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Mar. 2nd, 2009 10:49 amI've been busy--primarily because last week was midquarter--midquarter of THIRD QUARTER. It is incredibly hard to believe that the school year has been whizzing by so quickly.
I am losing too many good and fun kids to adulthood this year. Time needs to slow down. I'm not finished enjoying their presence yet.
Not even close.
:(
Anyhow--
Last week is pretty much a blur in my mind right now. It was stressful as so many kids have just blown off three weeks worth of work in my Music as Lit class--Their assignment was simple and (I think) really fun.
sigh.
I get frustrated when people just don't make an effort.
Hopefully this week will be better.
Anyhow--enough bitching.
On Friday, i managed to get most of my correcting done before I went home. I rode with Susan, so I just chilled on the way home. It came to my attention that Gran Torino was playing in Kasson. I have wanted to see that movie since it came out.
Susan dropped me off in my driveway at 3:30 pm. The movie started at 4 pm. I didn't have enough cash on me, and going into the house to fetch some cash would have made me late for the movie. I did have a $19 check from mom in my billfold, so I went through the drive through of the bank and cashed it. Then I headed to Kasson. I made it right at 4 pm, and was happy to find a parking spot right across the street. i dashed in, bought my ticket, some popcorn, and a bottle of water. The theater was packed,and I had to sit in a 4-seat row with two other people. I felt uncomfortable. I prefer a wide berth.
Anyhow, the movie was excellent. It was surprisingly both tender and sad. (In addition to being a racial slur fest of epic proportions. However, the purpose of that was to show Walt's evolution from an ethnocentric grumpy pants to a more culturally aware not-so-grumpy pants.) A lot of people left the theater sniffling when it was over.
His relationship with his sons made me feel sad. It reminded me of how my own father just didn't really connect with us kids. I feel like I hardly knew the real him. around us, he was completely absorbed in his TV sports events. There were very few times when he actually just sat and visited with us about life. Maybe he just didn't know how.
God knows his own parents were pathetic and useless. It's no wonder he had such poor parenting skills himself.
Ah, well.
When I came out of the theater, I discovered that I had parked in a very poorly marked handicapped space. I about peed my pants. but there was no ticket on my windshield, so I guess I dodged the bullet. There was no sign in front of the spot, and the icon on the road was all covered with slush and ice. I could just barely see a little piece of it sticking out from under the snow when I pulled out.
So, that was a little scary.
When I got home, I heated up my left over beans and hot dogs then went upstairs and called my mom. I was going to have a short nap, then get up and clean the bathroom and pick up the big pile of crap that had formed next to my bed.
Well, I woke up from my "nap" at 3:30 am. So, I put on my pjs, turned off the lights, and went back to sleep. when I awoke in the morning, I cleaned the toilet and the sink, sacked up a lot of upstairs garbage, and cleaned out the mess next to my bed. Then I sorted out some fabric I wanted to bring home to mom's as she had volunteered to cut out some patterns for me.
When I had finished that, I went downstairs and packed my laundry in my big suitcase. Then I threw it into the car and headed for Ellendale. I made a stop at Starbucks for a green tea frappachino, which is one of my current obsessions. When I got to Ellendale, I made a stop at Lerbergs to pick up a couple of pounds of Hope butter. That is the very best butter ever made.
Mom and I just hung out on Saturday. We watched several episodes of Burn Notice. Later we watched Clean House. We had popcorn for lunch and she made a very tasty roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage in her crock pot. I sewed all day and she cut out doll clothes for me.
On Sunday, she made waffles for breakfast. This is solid evidence that mom is so thrilled to have me visiting. I have always been an enormous fan of waffles, and she has always said that they are too much work. she made me waffles for breakfast the last time I was home too. :)
We watched some Lifetime movie called "A Father for Brittany;" it was, of course, a real tear jerker which contained death, insensitive officials strangling the human heart with red tape, an adorable little Asian baby girl, and the evolution of Andrew McCarthy from a callow youth to a sure-enough, growed up man.
