the pig is in town

No, folks. It is not I. The latest reports out of NJ include a 43 year old Monmouth County woman who has been one of the first cases of pigflu in the state. Unclear whether she is recently back from California or Mexico, but yes, one or the other. So, is it a matter of time? Great fear in the schools, not so much of the sickness itself, but of the school being closed down during a state testing week.

I got home from work to no surprising news, yet all sorts of sensationalist reports. Peope are also saying they have seen doctors for respiratory illnesses only to be told they would be sicker if they had swine flu. I thought swine flu in the US was mild. Know what I think? I think the media should SHUT UP. They tell us too much nonsense and not enough of any significance. Oh, what's that? Because THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT? Oh yeah. That's right.

So anyway, today was math olympics at school. The day flew by, and the latest on the father of the teacher I am in for is that he seemed to be rallying as of this morning. I didn't speak to her, but other teachers did. So as long as he continues to hang in there, she will return. Otherwise, I may be in for her into next week.

Brian is supposed to take the Spanish placement test for high school on Monday at 3, but if I have to work i won't be able to get him there. If it comes to that, I'm just going to call the school and tell them I have to work and he can't get there before 3:15. Then he'll have to walk himself there, if 3:15 is OK, otherwise, I don't really care if he doesn't take the test, he can repeat Spanish 1. At least that might make part of the year a little easier. I bet their Spanish 1 is harder than what he's had in two years of Spanish in the public middle school anyway.

Speaking of the public middle school, I just noticed that they have scheduled their graduation for two days AFTER the last day of school. Hello? Why would they do that? In fact, I am pretty sure that he has an orthodontist appointment that day, because I was so sure that he would be out of school by then. And his school has the middle time of the three this year, which means we will hit traffic on the way in AND on the way out of the college parking lot.

But I don't mean to be a chronic complainer. Tonight is Megan's first lifeguarding class. In school today, she discovered that she actually knows someone in her class. There are only 12 people in the course, but this is a kid who only lives around the corner from us, she doesn't really know him well since she only met him in middle school, but they had discussed lifesaving classes, and today he asked if she ever got into one, and they found out they're both in the same one. I texted her earlier and asked how it was going, and she wrote back, "not horrible."

So that was good. It's a seven week class, but I think what bothers her the most is that she has to miss practice for it, and her coach isn't happy, of course. But he isn't too bad about lifesaving conflicts, and she can go one day of the weekend and do a swimming workout if she feels like she is beginning to atrophy too much. Better to get it done this year than next, when everything she does will be scrutinized by potential college recruiters, and she can't afford to be tied up with frivolity that takes her away from her studies.

Anyway, in other news, Brian has one day remaining on the NJ state testing. He said the math today was "ridiculously easy," which always causes me to shake in my shoes. He described some of his essay responses to me yesterday, too, so I guess I'll just have to wait a few more weeks to see what the evaluators thought of his skills and knowledge. Sigh. Not that any of it matters now. What really matters from now on will be what happens when he gets to high school. Right now he is at baseball practice, although he won't be able to make Sunday's game since we'll be watching the Phillies and the Mets.

the swine who?

So obviously I just love this. I have been a germaphobe/
diseaseaphobe/worry-a-holic for just about all of my life, and the thing is, those of us who are this way try to minimize the actual magnitude of potentially horrific situations, while blowing out of proportion those that are unlikely to amount to much.

And then how to treat this latest 'pandemic' threat, of swine flu? Particularly as the epicenter of the US cases is probably just about an hour and a half away? I don't know. So far it doesn't seem to be a terrible threat in the US, aside from the increasing numbers of infected persons. But the CDC makes sure we know that they do, in fact, expect some of us to die, and the WHO is quick to tell us that this cannot be contained. It is too late.

Well. That's helpful. Why can't they DO something? Screen the family members of the hundreds of infected students, or at least, stop talking about them all the time as if each time they are mentioned, they are new cases. When no news has been released, agencies are releasing articles previously run under different headings, giving the illusion that more news has happened in a day.

Not to downplay the threat, because clearly, a germaphobic chronic worrier would never do that, and mean it. But I just wish they would either give us a straight story, or stop being so darn scary.

But that aside (and speaking of scary), Brian's report card came today. It could have been worse, but it was the worst of the year so far. However, the lowest grades were B's, and there were two of them. There were two A's and the rest were B+'s. Of most concern was math which has followed the progression over the year from A to B+ to B. Science also slipped to B from B+. Math troubles me the most because it has never improved, while science fluctuates ... math just steadily drops. But Brian doesn't make the extra effort to go in for extra help or to try for extra credit. Those things make a huge difference. And he is going to have to learn better study skills for his career next year.

