Here it is, the eve of the eve of the end of a decade. It seems like just yesterday that Brian put as his Facebook status "16 days off," and it seems like not a day has gone by since where he has not spent hours in his room, presumably doing prep work for his midterms. He has a bit more biology to finish, and then he has math, and then his 20 slide presentation on WWII, and then he will be free to ... go back to school and get more homework! But I'm hoping all of this will help him to study for the midterms, and that they will NOT pile on more work next week. But we'll see. Work is what this school is all about. I hope it pays off in the end!
And obviously I made it to PA and back on Monday. Traffic was a little gnarly on the way home, but I jumped off the turnpike an exit early and found my way to 195. I always get so mad when I decide to take the NJTP instead of one of the free roads, and then come round the bend only to see bumper-to-bumper traffic. Are they going to charge me less in tolls for this inconvenience? Of course not! The more traffic the roads seem to attract, the higher the tolls go. Welcome to New Jersey. Now slow down and pay up!
Kevin and I spent today running around in that lemon I call my Explorer. Two problems now. One is not the car's fault, at least I doubt it. The side view mirror is loose and bounces around, especially at high speeds. That can be fixed, but the question is whether or not the entire assembly needs to be replaced, or just the glass of the mirror. The body shop said the whole thing, and the dealer said it "looks like" just the glass needs to be replaced. The glass alone is $40 but the entire assembly is $240, which is $80 more than it would be if we got it from the body shop.
The dealership experience was bizarre. You go in, and you talk to the man-who-can't-be-bothered, and he gets someone else to come out and look at it. Then he tells the man-who-can't-be-bothered and he tells you the labor charge, but then adds, plus parts. You have to go to parts and ask (yourself) "how much is this part going to be?" Then the nice man in parts will tell you that most people who just replace the glass end up replacing the whole assembly. So Kevin called someone we know from swim team, and he was able to get the part for $100, the whole assembly. And if Kevin can't change it himself, supposedly he has a friend who can.
But the other problem is more annoying. I have peeling paint on the hood. Come to find out through my internet search skills that this is a common problem on many Fords produced during this time period. Apparently they used aluminum to make the hoods so the vehicles would be lighter, and the paint didn't adhere as well. So for years it's been puckering but I never did anything about it. Typically, now that it is a year out of warranty for this type of defect (although I doubt they would admit it was a defect if it were still under warranty) the paint is beginning to chip off. The guy at the body shop said he has done a lot of repair on the Fords for the dealership. Unfortunately, it's a huge job, and can't just be patched. But guess what? I don't care. It's getting patched. The estimate was over $1000!!! Don't think so.
Anyway, in other news, Kevin is going to rise with the birds tomorrow and head out to PA to pick up the swim team luggage. Then he'll go back and rendezvous with everyone at the Y, and bring Megan home. I imagine she will want to shower and then sleep for a few hours and then we have a 5:00 dinner reservation. Of course, I see my favorite restaurant is dropping their own ball at 10, which we could have watched had we not planned this little teenager party - but I guess it's OK anyway, because this way we'll all be home all night. And Kevin's brother flies in on New Years Day for a few days' visit.
Oh, and as a surprise to Megan, I bought her a new mattress pad for her bed. I have all of the mattresses wrapped in hypoallergenic material, but hers was for some reason wrapped in horrible crinkly vinyl. So I took that off and bought a waterproof mattress pad for now. I'll look for one of the softer mattress covers later, but for now she has a nice soft bed that doesn't make all kinds of plastic-y noises every time she moves. I imagine it will feel much better too, but I can't wait to see if she even notices! She might be too tired by the time she gets here, probably not till close to 1!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
goodbye 2009
Here it is, the end of the year. Today is the day that the swim team leaves for their trip to PA. I am a designated driver of luggage, just a quick drive there and back, and Kevin will go up Thursday to bring it all home again. So I forgot to set my alarm, and Kevin woke me up with his usual accusatory brusqueness, "IT'S TEN TO SEVEN!"
We were due at the parking lot by 7:45. But we made it! Only the bus didn't. So that worked out ok, the coach took them inside to swim here instead of at the college pool for their morning swim, and I was able to come home to fetch Megan's roast beef hero, which I had forgotten in our rush. Luckily I had packed up everything else last night. So we stood around and froze our toes for half an hour, then I got gas and came home for a few games of fetch the tennis ball with Wilbur.