We met Jack and Kari and the kids at the Chinese restaurant in Owatonna (the one near Walmart). Cora ate a cup of chocolate pudding and Caleb ate some noodles. I don't think we should have had to pay for them. Cora was a little shy and stand-offish at first, but i teased her about eating frog legs so she could jump really high. Then Caleb brought me a cream puff. I separated the top from the bottom and made it look like the cream puff was talking to her. Then I stuck a broken piece of fortune cookie into the top of it and made it say, "Look, I've got a hat. Do you like my hat? Hey! Hey, you! Do you like my hat?" She started giggling then. After that, I stuck a piece of fortune cookie in the center, so it stuck out like a tongue. That set her off again.
It was pretty amusing. She cannot resist me. Mwa ha ha.
Mom and I went home right after that (well, I took her to Target as she wanted some photo sticky tabs, but they were out of them). We watched a couple of Clean House episodes. I sewed, and she cut out some doll clothes patterns for me.
Poor mom's eyes are still not functioning like they should be, and that is very frustrating for her. She is hoping that her vision will improve more after she has her cataract surgury. I hope it does too. It breaks my heart to see her fretting about her vision.
Jack and Kari and the kids came over after a bit and we played a rousing game of Settlers of Katan. Though I was getting NOTHING in the beginning of the game, I somehow managed to win. whoo. My victory was only because I had good brick and wood numbers and could build a really long road. The "Longest Road" points were what allowed me the victory.
We just hung out and talked after that. I didn't start for home until after 6 pm.
I stopped for a cheese burger at Burger King as I did not feel like cooking anything when I got home. Their medium drinks are enormous. I had to get up to pee like 5 times last night, and I only drank about half of it.
When I got home, I unpacked my suitcase and hauled the clean laundry upstairs. I didn't put it all away yet. I will do that when I get home tonight. I filled my pill caddies and watched an episode of House. I turned on my computer, thinking I'd read some of my kids' creative writing journals, but I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. I ended up sleeping from 8:30 til about 9:15, then I woke up, turned off the computer, and went to bed. i'd had enough for one day, I guess.
I am losing too many good and fun kids to adulthood this year. Time needs to slow down. I'm not finished enjoying their presence yet.
Not even close.
:(
Anyhow--
Last week is pretty much a blur in my mind right now. It was stressful as so many kids have just blown off three weeks worth of work in my Music as Lit class--Their assignment was simple and (I think) really fun.
- Choose a song you like.
- Get a copy of the lyrics.
- "Analyze" the lyrics (ie Write a short paper explaining what they mean to you. Include a paragraph telling why this song appeals to you. Give a little background on the artist who performs the song.
- Put together a digital slide show OR a poster board containing images that illustrate the meaning of this song. (Your own interpretation.)
- Play the song for the class.
- Present your slide show or poster to the class and share your analysis and what you learned about the artist.
sigh.
I get frustrated when people just don't make an effort.
Hopefully this week will be better.
Anyhow--enough bitching.
On Friday, i managed to get most of my correcting done before I went home. I rode with Susan, so I just chilled on the way home. It came to my attention that Gran Torino was playing in Kasson. I have wanted to see that movie since it came out.
Susan dropped me off in my driveway at 3:30 pm. The movie started at 4 pm. I didn't have enough cash on me, and going into the house to fetch some cash would have made me late for the movie. I did have a $19 check from mom in my billfold, so I went through the drive through of the bank and cashed it. Then I headed to Kasson. I made it right at 4 pm, and was happy to find a parking spot right across the street. i dashed in, bought my ticket, some popcorn, and a bottle of water. The theater was packed,and I had to sit in a 4-seat row with two other people. I felt uncomfortable. I prefer a wide berth.
Anyhow, the movie was excellent. It was surprisingly both tender and sad. (In addition to being a racial slur fest of epic proportions. However, the purpose of that was to show Walt's evolution from an ethnocentric grumpy pants to a more culturally aware not-so-grumpy pants.) A lot of people left the theater sniffling when it was over.
His relationship with his sons made me feel sad. It reminded me of how my own father just didn't really connect with us kids. I feel like I hardly knew the real him. around us, he was completely absorbed in his TV sports events. There were very few times when he actually just sat and visited with us about life. Maybe he just didn't know how.