Anyway, Kevin has just returned home and broken my concentration so I will have to leave the rest of my thoughts for another time. In other news, tomorrow I will work in the afternoon only. The job I had to turn down for yesterday and today may turn into quite a long one instead of just two days, due to some misfortune befalling the poor teacher, but obviously I won't be in that spot anyway. :-( But I won't complain. Otherwise, swimming has started up again for Megan and it will sap away so much of her time again. It was nice for her to have all that spare time for three weeks. With swimming for several hours every night after school, it's really difficult to stay efficient with homework. (disclaimer: post not proofread!)

back to reality

If reality means swimming five nights a week! Today marked the end of the break for the Nationals swimmers, so Megan was back to the pool tonight. I agreed to take her, along with a friend, to the wake for the poor boy who died, right after school. It worked out pretty well that way, neither one of them was too happy about going, obviously. And, of course, they waked him in an open casket, but that wasn't a huge surprise. It's terrible to think that, two years ago, he was graduating 8th grade, like Brian will in a couple of months, and the future was bright ahead of him.

I looked back at a four-year-old preschool picture of Megan's, and there he was, right up front, with a big goofy smile. I had a feeling he might have been in her class, but I didn't remember the boys, and because of where he lived, he went to different elementary and middle schools, and only happened back with Megan in high school, where she met him in drama class and briefly at swim team, before he was diagnosed and stopped going to school due to daily chemo treatments. It is heartbreaking. I didn't go into the funeral home, their lot was full anyway, but Megan and her friend were in and out. From what I understand, there were huge long lines tonight, as most of the students found it easier to attend in the evening.

And along those lines of gloom and doom, we watch with trepidation the swine flu. 20+ kids in a Queens high school, and where do their parents work? Manhattan, for sure! Those people have been exposed, and now they're exposing others - how can they contain it? And they screen airline passengers for what?? Fevers? When is a virus most contagious? Usually before the fever? That's what I always understood. So for a cyberchondriac this is not a good thing. And then they fly Air Force One down through lower Manhattan. Way to go, USA.

Anyway, I am working tomorrow morning. I had to turn down a two day assignment for today and tomorrow so I could drive Megan and her friend to the wake, but that was OK, I got a lot done today. It's supposed to be really hot again tomorrow, too, and Brian starts his state testing at school. He has a stiff neck, but I attribute that to the 30 hour famine, when they camped out on the ground in the cold night. I've been giving him advil and just hoping for the best. He was also exposed to mono while we were in Florida, but what can you do about that? I guess mono is just everywhere. And he didn't have close contact, just casual. Thankfully, he is a germaphobe, or he would have shared a drink with the mono-carrier. The mom told me that he had said no, that he doesn't share drinks with anyone, and that was before the kid woke up with a huge lump on the side of his head

But in other news, I went to the pet store today and bought some mousies. When I came home, I heard an ominous sound and worried that Megan was upstairs breathing her last for some reason. I looked around and found Puff, the unassuming little white cotton ball cat, with the mousie in her mouth, trying to be all scary to fend off any would- be thieves of her prey! (I had given it to Rusty, because he is a mousie fan too) It was very cute. Oh, and as for the Europe trip, I am still mulling over my options. But being the alarmist that I am, I'm sort of waiting to see what happens with this pigflu first.

in the good ole summertime

It's going to be 85 degrees today! As soon as I finish this blog update, I am going to shower, and drive myself 40 minutes across the county, to my favorite summer plant source, Gasko's. Every summer I must make one pilgrimage there in early spring to get the motherload of plants for the summer yard. Their prices are so reasonable, although the shrubs tend to be very small so it takes a couple of years for them to grow to normal sizes. I'm excited to see how last year's crop is going to do this year, now that the weather has finally warmed up.

This past week was so hectic, and as of now I have no days of work lined up for next week, although this is the time of year when all of a sudden there's a greater need for substitutes. Yesterday there were so many subs all over the building that they seemed to almost outnumber the regular teachers and aides, and they were even short on subs and using support teachers to cover classes. And then after school, I had to make good on my promise to take E for one visit to Freehold to look for the elusive prom dresses.

She ended up bringing a friend along, which added to my driving, but actually was beneficial because the friend suggested a little hole-in-the-wall dress store that had a woman who bullied E with just the right amount of pressure to force her into a decision. She gave her two dresses for 50% off each, even though they weren't in the group that was supposed to be on sale, just to finally force her to make a decision and buy something.

So she now has two dresses, one for each prom, and I believe they are not even returnable, so that even if her mom gets so mad about the amount of money she spent (a lot even with the discount!), she'll have no choice but to let her keep them! Now she needs shoes, and one of the dresses needs a little alteration, but otherwise, she is good for the prom in two weeks now.

