "micro-blogging." That's what it's like for me. I have to figure out how to say what I want to say in less than 140 characters.

You'll notice that there is a feed from my Twitter site on the right side of my blog. So, if you feel like you've gone too long between fixes of Chittum blogs, chances are you can read the news down there. If I don't have the time or inclination to write a full-blown blog, I just might post a tweet.

Betsy says lots of Etsyians are using Twitter as a marketing tool, but I don't want to be a Twitter spammer. Would that be a Spitter?

I'm working on Christmas presents, getting caught up on grading, and keeping my head above water for the next week, until Thanksgiving break. Almost. There.

•••

Here's a funny from my J1 class today.

We are studying editorial cartoons, and the meaning and symbolism behind them. One of the students chose a cartoon about Obama's inaugural ball. In the cartoon, Obama staffers are saying they have everything they need for the soiree, but they need to know what to feed the "multitudes." The other guy answers back, "He said all he'd need is five loaves and two fish."

So, the kids starting discussing the Biblical allusion in the cartoon, and the fact that some people believe that Barack is the second coming. Some kids got it right away, some didn't. So, one girl explained it for everyone, and it was so cute - she said:

"You know, there's that one scene in the Bible where Barack Obama says he can..."

It was just a slip, but we all got a good laugh out of it. If there was a quote wall for J1 like there is for newspaper, that one'd be in the hall of fame.

TAG - I'm it.

I've been tagged in a game of random-blog-tagging that's making the rounds of the Wichita blogging nation. This is my 457th post, and it's the first time I've ever been tagged in a game like this.

I was tagged by Lori, a cool chick that I miss working with!

Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write 6 random things about yourself.
• Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
• Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
• Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things about me:

1. As a child, I was incredibly lucky. I won the most random contests. Unfortunately, this has not translated into mega millions lottery winnings in my adult life. Sometime around second grade, I won a contest on KFKF radio to be an honorary ball girl at the Harlem Globetrotters basketball game at Kemper Arena. I have an autographed basketball from the team, circa the Curly Neal and Sweet Lou days. I got to sit on the bench with the team. I don't remember much about it. I also won a trip to Disney World when I was in fifth grade - all expenses paid, for the whole family. And, any time there was a door prize drawing, I won it. Not so much anymore. We have door prize drawings at our faculty meetings every month and I haven't won one in a year and a half.

2. Even though we've totally remodeled my grandparents' house, so much so that it looks like a completely different house, I still sometimes go where things were in "their house." For example, this morning, I needed to throw something in the trash, and I went to do it under the sink. Our trash can is in the corner, but it was always under the sink when Grandma and Grandpa lived here. Also, I always go to the old silverware drawer, and open it, before I remember that we keep our silverware in another drawer. Old habits die hard.

3. In high school, I was named 1995 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year, and I got second place at the national level. I could have gone to San Francisco to accept my award at the national convention, but I didn't. I was stage managing the spring play, and it was the same week. Couldn't miss it and all the rehearsals. Denise was also a Kansas JOY, and I belive she, too, took 2nd at nationals.

4. I'm a Mac, and I have been since 1991. Trudging home (on the school bus) with a Mac Classic and the database list of the entire student body of Shawnee Mission North High School, sitting at my parents' kitchen table, working on mugs pages and index pages, I forged an indelible bond with the Macintosh. Today, Adam and I own: one MacBook, one old iMac, one U2 iPod, one old white iPod Shuffle, a new clip version iPod Shuffle, an iPod Nano and an iPhone. We have officially been assimilated. I've been through two hard-drive crashes (one on the laptop, one on the desktop) and I'm still loyal.

5. I'm a little preoccupied with state football playoffs right now. BV is steaming toward the championship game, as is Derby. One of my former students plays football for Derby right now (he's a senior), and one of my current newspaper students plays on our team. I might have to ask my mom to sew me a long-sleeve T-shirt that is a mix of the two schools' colors if they meet in the championship. Each team only has to win one more game to set up a face off.

6. Pauly Shore kissed me in an elevator once, and I have the picture to prove it. One day at school, one of my students asked me "Is that your husband?" when she saw the photo.

I tag:
Amy
Cary
Kim
Betsy
Mitzi
Candice

You're it. Let's see what you guys can come up with...

We are the champions, my friends

Despite freezing temperatures and a brutal wind chill, El Guapo was en fuego Thursday night for the semi-final and finals for the MOKC WAKA kickball championships.