I'm going to leave in a little while and should get to the hotel in King of Prussia by noon at the latest. I'll make sure they're situated and don't need anything else from the store before I head back. Kevin bought a family four pack of tickets to the Devils game tonight and Brian is bringing a friend (we think). The friend's father is also invited but if he can't go, then I will. I'll have to be back by five in order for that to work out.
Meanwhile, Megan is still planning a little New Years gathering with just a small group, and I'll have to clean the house and prep for that over tomorrow and the next day. I saw some nice looking bubbly beverage at Whole Foods that I'll probably go back for, and maybe some pigs in blankets as well. We'll have our annual New Years dinner at my favorite restaurant (probably no crab cakes just yet, for me!) and then stay home to make sure all goes well. Brian is still plodding through his schoolwork, and I'm trying to help him get it organized. It really is a tremendous amount of information he is being asked to compile, but the more I look through it, the more I think he should probably have had most of it compiled as the year went on, as it's all review work for the midterms. So we'll focus on that over the next couple of days as well.
In other news, I seem to have fully recovered from my crab cake attack. I should go and get some exercise myself over this week at home, but tomorrow I have to take Brian to the eye doctor in the morning and possibly to a tennis tournament that the club is running. He didn't sign up yet, but he usually does that the day of the tournament anyway. I just don't know if they're full this time, usually they call to see if he wants to participate, and they have not done so. Other than that, we expect a quiet week of catching up on laundry and organizing. Kevin spent hours yesterday digging a deeper trench (right in front of the shed door) for the water from the sump hose. Apparently the existing pit was filled to above the level of the pipe, so the pipe was backing up. I thought water would always find a way, but I guess it senses less resistance heading back towards the house than away from it. But the basement did stay dry. Not too bad, considering nearly two feet of snow was melting in a day-long downpour.
We were due at the parking lot by 7:45. But we made it! Only the bus didn't. So that worked out ok, the coach took them inside to swim here instead of at the college pool for their morning swim, and I was able to come home to fetch Megan's roast beef hero, which I had forgotten in our rush. Luckily I had packed up everything else last night. So we stood around and froze our toes for half an hour, then I got gas and came home for a few games of fetch the tennis ball with Wilbur.
I'm going to leave in a little while and should get to the hotel in King of Prussia by noon at the latest. I'll make sure they're situated and don't need anything else from the store before I head back. Kevin bought a family four pack of tickets to the Devils game tonight and Brian is bringing a friend (we think). The friend's father is also invited but if he can't go, then I will. I'll have to be back by five in order for that to work out.
Meanwhile, Megan is still planning a little New Years gathering with just a small group, and I'll have to clean the house and prep for that over tomorrow and the next day. I saw some nice looking bubbly beverage at Whole Foods that I'll probably go back for, and maybe some pigs in blankets as well. We'll have our annual New Years dinner at my favorite restaurant (probably no crab cakes just yet, for me!) and then stay home to make sure all goes well. Brian is still plodding through his schoolwork, and I'm trying to help him get it organized. It really is a tremendous amount of information he is being asked to compile, but the more I look through it, the more I think he should probably have had most of it compiled as the year went on, as it's all review work for the midterms. So we'll focus on that over the next couple of days as well.
In other news, I seem to have fully recovered from my crab cake attack. I should go and get some exercise myself over this week at home, but tomorrow I have to take Brian to the eye doctor in the morning and possibly to a tennis tournament that the club is running. He didn't sign up yet, but he usually does that the day of the tournament anyway. I just don't know if they're full this time, usually they call to see if he wants to participate, and they have not done so. Other than that, we expect a quiet week of catching up on laundry and organizing. Kevin spent hours yesterday digging a deeper trench (right in front of the shed door) for the water from the sump hose. Apparently the existing pit was filled to above the level of the pipe, so the pipe was backing up. I thought water would always find a way, but I guess it senses less resistance heading back towards the house than away from it. But the basement did stay dry. Not too bad, considering nearly two feet of snow was melting in a day-long downpour.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
so that was christmas
And I will surely remember this one! It started out just fine, everyone was reasonably happy with their gifts although Megan didn't like the color of her new suit, the style (she chose this) or the print (I botched it) of her new wallet, and her sunglasses, although wonderful, were not the ones she asked for (the day after I ordered them). The drive to Philadelphia was uneventful and the brunch and ensuing visit were enjoyable and entertaining - food aside. Even the drive home was uneventful and we were back with the dogs by 7:30.