This weekend is the 30 hour famine at church, so Brian is there now. He spent the night in a cardboard box on the church's courtyard lawn. I have to make ziti for the 'break fast' meal at dinnertime tonight, and then he'll come home. Tomorrow we have the swim banquet. The books have been delivered, and of course as soon as I looked at them, I noticed mistakes that I should have picked up but in my crazy rush just to get them done, my brain read what I thought was there. Which was the year. I left 2008 on the front cover, and put the wrong date with the right year on the inside front page. Maybe nobody will notice. I hope so! Otherwise I think they looked OK, considering what I went through with the crashing computer. The book is 158 pages long this year.

The latest on Trip Quest is that I am leaning towards London. Now that I found out how short the train ride is to Paris, I'm wondering if a day trip there is actually a possibility. Or, as Kevin suggested, we could leave two days earlier and just spend one day somewhere else, like Barcelona, and just fly out from there. I'm trying to think how to travel light, though - too many different types of cities won't fit well with that plan. But I think I can get the cheapest fares to London of all the cities, except perhaps Paris. I'll have to make some sort of decision this weekend.

Anyway, in other news, last night Megan went out with some friends and had a good time, which was nice because she never gets to do that, and, alas, that was her last Friday night for a while again. She would be able to miss swimming on Fridays from time to time in spring, but now that she'll have the lifesaving class on Thursdays, she won't really have that option unless it's for a really good reason. Her school is in mourning, because just two weeks after losing a student to heroin abuse, they have now lost a sophomore to cancer. She knew him only briefly, because she had just met him when he was diagnosed last fall, and he's only been back to school a handful of times since. It's very sad.

how to see the world

Well several months ago, in an attempt to stave off the ostentatious excess that surrounds the 16th birthdays of the girls in Burbtopia, I made a promise to take Megan to Europe for her 16th birthday instead. This is also sort of a make-up visit since she didn't get to go with her church group (didn't want to?) last summer. The time is now at hand - I have to try to book this trip!

It's been close to 20 years since I took a trip of this nature on my own funds. The only flights I have booked since having kids have been domestic flights to Florida. I'm suffering from sticker shock.

Not to mention that - how does one narrow down "Europe" to something that can be done in one week? My searches return me to Travelocity and Expedia, both of which flood the screen with options for flights, transfers, hotels I've never heard of, and - gasp - layovers. Rome? Paris? Germany? London? Spain? She takes Spanish, she should have exposure to that. But shouldn't everyone see London? Her history teacher says everyone should see Paris. A blog I stumbled upon says book NOW or risk paying 'half again.' But I only want to pay HALF - not half again! I can't believe how much this will cost. I'm wondering if a 3 day cruise to Bermuda might have been a better offering!

Brian wants a book from the bookstore, so I think I'll try to pick up some travel books while I'm there. The best I was able to find so far (and I almost booked it, too!) was a 3-day London, 3-day Paris vacation through Virgin Vacations. But then I had to decide on hotels, airport transfers and I was sure there were more things I just was missing, so I closed out of it all. So we'll be off to there in a short bit; then I decided we'd get some dinner out, since I've been having to wake up every morning (tough to work three hours every day for three days straight!)

Anyway, in other news, I'm cooling off on the E front and hoping things will settle down so we can coast the remaining weeks. As long as all her prom plans fall into place, she should be satisfied with that; and she has a lot of schoolwork to keep her occupied for a couple more weeks at least. I have two full days of work coming up, unless they snatch them from me because the sub who usually does this class has suddenly been released from her other commitment. I did hear she tried to get the spot back but was told other arrangements had been made, so at least that was encouraging. But we'll see what happens between now and 8:30 tomorrow morning. Otherwise, this weekend is the 30 hour famine at the church. All were going to do it, but it's down now to just Brian. I think the charity this year is some Congo population, or something along the Amazon, I can't even remember, that is so bad. While they were doing all the fundraising, we were off getting ready for Nationals or being at Nationals. So Brian is the only one who has collected any money, and even he, not much of it. They're going to build a cardboard village and sleep outside in it!

later on ...

so things seem a little better...I had a good talk with E and I don't know that anything has been resolved but I do feel better. I am not happy about the fact that her friends don't like me because of things she has said ... they don't know me and I imagine if I were her 'real' mom they would accept everything I have ever said or done and then some. They expect me to be a lot more accommodating because I am NOT her real mom.

Anyway, that's about it. I just wanted to follow up.

Now to wait for the results of the school board election and budget referendum. Should be interesting.

blip on the radar

Well, I think I know why they don't recommend having students leave the country and then return to their hosts. I think we have had better days in our home. I mentioned the visit to NYC, well E decided to stay out until 10:15 that night. I told her she was self-centered, and she retreated to her room. I said to her that I cannot do this - she has been doing things like not telling me she is going to stay after school and then accepting rides home from random people, including a teacher, and then she stayed out way later than I would have liked for her to stay that night. By coincidence, last night, the agency rep called.