Our semi and the final went into extra innings! There's weird rules for extra innings in kickball. It's not like baseball where you just keep playing like normal until a team ends an inning scoring.

I got the call from GM - I had to come out of the bullpen and pitch during both games, in the extra inning. I'm pretty sure when they told me that, I probably looked like the proverbial deer in headlights. I prefer anonymity in my kickballing - I don't want the responsibility of pitching. Especially on the night we're playing for the league championship!

What if I walked four kickers in a row? What if somebody kicked it back to me and I didn't catch it? What if I couldn't make the throw to first? What if I died of insecurity right there on the mound? Okay, well, it's really more of a "spot" than a mound.

I took a few practice pitches. I took a few deep breaths. I heard encouraging words from the sidelines. I focused. I became one with the ball.

First kicker up? A dude. I STRUCK HIM OUT - LOOKING! Sucker.

That was the confidence builder I needed. I was still scared shitless, but it was a lot more fun after I knew I could get the job done. I'm pretty sure after that first strikeout, I celebrated like I had just won the World Series. Seriously. I was jumping up and down, hooting and hollering; Rita, playing third at this point, ran over and hugged me.

Yeah, I probably looked silly, but here's the thing - everybody else was cheering too. Pretty sure they were cheering out of relief, not excitement as I was, but I'll take it anyway!

I'm not gonna lie - it was pretty freaking cool.

Dave and Andrea celebrate!

Duuuuuude - We Rule! Check out the game ball, the sombreros, and the Championship Belt there in the middle. The league folks were there shooting video of the blessed event, so as soon as I hear of the link, I'll put it up here, so you can relive my, I mean, our glory...

I'm so glad that Azie and I happened to be talking one day and kickball came up. I have had so much fun this fall playing with this team. Playing co-ed rec softball in Wichita really helped me make some of the best friends in my life to this day, and I hope that my kickball relationship with El Guapo is long and strong.

Of course, I'll be out of town this Thursday for the end-of-season party, but I think we should totally have our own team end-of-season party in a few weeks.

Viva El Guapo!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Five years, baby!

RESULT!

Today, when Mitzi and I got back from our 10K run, Adam was outside in the one-car garage, sorting through a bunch of stuff.

He finally came up with a plan for our storage, and that plan allows us to get the car in the double-car garage! That's one huge thing I missed during the Year of Living Apartmentally. My car was always garaged at our house in Wichita, and on cold winter mornings, it was really nice not to have to scrape ice and snow off the windows.

We moved everything out of the playhouse, swept and cleaned it out, and then put all of our lawn and garden stuff in it.

I was hot, sweaty, and not thinking straight, so I didn't shoot a photo before we moved all of the junk out, but here's a few photos of it all cleaned out.

Apparently my cousin Sara and I liked to use quotation marks in our youth. Crazy to think that those two autographs have been there for 20 years. Depending on when that was written, we would have been 11. I don't remember what we played in the playhouse, but we were in it a lot. I think we probably played school, and house (there was an old wooden ironing board in the very back of the playhouse when we cleaned it out). And, I guess we liked to write on the walls.

I wish that the wood was more preserved. You can tell from years of neglect and lack of fresh coats of paint, that the old playhouse is starting to look like those old abandoned houses and barns you see on the prairie.

That fence and building on the other side of the window is the neighbor's yard and garage. I'm not sure how old the playhouse is, but it's been there as long I can remember being at Grandma's. Maybe Grandpa built it for Julie? I don't think it was there when the older kids were little, but I'm sure one of them can post here to let us know.

There was a giant fluff ball in the back left corner. Probably a mice nest. Luckily, when I swept it up, nothing jumped out at me.

Here's the after photos:

Obviously, having the lawn furniture in there takes up quite a bit of space, but I don't want to leave that wood furniture out in the winter weather again. It'll need to be stained next spring, anyway.

I think next weekend I need to get all of the lawn stuff cleaned and ready to store over the winter, but it's nice just to have it organized. (Hopefully that organization will magically move INSIDE the house pretty soon!)

Foiled by the weather, again?

See: this.

And this.

No, it wasn't a snow day that kept us from working on Friday. But it was the weather.

I was all set to stay until about 5:30, get my desk cleaned off, get some grading done, get my ducks in a row for Monday. The newspaper editor was going over a few last minute pieces, since we ship on Tuesday afternoon.