God knows his own parents were pathetic and useless. It's no wonder he had such poor parenting skills himself.
Ah, well.
When I came out of the theater, I discovered that I had parked in a very poorly marked handicapped space. I about peed my pants. but there was no ticket on my windshield, so I guess I dodged the bullet. There was no sign in front of the spot, and the icon on the road was all covered with slush and ice. I could just barely see a little piece of it sticking out from under the snow when I pulled out.
So, that was a little scary.
When I got home, I heated up my left over beans and hot dogs then went upstairs and called my mom. I was going to have a short nap, then get up and clean the bathroom and pick up the big pile of crap that had formed next to my bed.
Well, I woke up from my "nap" at 3:30 am. So, I put on my pjs, turned off the lights, and went back to sleep. when I awoke in the morning, I cleaned the toilet and the sink, sacked up a lot of upstairs garbage, and cleaned out the mess next to my bed. Then I sorted out some fabric I wanted to bring home to mom's as she had volunteered to cut out some patterns for me.
When I had finished that, I went downstairs and packed my laundry in my big suitcase. Then I threw it into the car and headed for Ellendale. I made a stop at Starbucks for a green tea frappachino, which is one of my current obsessions. When I got to Ellendale, I made a stop at Lerbergs to pick up a couple of pounds of Hope butter. That is the very best butter ever made.
Mom and I just hung out on Saturday. We watched several episodes of Burn Notice. Later we watched Clean House. We had popcorn for lunch and she made a very tasty roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage in her crock pot. I sewed all day and she cut out doll clothes for me.
On Sunday, she made waffles for breakfast. This is solid evidence that mom is so thrilled to have me visiting. I have always been an enormous fan of waffles, and she has always said that they are too much work. she made me waffles for breakfast the last time I was home too. :)
We watched some Lifetime movie called "A Father for Brittany;" it was, of course, a real tear jerker which contained death, insensitive officials strangling the human heart with red tape, an adorable little Asian baby girl, and the evolution of Andrew McCarthy from a callow youth to a sure-enough, growed up man.
We met Jack and Kari and the kids at the Chinese restaurant in Owatonna (the one near Walmart). Cora ate a cup of chocolate pudding and Caleb ate some noodles. I don't think we should have had to pay for them. Cora was a little shy and stand-offish at first, but i teased her about eating frog legs so she could jump really high. Then Caleb brought me a cream puff. I separated the top from the bottom and made it look like the cream puff was talking to her. Then I stuck a broken piece of fortune cookie into the top of it and made it say, "Look, I've got a hat. Do you like my hat? Hey! Hey, you! Do you like my hat?" She started giggling then. After that, I stuck a piece of fortune cookie in the center, so it stuck out like a tongue. That set her off again.
It was pretty amusing. She cannot resist me. Mwa ha ha.
Mom and I went home right after that (well, I took her to Target as she wanted some photo sticky tabs, but they were out of them). We watched a couple of Clean House episodes. I sewed, and she cut out some doll clothes patterns for me.
Poor mom's eyes are still not functioning like they should be, and that is very frustrating for her. She is hoping that her vision will improve more after she has her cataract surgury. I hope it does too. It breaks my heart to see her fretting about her vision.
Jack and Kari and the kids came over after a bit and we played a rousing game of Settlers of Katan. Though I was getting NOTHING in the beginning of the game, I somehow managed to win. whoo. My victory was only because I had good brick and wood numbers and could build a really long road. The "Longest Road" points were what allowed me the victory.
We just hung out and talked after that. I didn't start for home until after 6 pm.
I stopped for a cheese burger at Burger King as I did not feel like cooking anything when I got home. Their medium drinks are enormous. I had to get up to pee like 5 times last night, and I only drank about half of it.
When I got home, I unpacked my suitcase and hauled the clean laundry upstairs. I didn't put it all away yet. I will do that when I get home tonight. I filled my pill caddies and watched an episode of House. I turned on my computer, thinking I'd read some of my kids' creative writing journals, but I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. I ended up sleeping from 8:30 til about 9:15, then I woke up, turned off the computer, and went to bed. i'd had enough for one day, I guess.