After I spoke to her, she spoke to E, and I called back today because I got an inkling that E's been complaining to her friends about us. The rep asked if I would feel better if she were moved to another family. I do want to say that this rep is less then ideal, she only calls when she has to and really doesn't have her finger on the pulse of this or any situation. I explain my side and she is understanding, but then who knows what her real thoughts are. I asked if she'd drive down and talk to us all together, and she will, but it has to wait until the weekend. Helpful - not. If we have to go on like this till the weekend, I think the house may self-destruct.

So that's where I am now, seriously considering offering her that option. She doesn't like my rules, there are tensions with Megan, and obviously if she were able to stay with one of her friends, she'd be able to go and do the things she wants to, like attending the parties that I don't let her go to, and staying out late after prom. I guess I'll have to broach the subject, though, because she is dealing with it by locking herself in her room with her schoolbooks. We've been through this before and worked through it, but I am tired of having the same issues come up again and again and again. It's an issue of consideration and courtesy. But perhaps I am too overbearing, and someone else will be less so.

If it does come to that, I will feel very sorry that what I had intended to be a good experience for everyone will have ended in failure. But two more months with a sullen teenager who thinks I am unfair and unreasonable isn't the way to live either (got a couple of those already!!!). My main concern is that our image is being tarnished by her friends hearing only her own version. Which is why, perhaps, it's best to set her free. I feel like the more rules I impose (such as let me know what time you will need a ride home, and if you don't need a ride, let me know what time you will BE home; or don't come home too late from NYC; or don't go to parties that will potentially be busted up by authorities) the more unhappy she becomes. In the past, I have hesitated to post about any negative experiences, but this time I just feel like I've about reached the end of my rope on this. It's an investment of our cost, time, and privacy, and when someone is speaking poorly of us in the community, then I think maybe it's time to cut the losses.

Anyway, there's been a break in the weather today and at least it isn't raining. We had some wild storms last night, and I think more are coming tomorrow, but after that the weather should be almost summerlike! We have the banquet on Sunday, and once that's over, hopefully my funk will lift.

In other news, report cards arrive on Tuesday. That's always a day I both anticipate and dread four times each year. I have no idea what to expect with Brian! Megan is having dinner tonight with the Doll, and Brian has the orthodontist tomorrow. All of a sudden, his teeth have started to fall out like crazy. He lost two in the last few weeks, and there are a couple more that are loose and planning their escape. I knew this would happen, though. When a mouth holds onto teeth for this long, they're just bound to break down sooner or later!

summer wuz here ...

...but now I think it's gone again. The last two days were absolutely beautiful, especially yesterday. We spent the day (after Brian's failed baseball practice, where his team was kicked off the fields because the town guards their baseball fields like a junkyard dog guards scraps) at a communion in Princeton. Well, actually, we couldn't even make it to the church, because of said failed baseball, but we got there for the lunch. So that was kind of quiet, but then we came home and puttered around in the waning hours of daylight.

I am so relieved to have that ad book done, but it's creeping into my thoughts every moment. I did find out that one ad was left out, because I didn't know it had been sent in, but there isn't anything I can do about it now. Next year I am just going to have to ask for copies of every page that gets turned in. I tried asking people to email me their ads, but only about half seemed able to comply, and the others are the ones who fall through the cracks (well, aside from the dozen or so emails that I mentioned last time, that seemed to get lost in cyberspace). So I'm worried about others of these that I might find out about when I get to the banquet next weekend.

Anyway, today is a troublesome day. Brian is responsible for snack in his church class, which starts at 9. So before 9, I have to go out and gather berries for the 15 or so participants to eat during their one hour class. After this class, I have to drive him to East Brunswick for a baseball game, because Kevin will be at HIS softball game. E plans a trip into NYC with a couple of boys she knows from school. She thinks she may find a prom dress in the East Village (this should be interesting) on this trip. Her shop-a-holic nature is in overdrive now, with the prom only two weeks away and her dress-less despite the myriad of shopping trips and the thousands of dollars she has spent on couture, both during her visit with us and her brief furlow back home.

But once the morning is over there isn't much that MUST be done other than the usual laundry, shopping, and prep for the upcoming week, which involves a lot of work days. My friend's son is supposed to be playing lacrosse nearby, so we may go over there and watch him play in a game or two, depending on what we have planned for dinner and how cold it gets and whether or not it rains. Also, Megan has a chemistry test - TEST - tomorrow, and despite the 100% she got on her last quiz, her average is still lower than my comfort zone.