About 4:30, we heard the ominous words, "Students and staff still in the building..." I thought it would be a warning that the fire alarms were being tested, and not to worry about the alarms. Nope, it was a tornado warning, so we all had to go to the basement locker rooms.

I had no idea the weather was that bad. I have no windows in my room, so once 7:45 a.m. hits, I'm clueless as to weather patterns until I leave in the evening. All I knew what that I was supposed to wait for a call from Adam, who would be picking me up a little after 5 p.m.

I don't know if you've been in any basement locker rooms lately, but the fact that they make such great tornado shelters means there is not one tiny bit of cellular service. I waited down there for a while, and finally went upstairs to call. It was crazy - the volleyball team, the freshman and sophomore football players, coaches, a few other teachers still crazy enough to be there at 5 on a Friday, and the administrators. After about 20 minutes, parents started to trickle in to pick up their kids. That was the only way students got to leave - they had to have a parent pick them up, since we're responsible for their well-being while at school.

My room and computer lab is a tornado shelter - any time we have a drill, a few classes come in to wait it out with my students. I guess it only works that way, though, when the building is full, since you can't fit 1,500 people in the locker rooms. (And you wouldn't want to - they're stinky enough already!)

The other teachers were ribbing me a little bit because as I left my room, I grabbed my keys, water bottle, and one of our point and shoot digital cameras. I knew there'd either be yearbook pictures to be made, or news photos to be made if the weather got really bad.

"Always the journalist!" They said.

As the newspaper editor and I were standing around all the other kids in the locker room, we were talking about how that event would be a perfect candidate for a news update on our website that we hope will be live by the end of the week.

Our first league football game of the season was also cancelled last night - rescheduled for 11 a.m. today. It's still a constant rain outside, so I wonder if it'll get pushed off again.

Adam and I grabbed some dinner and went over to eat with Dad. There's a basement there, but not at our house. This is good and bad - no great shelter, but like Adam said last night, at least we don't have to worry about our basement flooding. I looked at the photos on Kansas.com today, and I can't believe all the water down there. I know that our little house in College Hill wouldn't necessarily be UNDER water, but I'm sure there's some water in the basement right now.

Here's to all my friends in Doodah - I hope you're all dry, and okay, and Turn Around, Don't Drown!

REUNITED!

Well, after 11 months apart, Gracie is part of the family again. (I hope no Dunes people read this blog, since we're not paying their exhorbitant pet rent for the next three weeks. )

As always with her, she returned on her own terms, and on her own time schedule. I am not a dog person at all, but the pickup of Gracie made me wish she was a dog for just a few minutes. When you say "Come here, puppy!" dogs will usually do that.

Traumatized cats will not. She had holed herself up in between the basement floor joists and the underside of the bathtub of the house where she was staying. I brought the secret weapon - a can of tuna. She was so freaked out that even the kitty crack didn't get her out of the basement.

So, instead of bringing her home Wednesday night, I had to drive back to Derby from Newton, and wait to get a phone call that she had come out of her hidey hole so I could go back and pick her up. Yes, I was a little pissed, but, the good news is - I actually got to go to book club since it was the same night.

Of course, I hadn't brought any clothes or anything for an overnight stay, so I had to run by Target and get a clean shirt, toothbrush, etc.

Even though there's a lot of bad news swirling around the ol' Eagle these days, book club was as boisterous as ever. Jaime and Bonnie even do-see-do'ed for a few minutes. Amy hosted, and she had a great turnout, so I got to see so many people and get caught up. Sounds like the book was a bust, so I'm glad I didn't read it. I've got to get back on the e-mailing list though, so I can keep up with what the club is reading.

Of course, the one book club I actually get to come to, Kat didn't make it. So, I didn't get to see her.

•••

We're leaving this afternoon for a weekend campout/float trip. TheChittumFiles will be shuttered for a couple of days. Lack of wi-fi in Noel, Mo., and lack of a waterproof laptop will keep me from constant updates. I won't be taking the camera in the canoe (last time Dad and I canoed, we totally wiped out, so I don't trust electronics in the canoes!), but I'll have plenty of photos from the campsite, I'm sure.

•••

Camping trip also means that we'll be able to take a little break from the Extreme Home Makeover. When we come back, Monday we paint. Everything is primed and ready. They'll definitely be some new photos when all that color is added.

Yeah, they'll pass you by.