However, things took an ominous turn when the crab cakes that had smelled not right at all must have finally taken their toll, and I ended up in a terrible state for a few hours. Even today I am not quite right, although I can feel that I am winning the war. I don't know what was wrong, and I wish I had spoken up. As soon as they were set in front of me I smelled a funk, and Brian, across from me, smelled it too. I didn't take much comfort in that as he usually thinks anything that comes from the sea automatically emits a funk. But they tasted equally offensive, so I just mashed them up and pretended I was full. (I was) After the debacle with the french fries that were ordered as soon as we sat down, and then appeared several wisecracks and a good half hour later, freezing cold, I was worried about what would happen to me if I dared speak out against the offensive crustacean.
So I have learned a lesson, and perhaps the positive in this is that I don't have to count some of the calories of my Christmas indiscretions. I've been eating cautiously today, after staying in bed till nearly ten, and Kevin is now off at the Y with Megan, who has the first of a week of grueling practices. She has two tomorrow, and then leaves on Monday morning for their annual practice trip to PA. She returns on New Years Eve. Brian doesn't really have practice, he might one night but I'm not sure. Mostly they are just canceled for the holidays. We have to make sure we get him to the gym to work out, but he is buried in a ridiculous amount of holiday homework. The school is living up to its name. If he still continues to fail classes after all the work he does, something is very wrong. Although I don't know if any of the work he has done so far pertains to biology, the class he is failing!
Anyway, in other news, not a whole lot else is going on. Outside it is terribly rainy and most of the snow is washing away. My little cowboy snowman has disappeared and the yards are almost green again. Piles of white remain, but perhaps after a few days of sun, this will no longer be the case. I am still buried in boxes and wrapping paper cast aside, but I lack the energy or the motivation to clean it up right now. My main focus is on getting out of the house to try to forage for a meal that won't upset my stomach! I have dreams of chicken and rice somehow baking themselves in some sort of casserole dish.
However, things took an ominous turn when the crab cakes that had smelled not right at all must have finally taken their toll, and I ended up in a terrible state for a few hours. Even today I am not quite right, although I can feel that I am winning the war. I don't know what was wrong, and I wish I had spoken up. As soon as they were set in front of me I smelled a funk, and Brian, across from me, smelled it too. I didn't take much comfort in that as he usually thinks anything that comes from the sea automatically emits a funk. But they tasted equally offensive, so I just mashed them up and pretended I was full. (I was) After the debacle with the french fries that were ordered as soon as we sat down, and then appeared several wisecracks and a good half hour later, freezing cold, I was worried about what would happen to me if I dared speak out against the offensive crustacean.
So I have learned a lesson, and perhaps the positive in this is that I don't have to count some of the calories of my Christmas indiscretions. I've been eating cautiously today, after staying in bed till nearly ten, and Kevin is now off at the Y with Megan, who has the first of a week of grueling practices. She has two tomorrow, and then leaves on Monday morning for their annual practice trip to PA. She returns on New Years Eve. Brian doesn't really have practice, he might one night but I'm not sure. Mostly they are just canceled for the holidays. We have to make sure we get him to the gym to work out, but he is buried in a ridiculous amount of holiday homework. The school is living up to its name. If he still continues to fail classes after all the work he does, something is very wrong. Although I don't know if any of the work he has done so far pertains to biology, the class he is failing!
Anyway, in other news, not a whole lot else is going on. Outside it is terribly rainy and most of the snow is washing away. My little cowboy snowman has disappeared and the yards are almost green again. Piles of white remain, but perhaps after a few days of sun, this will no longer be the case. I am still buried in boxes and wrapping paper cast aside, but I lack the energy or the motivation to clean it up right now. My main focus is on getting out of the house to try to forage for a meal that won't upset my stomach! I have dreams of chicken and rice somehow baking themselves in some sort of casserole dish.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
ho ho humbug
So it is Christmas Eve at last. It always seems to sneak up on me, this year I managed to get around to ordering cards, I ordered 40, and they were almost all sent out before I even had time to stock up for the people I left off the list this year who might still be sending to us. I am really very disorganized in my holiday card mailings, I once had a computer file with all the names and addresses in label format, but that was multiple computer crashes and wiped-out hard drives ago, and I never recreated it.