In other news, Megan is now enrolled in a lifeguarding class that will start next Thursday and run for about nine weeks. She hasn't really thought her life through for the summer, I don't think she understands she is older and so are her friends, and that most of them will be working this summer anyway. I think she envisions herself lazing at the beach day after day. I'm going to call the Doll and see if she knows anyone down at the pool in her complex - that would be a perfect first job for her, one of her friends worked there last summer; and if I couldn't get there to pick her up, she could always walk to the Doll's and hang out there. Also, I have started keeping my eyes open for clothes for Brian for school in the fall. He has to wear khaki pants and dress shirts, with belts, ties, and good shoes. It's so hard to find things that fit him well, because he falls somewhere in between boys and mens sizes. I found some Polo khakis at Marshall's for $12 but they're pleated front. They look pretty good, but I don't know if that's the wrong style. I guess I'll find out.

a week gone by?

Usually I think that the four day weeks are the slow ones, but this week flew by, probably due in no small part to the banquet book that bogged me down. I realized that I was missing several ads that should have been in, and many had allegedly been emailed, and I could see that they had, because people would pick up their original mails and forward them to me, but they were nowhere to be found in my inbox OR my trash. Anyway, I spent most of yesterday scrambling and fighting my endlessly crashing computer to get the whole thing finished, and it is, although I think it is not one of my best works. I just did what I had to do to finish it up, but didn't have a lot of time to doctor it up and make it purdy.

So I turned down work yesterday because I woke up with a sore throat and also had plans for lunch and to work on the banquet book. Then again, she called for tomorrow, but I have committed to take the Doll to the hospital for an endoscopy. It's been a crazy week! I have to take Brian over and sign him up as a gym member at the physical therapy place, before he loses all the benefits he had gained from the therapy, but he also seems to have this cold that has stricken me out of the blue. And tomorrow he wants to have a friend over, and Saturday and Sunday he has baseball, and we have a communion in Princeton to attend on Saturday.

On an aside note, a strange thing happened today. I pulled into the driveway and noticed a strange car across the street. A woman and a small boy got out and went to talk to the neighbors across from us. Something clicked in my mind, but I wasn't sure what - it made me think of the previous owner. Five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and it was the woman and the small boy. She was the daughter, who had grown up in this house, and she was asking if she could walk around and look at the house. I was a bit ashamed that we haven't improved much in the way of the kitchen and floors and wallpaper - but I was eternally grateful that she had come just hours after the cleaning lady had left! I would have been absolutely mortified if she had shown up yesterday! So that was funny. She apparently lives in Oregon now, and the little boy was her nephew, the one for whom the basement was redone.

And in other news, the ad book for the banquet is finally on its way to the printer and I will not have to work on it any more this year! I hope I didn't make too many mistakes; I'm wondering if I should just skip the banquet this year! When the sub caller called tonight and I told her why I can't work, she ended up giving me work for every day next week, although the first three days are AM only. Thursday and Friday are fifth grade, so that should be interesting. I haven't had this particular class before, they usually always have the same sub, because she was with them for months in the beginning of the year while their teacher was out. But I have done her class before, just not this year. Anyway, my mind is becoming fried. I think I have to go up and lie down for the night!

hitting the ground running

So we arrived back to rain and cold in New Jersey, knowing that many of our teammates were staying behind to enjoy the warmth and sun of South Florida for a few more days. But we had other plans. Our flight home was uneventful, took off on time and landed early, and we were in our house before 11pm.

The next day we just took some time to unwind and get ready for Easter, which we spent at church in the morning and brunch in the afternoon. I had the unfortunate experience of viewing some pictures that Kevin took of me, wet in the ocean in a bathing suit and this caused me to deeply regret almost all food that has crossed my lips for the past 15 years. My diet starts tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, shockingly, I received already a call from the sub caller! So I am working, but only a morning floater job, tomorrow. Then I'll see about getting some exercise. If the weather would warm up, I could begin my daily walks.

All of the pets are well despite their abandonment, Puff is sitting with me and purring as I type this. Kevin reported that Molly was in no great rush to leave the Doll's house, that she actually went over to her blanket to lie down when he got ready to leave! Of course, then she came home and had a seizure last night. But better here than at the Doll's, since she can't walk until after she pukes, so you have to catch the puke before dragging her outside in case it happens again. But all is back to normal now.