These days, I feel like I'm pretty good about staying in touch with people that I don't see that often. Of course, things like blogs, Facebook and texting help that. Even though I may not SEE all of my Wichita peeps as often as I'd like, I still know what everyone's up to, and we talk pretty frequently.

This is a new phenomenon in my life, though. Up to this point, I'd say one of my biggest personality flaws was that I lost touch with people pretty freaking easily. I'm not a huge phone talker, and I guess there is some truth to the phrase out of sight, out of mind. Unless it's one of my closest friends, I'm not great about seeking people out to catch up. I moved on pretty easily.

Last night was a great illustration of this. Bets, Mitzi and I went to see the Journey tribute band again, which features a drummer who I went to high school with. Last time we saw them, I didn't really see anyone I knew. That's okay with me.

Last night, there was a whole crowd of SMN folks. It was the whole drama crew. People who I spent a ton of time with in high school, but always at school during play practice or drama classes, never out of school. We ran in different circles, I guess you could say. As soon as they came in (together) I recognized everyone one of them, and then out of the corner of my eye, I watched them stare at me for about half of the evening, ostensibly trying to figure out if it was, in fact, Jill they were seeing.

I haven't lived here in 15 years, if you count college.

There's only two people who I knew in high school whom I still talk to, see or e-mail on a regular basis. One is here in town, one lives in Florida.

Here's the thing, though: I sort of like it that way. I'm not the same person I was in high school. I would like to think most people aren't.

I can't imagine what I would have in common with people I haven't seen in 10 years. I suppose we could swap stories about the "glory days" but that only lasts so long.

Back to last night: Yes, a couple of them finally came over to say something. I think I would have been happier to just skip all of that. It was so loud, so I could hardly understand Betsy and Mitzi, whom I talk to all the time, let alone people who are strangers to me now. A sample of conversation:

"Are you Jill?" (Really? Do I look THAT different? No.)
"Wow, good to see you!" (Screaming over the music, then insert giant awkward pauses.)
"Where were you living?" (Still screaming.)

I didn't really ask any questions. I'm really self conscious about screaming in people's ears.

I probably would have enjoyed catching up with these guys - in a quieter environment, and not a group of 10 all at once. I had the "monkey in a zoo" feeling for a while. And I don't even like to talk to Adam or the twins over live music. It's incredibly awkward to scream into someone's ear, and it's a little familiar to be that physically close to someone who is not your close friend.

I knew eventually this day would come. We did move back to my hometown, so yes, I'm going to run into people from my "former life." I guess I should come up with some stock conversation starters...

I am very shy around people or groups that I don't know well. It takes me a little bit to warm up. I'm always trying to find my place in the group and I don't want to mis-speak or do something stupid. That's exactly how I felt last night. As I got older, I grew out of this as a necessity of my job. I had to be able to approach people as a news photographer and I met so many people every day that it just became easier.

I'm very bad about assuming shy or quiet people are being aloof or snobby. (Pessimist, I guess.)
If those guys are anything like me, they might be Googling me as we speak. I hope if any of them find this, I don't sound snobby. It's just amazing to me how quickly I reverted to that person I was back then, who was so worried about being accepted.

I do not miss those days.

Graduation Day

It's been a tad psycho around here lately. School, yearbooks, prepping for finals, moving out of a house, graduation parties, etc.

Adam and I left right after school Friday afternoon and went to Wichita to load up the truck once more. We stopped by Amy's house, and stayed with Jeff and Kat. It was really good to see everyone, even if it was only for a night. I feel much better about the moving/closing now. I KNOW we won't have to make two trips on Memorial Day weekend, so my nerves are a little less frazzled. We had a great day for traveling, too. Warm and sunny, not too windy.

Last night, we stopped at two graduation receptions for a couple of my students. One was in Stilwell (my first visit) and the other was in Leawood. I told Adam it was like we were getting a little tour of the BV attendance area. Both were very nice, and I'm so glad I got to see the girls in their non-school element. I missed three other receptions - we were out of town for all of those.

Today, I'm headed to Kemper to watch the class of 2008 walk across the stage. I've got to finish getting ready so I can get to school to catch the bus. Yep, that's right - some of the faculty are "buspooling" so that we don't have to pay for gas or for parking. Crazy - it's like $7 to park at high school graduation. I had to get up early this morning and press my gown. Good thing ironing is a chore I don't mind, because it took a while.

Wonder what shenanigans are in store for today? We'll find out.