Now what I do is go through my old address book, which has more names crossed out due to relocation, death, or other disassociation than it has actual entries. After I have exhausted all possibilities, I move on to school directories. Then, if all else fails. I break out the swim team directory. But this is imperfect, and I miss a lot of listings. So far I have gotten two cards from people I left out and one from someone I knew I had forgotten but thought I might as well wait to see if I had any cards left. Now I am all out of cards. But it's too late for those "oops" cards anyway. Although I put one in the box at the post office just today. At least it will be postmarked before Christmas.
However, it would appear that I am better organized or spirited than most of our card-peers, as the congregation of cards on the piano seems to shrink every year. So either we fall out of favor more and more each year or this electronic age is just taking its toll on the exchange of tidings. We didn't even get one from the Doll this year!
Anyway, speaking of the Doll, I suppose we will see her tonight. I think we will have to go out for dinner, as my agoraphobia kicks into high gear around the holidays. This morning I spent two hours at Firestone waiting for an oil change, then went to the bank and the gas station. I had to practice deep breathing every time I entered the highway. On my way home, I tried to stop at Acme, but there wasn't a spot to be had, so I continued on. People were driving like idiots anyway, one guy was turned into a lane when he decided he'd do better in the next, and he suddenly veered his car back into the lane he had just turned out of, which was by then occupied by my Explorer. I had had enough when he did that, so I came home.
I don't know if the Doll will want to drive tonight anyway - but I'm sure she will get herself to church. (Last year we went to her church and some sick woman coughed on Brian and got him deathly ill for New Years, not going near there this year. I remember doping him up with advil and cough medicine to take him to the New Years Eve party and then having to leave him and Kevin home from the Mummers parade because of the sickness.) So as long as she is out, she'll probably be happier to go somewhere on a plowed and salted road. Our neighborhood was plowed, but the sheet of flattened snow hasn't completely gone away. I don't find it slippery at all, but it is hard and bumpy, and I haven't driven the Honda yet. It still has a mountain of snow on its roof.
My three days in the class I worked in passed fairly uneventfully although it is exhausting. I do hope that I can find something permanent by fall. Of course, now I have a trip booked in April, and I will want time off in the summer too. So maybe it is best if I just can stay busy with the subbing until fall and then find something right when school starts up again. But I'll see. Hopefully it will all work out. I got my final paycheck of the year yesterday and although it was close, it was less for 2009 than the final 2008 total. So I will see what the new year brings in terms of work. I'm going to have to take more jobs and be less selective, but I always say that. I also applied to be a sub secretary and didn't receive so much as a call for an interview (again.) I guess I should give up on this district and expand my search elsewhere. I feel a little paranoid, as if something is going on of which I should be aware.
And in other news, the bad holiday weather has been pushed back to tomorrow night, so hopefully we can make our trek to Philadelphia before it strikes. This was the reason I wanted to get the oil changed in the Explorer, I think I missed at least one 3,000 mile change and I drove it to Boston and all over NJ not too long ago. So it's all oiled up and gassed up, and ready to go. Then, after Christmas, Megan leaves for the training trip in PA. They will be gone for three nights, returning n New Years' Eve. I told her she could have friends here this year, and she says that she is. So we'll have our dinner out early and then come home and just try to stay awake!
Now what I do is go through my old address book, which has more names crossed out due to relocation, death, or other disassociation than it has actual entries. After I have exhausted all possibilities, I move on to school directories. Then, if all else fails. I break out the swim team directory. But this is imperfect, and I miss a lot of listings. So far I have gotten two cards from people I left out and one from someone I knew I had forgotten but thought I might as well wait to see if I had any cards left. Now I am all out of cards. But it's too late for those "oops" cards anyway. Although I put one in the box at the post office just today. At least it will be postmarked before Christmas.
However, it would appear that I am better organized or spirited than most of our card-peers, as the congregation of cards on the piano seems to shrink every year. So either we fall out of favor more and more each year or this electronic age is just taking its toll on the exchange of tidings. We didn't even get one from the Doll this year!
Anyway, speaking of the Doll, I suppose we will see her tonight. I think we will have to go out for dinner, as my agoraphobia kicks into high gear around the holidays. This morning I spent two hours at Firestone waiting for an oil change, then went to the bank and the gas station. I had to practice deep breathing every time I entered the highway. On my way home, I tried to stop at Acme, but there wasn't a spot to be had, so I continued on. People were driving like idiots anyway, one guy was turned into a lane when he decided he'd do better in the next, and he suddenly veered his car back into the lane he had just turned out of, which was by then occupied by my Explorer. I had had enough when he did that, so I came home.