In other news, I'm working on getting Megan into a lifeguarding class. They are all inconvenient except for the one that I would have picked, which was filled prematurely by the Y. Now she's in one that meets for 4.5 hours every Saturday and Sunday throughout June. Then I got a letter from the team listing all the weekend meets in June. So I have a problem with swimming; what else is new? I'm also thinking of our family vacation which is planned for Megan's 16th birthday in August, although we don't know where we will go. She doesn't have a real destination in mind, I had offered Europe but can't pick a country, and she isn't much help. I thought someplace Spanish, since that's the language she takes in school, but what do I know about visiting Spain?

greetings from (cold) sunny florida

Finally a moment to update. We arrived an hour late on Monday, after making it to the airport and onto the plane just fine, but then the raindrops started to fall while we waited for them to close up the doors. Apparently the storm was blocking one of the takeoff routes, so they closed that and sent us to a waiting area known as the 'ballpark' for about 20 minutes. We were about ten minutes behind already, just from not leaving the gate, and then we had another half hour wait for the runway that everyone must have been using.

The initial 10-15 minutes were so bumpy that I thought the plane would break to bits, but thankfully, it did not. However, I didn't get my bloody mary until almost two hours after we got on the plane. I really could have used it about an hour and 45 minutes sooner!

Then our taxi driver stopped for gas with us in the car!

The weather was beautiful when we arrived and we had a couple of good hours on the beach. Our hotel room has a beautiful view of the ocean out the front and a great view of workers at a construction site out the side! They're building some sort of annex to the hotel we're in, and they start crawling all over the 'footprint' at around 6:30 every morning.

Yesterday I had a splitting headache, which was compounded by the fact that the temperature had dropped by about 20 degrees and the winds were whipping. Last night I tossed and turned for a couple of hours because I never took a rest to try to make the pain subside during the day. I finally feel better but I can tell it's still there so I'm going to have to be careful with it today. I took a TON of over the counter pain killers yesterday - four tylenol and six advil throughout the day - so I'm trying to space them out better today. I got up, showered, ate (I had no food yesterday morning either so I bought some granola bars for the room) and now I am waiting for the sleeping beauties (Brian and E) to wake up so we can head to the pool.

Speaking of the pool, Megan has had a GREAT meet so far. She texted me that her 500 free time was 5:05 - which is amazing! - and I thought she was joking. She came into the meet with a 5:12, so that's 7 seconds off of a time she's had a hard time even maintaining this year. The next day, she took off nearly two seconds in the 200 free, putting her at 1:55 from 1:57. She had been seeded 127th and came in 47th. That might still sound like a far-down finish, until you consider that basically means she has the 47th fastest time of all the Y swimmers in the country. And to have moved up 80 positions is pretty good, too! In the 500, she moved up about the same, finishing 55th. There are so many fast swimmers at this meet.

Today she has the 100 free and tomorrow, just a relay, so she's doing the time trial in the 1650, which is what is known as 'the mile.' So I am both looking forward to that and dreading it, because she should be able to swim it really well based on her performance so far, but I always feel like a child abuser watching her do a 66 lap race. Someone last year said it's like watching paint dry, but I don't think that's true, because paint probably dries faster than this race gets swum. Last year her time was 18:14 when she did the mile at time trials. So I'll update after she's done.

It's been a little difficult to get online because all we have is Kevin's work computer and the internet has been slow. I can't work my gmail for some reason, I get error messages and then the individual emails won't open, so I've just been using Facebook. I lost my camera, so all the pictures that I have been taking (with my phone), I've been posting there so I can see them larger then 2x2.

In other news, there are a couple of boys here around Brian's age, so he's been running around with them, and the location of our hotel this year is better than last year as far as things to do, so they have dinner at night in the hotel and then walk to a little shopping plaza and get ice cream. Brian is loving the freedom, and I don't bring him to the meet at night. Right now, he and E sleep on still, so since I want to leave in half an hour, I really should try to wake them up - I'd actually like to just leave them here sleeping ... E has been very good about coming to all the sessions but I'm sure she wouldn't mind missing one to catch up on sleep and some schoolwork. So, off I go. Stay tuned.

the countdown begins

So I guess we will leave the house around 5am tomorrow. The flight is due to leave at 7:45 and arrive at 10:45, but the weather is supposed to be wet. Weather.com says that the rain will begin around 6, which means that it is possible it won't be too bad by the time we leave, but only time will tell.

Of course Kevin is having the time of his life down there without us, and we are scurrying around trying to get ready. E arrived safely and right on time, she was here when we got back from Brian's baseball game this afternoon. Then we took Molly over to the Doll's, and we all went to Applebee's for dinner. All of this dining out is not good for my pre-Florida physique!!!

E was just doing some laundry and I noticed that it smelled like gas over by the laundry room. I don't know if it was something in the garbage that I had put by the door, or it was the old litterbox itself, or if it was actually gas. I have to go back and check on it again. I opened the window for a while and disposed of any smelly trash bags. Hopefully the smell will be gone.