Day off, but not for relaxing

I'm headed to Wichita with Dad today to bring back a pickup load of stuff from the house. We don't have much stuff left there, but there is a little bit. Mostly lawn and garden stuff that we didn't need to use here at the Dunes, and we didn't have a place to store either.

As of May 28, we will no longer have stuff strewn out over 189 miles. That's the day we close on the house. Luckily, I had one personal day left that I could take today so we could go down there. Outside my window it looks bright and sunny, so hopefully it'll be a good day for moving.

•••

In other news, I made a sale on Etsy yesterday! What a nice surprise. It's going all the way to New York. I feel like I've been neglecting my shop for a while because I've been so busy at school, and I've been working on other knitted projects, like Jayne's armwarmers and the baby blanket. I'm looking forward to the summer when I can make some new merchandise.

Time for breakfast. I have to get ready before Dad gets here to pick me up.

Note to self...

When teaching the young 'uns about the diopter on the camera, make them focus on someone else - NOT ME!

I guess it's a good thing I can laugh at myself - or else this photo would have gone right in the trash. This time of year, though, that photo is pretty illustrative of how crazy things can be. I definitely blog less as we get closer to the end of the year. I'm trying to stay caught up with the real job. Google Adsense doesn't bring home enough bacon yet!

The last issue of the newspaper comes out tomorrow and we distribute yearbooks next Friday.

Oh, and we got a contract on the house. Let's all cross our fingers to make sure nothing happens to make it fall through. We close the last week of May, so we'll be coming down to Wichita in the next few weeks to do one last sweep of our stuff that's left.

I know - I drop that nugget and now I'm going to close for today instead of give more info, but we're heading to Mitzi's so she and I can work out before Earl, The Office and Lost come on. I didn't get to work out Tuesday or Wednesday this week, so I have to do it now.

...a very very very fine house

Tomorrow's the day. Our little pink house officially goes on the market. I hope it sells quickly. It's a pain to live in a house that's being shown, so for Langston's sake, I hope it doesn't drag out.

Today at lunch, one of the other teachers was talking about her house, which has been on the market for SIX MONTHS. Please, God, don't let that conversation be an omen to what will happen with our house. Obviously, she's talking about a house in the KC area, not Wichita, and it's a house that suits a family of four, not our little starter house. I'm hoping we'll have better luck in our price range, and in the Wichita market. She said her house has been shown 35 times or something crazy like that.

I've been sort of bad about blogging lately. I guess my brain is too busy trying to keep everything straight. Work, three trips to Wichita in three weeks, cleaning and prepping the house and yard, preparing for a convention and trip to Anaheim next week - it's been a mountain of work. When I come home from school, I'm so tired. I had planned on staying at school until 5 tonight, but left about 20 minutes early because I couldn't focus on what needed to be done. This will be a long week, I think, just because I haven't had a RELAXING weekend in a while.

In my crystal ball, I see some quality sofa time - tons of stuff to catch up on the DVR. And, YIPPEE - "The Office" is back this week!!

I went over to the fitness center tonight, ran and watched the first half of "The Biggest Loser." It's almost over, and as soon as I throw a load of clothes in the washer, I'll be hitting the hay. Even though the "wrong" team won last night, I still had to stay up for "One Shining Moment" so I was up WAAAAY past my bedtime.

Support A Great Cause

I had been thinking for a while that I would write about Team in Training, the major fundraiser and fitness training program of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I'm not training for a marathon right now, but I still think it's a great cause. Since 1988, more than 360,000 participants have raised more than $850 million for cancer research. The great thing about Team in Training is that 90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to finding a cure, not into bloated administration costs.

And, I have TWO reasons to write about TNT!

One:
Today, on our way to eat at Thai House (worthy of a blog post of its own, I might add), we saw the TNTers out on West street doing a boot block. They were standing on the curbs, collecting donations. I got a little choked up seeing them out there, remembering how the whole experience made me feel.

Two: My friend Deb is training with Team in Training RIGHT NOW. She's going to walk the Oklahoma City Half Marathon at the end of the month. She's 80 percent of the way to her fundraising goal. Adam and I have contributed a tiny bit (the best we could do on our lovely public servant salaries).

If you or someone you know has been affected by this disease (and too many of us know someone who has), you should go to Deb's fundrasing page and contribute some dough. You can find her here.

Let's help get her over the goal - so she can concentrate on the training in these final couple of weeks. Her marathon is April 27.