I don't know if the Doll will want to drive tonight anyway - but I'm sure she will get herself to church. (Last year we went to her church and some sick woman coughed on Brian and got him deathly ill for New Years, not going near there this year. I remember doping him up with advil and cough medicine to take him to the New Years Eve party and then having to leave him and Kevin home from the Mummers parade because of the sickness.) So as long as she is out, she'll probably be happier to go somewhere on a plowed and salted road. Our neighborhood was plowed, but the sheet of flattened snow hasn't completely gone away. I don't find it slippery at all, but it is hard and bumpy, and I haven't driven the Honda yet. It still has a mountain of snow on its roof.
My three days in the class I worked in passed fairly uneventfully although it is exhausting. I do hope that I can find something permanent by fall. Of course, now I have a trip booked in April, and I will want time off in the summer too. So maybe it is best if I just can stay busy with the subbing until fall and then find something right when school starts up again. But I'll see. Hopefully it will all work out. I got my final paycheck of the year yesterday and although it was close, it was less for 2009 than the final 2008 total. So I will see what the new year brings in terms of work. I'm going to have to take more jobs and be less selective, but I always say that. I also applied to be a sub secretary and didn't receive so much as a call for an interview (again.) I guess I should give up on this district and expand my search elsewhere. I feel a little paranoid, as if something is going on of which I should be aware.
And in other news, the bad holiday weather has been pushed back to tomorrow night, so hopefully we can make our trek to Philadelphia before it strikes. This was the reason I wanted to get the oil changed in the Explorer, I think I missed at least one 3,000 mile change and I drove it to Boston and all over NJ not too long ago. So it's all oiled up and gassed up, and ready to go. Then, after Christmas, Megan leaves for the training trip in PA. They will be gone for three nights, returning n New Years' Eve. I told her she could have friends here this year, and she says that she is. So we'll have our dinner out early and then come home and just try to stay awake!
Monday, December 21, 2009
let the digging out begin!
So ... last night they called for a delayed opening for today. Then they changed their minds...no school! And just like that, we had a three day weekend. Well, more than that if you happen to be Brian, who is off already until after New Years, but for the rest of us public school folk - it was a bonus. Although I hadn't minded the delayed opening, I was going to have a shorter work day for the same pay! Now I have to work tomorrow although the system doesn't have me logged in to work. The teacher told me if there was a snow day on Monday I should work Tuesday instead. So I am going to just show up and if they want me, they can add me; if not, they can send me on my way. I have enough to do to keep busy! Kevin is taking Brian into NYC with him for the day.
Anyway, the snow is the big news. It got a bit of a late start so Megan had practice on Saturday although Brian's tennis was canceled. Kevin and I got up and out early to go to the mall, expecting and finding the worst at 8am, only to emerge at 11 to find barely flurries, and roads that seemed not much worse than during a light rainstorm. Of course, by evening this was no longer the case. We holed up in the house and watched some movies, Brian and I fell asleep during Animal House (he probably because he was up the entire night before, celebrating his winter break and I because I drank a huge glass of wine while Kevin was out picking up a pizza) and then we all watched Elf together.
Yesterday was uneventful as we had no need to go anywhere - except for Kevin, who tried to take Brian's little Acer notebook to the Geek Squad, whose ad says they repair anything, even if you didn't buy it from them but who, in fact, do not. So that was a wasted trip. The computer screen is flickering when he moves it, and internet research says it must be a loose cable. Because we waited longer than the 90 days (although this happened well within that time, but he needed it and kept using it heavily until it was too late) we were no longer able to take it back to costco, where we got it, and we had to ship it back to Acer. So we'll see. Hopefully it will come back better than new. Getting a new one might have been worse, because then it might have had the same issue. I hope when they fix it, it stays fixed for good, because aside from this, and aside from the fact that the speakers don't work anymore, it's a great little notebook.
Today I had to run a few errands and then dig out the mailbox. The truck in our neighborhood just drives up and drops the mail right in, so he needs clearance to drive, and somehow we always have the highest drifts in the neighborhood right in front of our mailbox. Anyway, I did manage to make a pretty efficient drop-route for him, and I watched him use it while Wilbur and I put the finishing touches on a little snowman we made while the kids slept the day away. The problem is, Wilbur is now favoring what had been his good leg. I can't pop the knee back in, though, so I don't know if it's a subluxing patella issue or something else. Right now he is wiped out from all the air.