Speaking of smells, I cleaned out my Explorer today, which reeked of sour milk. Then I left it with the hatch and all the windows open for three hours. It smelled lovely inside. Until we parked it outside of Applebees for an hour. Now it reeks again. I had wanted to load up the car tonight but then all of our bags will stink like sour milk. So we can stack them inside the door and just toss them in before we go.

Anyway, I must go and get ready for bed now, if I am to get up at 4am. I think I'll check and see if we really have to be there that early. Our seats are already confirmed and I already checked us in online. I'll read the tickets and see what they say about when to show up. But in other news, Brian's baseball team lost their game today, 8-3. But it wasn't a terrible game, at one point it was 5-3. They seem to give up their runs in groups, never just one run in an inning. Better luck next time, I guess. And I am off to bed.

and then there were two ...

Accompanied by quite the wind-whipped symphony of air, Kevin has managed to get off to sunny Florida safely. I dropped him at the train to the plane at 6:00 and his flight was amazingly only slightly delayed. I checked on the SAS flight and so far it hasn't been delayed for tomorrow. The only concern I see now is the weather on Monday, which is supposed to be bad. I can only hope the bad stuff doesn't start until we are well on our way to what is forecast to be a sunny, rain-free week in Fort Lauderdale! Our hotel has only been open for a couple of weeks since its renovations, so hopefully it will be nice. I guess Kevin will let me know later. Maybe I can get him to send some pictures of the room so I know what we're in for, someone said it is very nice, but a little smaller than last year's rooms. Which were pretty small.

Megan texted that they are being taken to the beach at 3:30. Last year they only got to go once, because one of the boys swam out to the buoy and ignored calls to come back in, incensing the coach and resulting in a moratorium on beach trips, until the last day when they came with all of the parents to our hotel. The meet doesn't actually start till Monday, but they go to the pool every day for practice, but now is the fun part of it. Once Monday rolls around, they'll be exhausted every day.

Brian had baseball practice today and I took Molly when I went to pick him up. She had a nice time walking around an empty field, and running along a fence that had a HUGE fluffy black Bouvier on the other side. Then when it was time to get back in the car, she developed a limp - or actually, she walked on three legs instead of two. She seems fine now, just a little tired and she gets up every time I do, hoping we're going somewhere else that's fun.

Then we picked up some books from Barnes & Noble and now Brian is getting ready for our date to Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Well, it was going to be a date, but then he asked if his friend could come too. So now I am the third wheel. :-/ First we're going to pick up a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from that harsh Florida sun!

In other news, the package from the school for E was in our mailbox this morning. Looks like only three teachers actually gave her work, but the math work should keep her busy for sure. The others were English, which she should be able to handle, and a big packet which I can only assume is from her Economics teacher. So now she has something to do for the week, while she relaxes poolside or beachside and unwinds from the experiences of the past three weeks!!! I also managed to finally finish all the ads in the banquet ad book, although I usually put lines and break apart the quarter and half page ads and I didn't do that because of the dragginess of the PC. So now I have to do the front part of the book, but I think I'll do that in a separate file and then merge the two. Fun times ahead. Stay tuned.

The Eagle Has Landed

So the team has safely arrived in Fort Lauderdale. One flight down, many to go! Kevin will leave in the morning tomorrow, and then E will fly back Sunday. Then the big one, the one *I* must board and endure. I've researched and believe I will be able to order a bloody mary onboard the plane. I much prefer this to the xanax some friends have been trying to push on me!

With the weather this morning, I was a little anxious, but the flight only took off 45 mminutes late, not bad considering the area airports up here were quoting three hour delays. So they were in sunny Florida by 3:45.

I had a long day in second grade, as usual, but it could have certainly been worse. One kid who was being particularly rude and who wasn't paying attention did the same again in line in the library. I asked him to repeat what I had just said, and then when he could not, I sent him to the back of the line. Then I realized I had done this in front of his mother, a library volunteer!! Oh well. If she complains, I will invite her to observe him the next time I try to do a math review with his class and he can't keep his face towards the front of the room, where I am.

So Brian was friend-forsaken tonight, so we dragged him to a uniform shop so Kevin could but himself a pair of white dickies (haha) to wear on the pool desk this week as he works the meet. Afterwards, we went to Outback and then to Sears so Kevin could get himself a new suitcase.

In other news, I haven't gotten my hands on the work packet that was allegedly picked up by E's friend up the block, but I guess there is a little time for that. I guess I should try to call them tomorrow, or maybe she put it in the mailbox. The guidance counselor said that if she forgot to get it, he would call me around 3:30 and drop it off here at the house, and that didn't happen. Molly's hot spot seems to be improving since the vet approved the antibiotic for her yesterday, we forgot to put the lampshade on while we were out to dinner and she barely even chewed it, if at all. And tomorrow I have to call and deliver the good news to our pet-sitting neighbor that she will only have feline charges this week. That will make it so much easier for her!