And I am worried about Molly. She is acting her age. Her legs are seeming weaker and she slips a lot more. She didn't bound in the snow like she usually does, and she didn't want to play in it at all. But she is 14, and she's doing great considering. Every day that she wakes up and is happy I consider to be a good day.
In other news, Christmas is coming! I hope that the weather will hold out. And apparently, Kevin has invited (with my blessing from a dreamlike state the other night during Animal House) the Doll for Christmas Eve dinner. I had thought we would just go out, as we are going to church at 10, and it makes it easier to stay awake if we're out, but it seems I said she could eat here with us! So we'll see if that happens. I have to get through the next two days of work and then a day of Christmas wrapping before I can think of Christmas Eve dinner!
And then Megan leaves for their swim team training trip. She will be gone for four days, returning on New Years Eve, and I told her she could have friends over. So we will probably stay at home and try to stay awake. I told her they can all sleep over, boys as well, just so nobody has to worry about being out on the road that night.
Anyway, the snow is the big news. It got a bit of a late start so Megan had practice on Saturday although Brian's tennis was canceled. Kevin and I got up and out early to go to the mall, expecting and finding the worst at 8am, only to emerge at 11 to find barely flurries, and roads that seemed not much worse than during a light rainstorm. Of course, by evening this was no longer the case. We holed up in the house and watched some movies, Brian and I fell asleep during Animal House (he probably because he was up the entire night before, celebrating his winter break and I because I drank a huge glass of wine while Kevin was out picking up a pizza) and then we all watched Elf together.
Yesterday was uneventful as we had no need to go anywhere - except for Kevin, who tried to take Brian's little Acer notebook to the Geek Squad, whose ad says they repair anything, even if you didn't buy it from them but who, in fact, do not. So that was a wasted trip. The computer screen is flickering when he moves it, and internet research says it must be a loose cable. Because we waited longer than the 90 days (although this happened well within that time, but he needed it and kept using it heavily until it was too late) we were no longer able to take it back to costco, where we got it, and we had to ship it back to Acer. So we'll see. Hopefully it will come back better than new. Getting a new one might have been worse, because then it might have had the same issue. I hope when they fix it, it stays fixed for good, because aside from this, and aside from the fact that the speakers don't work anymore, it's a great little notebook.
Today I had to run a few errands and then dig out the mailbox. The truck in our neighborhood just drives up and drops the mail right in, so he needs clearance to drive, and somehow we always have the highest drifts in the neighborhood right in front of our mailbox. Anyway, I did manage to make a pretty efficient drop-route for him, and I watched him use it while Wilbur and I put the finishing touches on a little snowman we made while the kids slept the day away. The problem is, Wilbur is now favoring what had been his good leg. I can't pop the knee back in, though, so I don't know if it's a subluxing patella issue or something else. Right now he is wiped out from all the air.
And I am worried about Molly. She is acting her age. Her legs are seeming weaker and she slips a lot more. She didn't bound in the snow like she usually does, and she didn't want to play in it at all. But she is 14, and she's doing great considering. Every day that she wakes up and is happy I consider to be a good day.
In other news, Christmas is coming! I hope that the weather will hold out. And apparently, Kevin has invited (with my blessing from a dreamlike state the other night during Animal House) the Doll for Christmas Eve dinner. I had thought we would just go out, as we are going to church at 10, and it makes it easier to stay awake if we're out, but it seems I said she could eat here with us! So we'll see if that happens. I have to get through the next two days of work and then a day of Christmas wrapping before I can think of Christmas Eve dinner!
And then Megan leaves for their swim team training trip. She will be gone for four days, returning on New Years Eve, and I told her she could have friends over. So we will probably stay at home and try to stay awake. I told her they can all sleep over, boys as well, just so nobody has to worry about being out on the road that night.
Friday, December 18, 2009
the week in review
I haven't written since Tuesday! I can't believe it's been that long since I splattered the unknown on the exit ramp of the GSP. Time sure does fly. I have worked most days since, just taking Wednesday off on purpose to get the house and food ready for the onslaught of high school swimmers. That went fairly well although I did just about run out of sauce. A few stragglers showed up and when I peeked into the crock pot, all that remained were four sorry looking sausages! So we went through a whole pot of sauce, about five pounds of pasta as well as another pound baked into a tray of ziti. Most of the guests brought bread as their contribution, so we're fairly well set now for this big storm that's allegedly headed our way.