The End of a Long Week

Megan is upstairs in her room packing for the trip, and I am here fighting off anxiety about so many people flying to so many places (including me!) on so many different planes all week. I worked today and then had to drive Megan to the Y and then make dinner. I decided to have a glass of wine and then noticed Molly chewing all her fur off. So I called the vet and they agreed to give me an antibiotic, thankfully, so I didn't have to take her in and have them look at it and say, "yup, it's a hot spot..."

So I had to abandon my wine on the kitchen counter and run across town to pick up her $50 pills for the week. Now the Doll will have to medicate her for the second half of the course, but hopefully it will keep her from completely turning herself into mutton leg again. The last disaster is just barely noticeable now after all these months!

As we were sitting down to dinner the phone rang, and it turned out to be E's guidance counselor. I was so glad he called because he was going to have a packet for her, and I was supposed to pick it up, but then I took a job for the day, since I won't be able to work again until after Easter. Since no work = no pay, and Megan gets dropped off at 7:30, I really didn't have many options other than the poorhouse.

As for E, all systems are go, she now has the form she needs as well as approval from the insurance company with the caveat that they won't cover anything related to this incident. So hopefully there will be no expenses related to it! I had thought I would have Megan pick up the packet, and then I realized that she won't be in school!!! But I called a friend of E's who only lives up the block, and she is happy to pick up the work, so that will be most helpful for all of us.

Anyway, in other news, Megan had some successful test scores returned, an A+, a 99, and also an A+ on an English paper that she wrote the night we got back from the state meet in PA. So that was a nice turnaround. She stayed after and took a geometry test today so it would be out of the way (the class is taking it tomorrow) because she won't be in school until after the break. Last night was their 'Christmas party' where they get all the t-shirts and other clothing and goodies that they'll need for their trip. They all have to dress the same every day, and they get a different t-shirt for each day, and a fancier shirt to wear down on the plane. Speaking of all of this, I should go up and make sure she has everything she needs, and then I need to turn in myself!!

Fool's Day Foolishness

Last night was the board meeting with the commendations. The high school library was packed, between all the commendees and their families and the many residents who turned out to hear the review of the proposed school budget, which some fear may not pass this year. Fortunately for all, the commendations were the first order of business and took only about 20-30 minutes, at which time they called for a brief recess so all the students could beat it out of there and get home to their studies. Then the budget information seekers were all undoubtedly able to find seats for the rest of the meeting. This did not include our small party.

Yesterday also brought more news on E. Her package, which they thought they had sent overnight express delivery, was sitting in Germany in a pile of mail awaiting pickup by some modern day pony express. They don't know how that happened, but they were assured that the package will be salvaged and should arrive in Chicago today, two days late, but still in time to return by Friday if it's turned around quickly. So again we wait for news on that.

Also, in response to the errant email in which I defamed the agency, I got a call from one of the higher level reps, listing all of their defenses and explaining why they acted the way that they did. Apparently, the insurance company, as I suspected, pretty much just used their bullying tactics to push the whole process along, and the agency here felt that it was more important to get E home for her surgery than it was to make sure she had a signature that could be obtained later. They weren't able to get hold of the agency in her country because of the time difference, and then it was the day of her departure and they were in a training course (to me, this is a lame excuse, because they're in a training course they can't do their work - but there is some truth in that the insurance company was within their rights to send her back, however, inhumane it was, and if she needed the surgery, what else could we do on our end ...?)

So now the obstacles remain of the form's impending receipt and the doctor for the insurance company who must agree to reinstate her insurance if she returns, because she won't be allowed back in without the proper insurance in effect. Her mom is trying to plan other ways, and she may use a three months travelers policy that they have instead. But this is all being done on the other end. Again, all we can do is wait. Although it pushes it very close to the deadline. As it is, she will land Sunday afternoon and we take off Monday morning for Florida. If she doesn't get this document by Friday, she won't have it before Monday, and won't be able to fly out before Tuesday in that case. So let's just hope it doesn't come to that.

In other news, I must use today wisely. Megan has to be all packed by tomorrow night, and I am working tomorrow, as well as having the cleaning lady in. So I have to get her all organized before tomorrow so she can finalize the packing. Tonight is their pasta party, where they get their travel clothes and their 'goody bags'. Molly, of course, has begun to chew on a small spot on her hip, so I hope I can get that under control before we leave too. The Doll has offered to host Molly again, although she may pay a friend to walk her, which is fine, Molly will be happy to be with someone who is home all day, rather than abandoned and only checked on three times in a day for half an hour at a time. The Doll, however, is facing more medical testing on her stomach, which showed up as very inflamed on a recent test.