Anyway, I did my half day job for the one school yesterday, and was home getting ready to go to Megan's meet when I started getting into some confusion about my job scheduled for today. One of my regular teachers was going to be out for a few days and wanted to request me, but since I was already booked for today, it wasn't showing me the job and she couldn't cancel it. But then I finally got hold of them, and they managed to switch it, but I felt badly, because the job I was switched out of was the one I had been looking forward to for two weeks! But it's OK, because this class is unique, and this is a three day assignment. So again, continuity and Christmas bills.
I'm really trying to maintain constancy of thought here, but Wilbur is repeatedly dropping a dead stuffed baby at my feet. He ripped all the guts out and it has become his favorite fetching item. He drops it at my feet and then paws at the couch until I throw it for him again. Molly, of course, completely ignores everything he does.
So this is it, the last shopping weekend of the season. I decided I'd better run up to the stores for a couple of things but then Megan came with me, and that as a bit of a hindrance. I have no stocking stuffers and since she came with me, I still don't. And she caught me buying her the SAT prep book, so that's just a thing I bought now. But I did manage to get a shampoo and a conditioner, at least.
Oh, and one thing I learned is that if you give people the option to bring something else or bread to a pasta party, they will bring bread. We now have enough bread to last us through the new year and beyond. That will come in handy if we're snowed in tomorrow, we'll all be passing around dried out bread. Even the cats, because I'm pretty sure I'm about all out of cat food now.
And so in other news, Brian got two progress reports. He is doing very poorly in biology, worse than before. I emailed the teacher again, and again, the teacher didn't email me back. I know there is s protocol of contact, but this teacher apparently said to his class that he hates getting emails from parents. Brian was initially begging me not to email him after the first report. But now I have decided that this is just too bad. We don't pay this amount of money for school, and then not be allowed to talk to the teacher of the class that our kid is failing! He is now off from school for the holiday break, but with serious midterms shortly after the return. He has packets to complete while he's off, as well as homework. Not much time to get into trouble, I hope!
Anyway, I did my half day job for the one school yesterday, and was home getting ready to go to Megan's meet when I started getting into some confusion about my job scheduled for today. One of my regular teachers was going to be out for a few days and wanted to request me, but since I was already booked for today, it wasn't showing me the job and she couldn't cancel it. But then I finally got hold of them, and they managed to switch it, but I felt badly, because the job I was switched out of was the one I had been looking forward to for two weeks! But it's OK, because this class is unique, and this is a three day assignment. So again, continuity and Christmas bills.
I'm really trying to maintain constancy of thought here, but Wilbur is repeatedly dropping a dead stuffed baby at my feet. He ripped all the guts out and it has become his favorite fetching item. He drops it at my feet and then paws at the couch until I throw it for him again. Molly, of course, completely ignores everything he does.
So this is it, the last shopping weekend of the season. I decided I'd better run up to the stores for a couple of things but then Megan came with me, and that as a bit of a hindrance. I have no stocking stuffers and since she came with me, I still don't. And she caught me buying her the SAT prep book, so that's just a thing I bought now. But I did manage to get a shampoo and a conditioner, at least.
Oh, and one thing I learned is that if you give people the option to bring something else or bread to a pasta party, they will bring bread. We now have enough bread to last us through the new year and beyond. That will come in handy if we're snowed in tomorrow, we'll all be passing around dried out bread. Even the cats, because I'm pretty sure I'm about all out of cat food now.
And so in other news, Brian got two progress reports. He is doing very poorly in biology, worse than before. I emailed the teacher again, and again, the teacher didn't email me back. I know there is s protocol of contact, but this teacher apparently said to his class that he hates getting emails from parents. Brian was initially begging me not to email him after the first report. But now I have decided that this is just too bad. We don't pay this amount of money for school, and then not be allowed to talk to the teacher of the class that our kid is failing! He is now off from school for the holiday break, but with serious midterms shortly after the return. He has packets to complete while he's off, as well as homework. Not much time to get into trouble, I hope!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
road kill and other fun stuff
So last night I decided to take Megan to the 'new' outlets that opened a few miles south of us last year. Not a big success, but we did pick up a few gifts. I offered to take Megan to Chili's for dinner since that's our usual tradition after a swim meet, but it was just too late and too long of a weekend, with school the next morning, after this last one. This is where my fate sealed with that of a poor small animal.
Just as we slowed to get off at the parkway exit, I saw a flash of a small animal bolt out from the ravine on the side of the highway. I tried to brake, but it was already under my wheels, and I ran it over. This is the second time this has happened to me since I have lived in NJ, and it's horrible. I always remember being in a friend's car when I was a kid and we ran over a goose with the father driving and he was so upset.
Anyway, the worst part was looking back and seeing whatever it was (I hope not a cat but it could have been although no houses are within at least a half mile of that spot) was flopping all over the road, even springing up in the air, and the row of cars behind me had all stopped to avoid playing their part in the demise of this poor creature. There was nothing I could have done, but I felt terrible about, and still do.
That was quite depressing, but we had our dinner at Chili's and came home. No jobs were showing up and I was getting a bit discouraged about that, but this morning one did, and it was a fairly good assignment, so I took it. It was Spanish, of all things, but I know they leave you things that you can do even without speaking the language, which is my unfortunate state of comprehension. So I had a day of showing videos and making holiday cards with fifth and second graders. It wasn't bad.
Now I face the daunting task of hosting a pasta party for the school swim team, and I have absolutely NO IDEA how many kids to expect, or what to expect, or anything. I blocked tomorrow out as a no-work day so I won't be shown any jobs, and of course two teachers asked if I could come in tomorrow if they were out, both were feeling ill today in school. But I can't, I have to get the house ready, make five pounds of pasta, a pot of sauce and three pounds of meatballs, and a tray of baked ziti. Stay tuned.
And in other news, I found out Continental changed my flight home from Fort Lauderdale in April! I never even saw the email they claim they sent! But the flight I was on was at 11:15 and they cancelled that flight. Other options were 10am and 1:15, so they put us on the 10am. This means we'll have to leave the hotel by 8! And the swimmers stay at a different hotel but come back to ours for a visit on the last day, and we won't get to see them. Kevin might, he will probably get a later flight back, who knows - but that stinks! Megan will fly home with the team again.
I suppose I could have asked them to switch me to the 1:15 since I didn't make the change, but I don't want to start risking getting home too late either. The next day will be back to school for everyone, and I'll have Brian with me. So annoying. I only found out because someone asked which flights I was on, and what I had in my email didn't make sense so I checked online and the two didn't sync. Ugh.
Just as we slowed to get off at the parkway exit, I saw a flash of a small animal bolt out from the ravine on the side of the highway. I tried to brake, but it was already under my wheels, and I ran it over. This is the second time this has happened to me since I have lived in NJ, and it's horrible. I always remember being in a friend's car when I was a kid and we ran over a goose with the father driving and he was so upset.
Anyway, the worst part was looking back and seeing whatever it was (I hope not a cat but it could have been although no houses are within at least a half mile of that spot) was flopping all over the road, even springing up in the air, and the row of cars behind me had all stopped to avoid playing their part in the demise of this poor creature. There was nothing I could have done, but I felt terrible about, and still do.
That was quite depressing, but we had our dinner at Chili's and came home. No jobs were showing up and I was getting a bit discouraged about that, but this morning one did, and it was a fairly good assignment, so I took it. It was Spanish, of all things, but I know they leave you things that you can do even without speaking the language, which is my unfortunate state of comprehension. So I had a day of showing videos and making holiday cards with fifth and second graders. It wasn't bad.
Now I face the daunting task of hosting a pasta party for the school swim team, and I have absolutely NO IDEA how many kids to expect, or what to expect, or anything. I blocked tomorrow out as a no-work day so I won't be shown any jobs, and of course two teachers asked if I could come in tomorrow if they were out, both were feeling ill today in school. But I can't, I have to get the house ready, make five pounds of pasta, a pot of sauce and three pounds of meatballs, and a tray of baked ziti. Stay tuned.
And in other news, I found out Continental changed my flight home from Fort Lauderdale in April! I never even saw the email they claim they sent! But the flight I was on was at 11:15 and they cancelled that flight. Other options were 10am and 1:15, so they put us on the 10am. This means we'll have to leave the hotel by 8! And the swimmers stay at a different hotel but come back to ours for a visit on the last day, and we won't get to see them. Kevin might, he will probably get a later flight back, who knows - but that stinks! Megan will fly home with the team again.
I suppose I could have asked them to switch me to the 1:15 since I didn't make the change, but I don't want to start risking getting home too late either. The next day will be back to school for everyone, and I'll have Brian with me. So annoying. I only found out because someone asked which flights I was on, and what I had in my email didn't make sense so I checked online and the two didn't sync. Ugh.
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